This collection of essays looks at over 200 major court cases, at both state and federal levels, from the colonial period to the present. Organized thematically, the articles range from 1,000 to 5,000 words and include recent topics such as the Microsoft antitrust case, the O.J. Simpson trials, and the Clinton impeachment. This new edition includes 42 new essays as well as updates throughout, with end-of-essay bibliographies and indexes by case and subject/name.
The content and spirit of Historic U.S. Court Cases: An Encyclopedia, second edition, reflect the blend of popular interest and specialized attention recently paid to American law. The volume is designed to serve both the student and layperson interested in learning about important American court cases as well as the legal specialist looking for a convenient repository of case information, analyses, or references.
The original edition of Historic U.S. Court Cases, published in 1992, was compiled between 1987 and 1991, a period bounded by the bicentennial celebrations of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. During these years a media spotlight was focused on America’s founding legal document and the first ten amendments. This provided a welcome civics lesson to the nation and offered encouragement and visibility to those of us who teach and write about American law. The revised edition of this volume was assembled in the late 1990s, at a time when much of the nation’s attention was fixated on less lofty legal events than in the 1987–91 years. The scandals of the Clinton administration and the ensuing impeachment crisis, depressing as they were, also focused attention on the rule of law.
