The steps to the Supreme Court: a guided tour of the American legal system

A guide to the American legal system, told through the story of two actual court casesThe Steps to the Supreme Court takes a lively, narrative approach to the subject by following two real cases--one civil, one criminal--as they worktheir way through the system all the way up to the Supreme Court. Written by a member of the Supreme Court bar, this book brings the legal system to life in a practical, accessible, and compelling way.Covers the key legal terms, principles, and processes you need to have a basic grasp of the American legal systemTracks the criminal case involving the murder trial of Paul House and follows the defendant from the night of the murder through his conviction, appeals,and final chance for exoneration at the hands of the Supreme CourtFollows a civil case concerning the Ten Commandments being displayed on public property, following the parties from the time the plaintiffs filed their complaints through the Supreme Court decisions and back to the aftermath in the lower courts as they wrestle with a divided complex rulingWritten by the author of A People's History of the Supreme Court, and other classic works on the American justice system INDICE: Preface "How Did You Get Here?" viiIntroduction "The Judicial Power of the United States": How Our Courts Were Framed and How They Function 1Part I "No Reasonable Juror": The Death-Row Ordeal of Paul House1 The Murder of Carolyn Muncey 272 The Murder Trial of Paul House 433 Paul House's Appeals in the Tennessee State Courts 694 Paul House's Federal Habeas Corpus Petition and Hearing 755 Paul House Seeks Relief from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals 1036 Paul House's Appeal to the United States Supreme Court 1117 The House Case Returns to the Federal and State Courts 127Part II "An Establishment of Religion": The Ten Commandments and Crosses in the Courts8 A Tale of Two Cities and Two Cases 1419 The Hearings and the Opinions in the McCreary County and Van Orden Cases 16710 The Supreme Court Appeals in the Ten Commandments Cases 17511 The Impact of Justice Breyer's Concurrence on Pending Ten Commandments Cases 19312 The Infl uence of Politics in Religion Cases: The Mt. Soledad Cross Case 21313 Religious Politics, Judicial Snarls, and the Mojave Desert Cross Case 241Conclusion 253Appendix of Supreme Court Opinions 257I. Opinions in House v. Bell 257II. Opinions in McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky 280III. Opinions inVan Orden v. Perry 305Sources and Suggestions for Further Reading 325Index 329

• ISBN: 978-1-118-11499-5
• Editorial: John Wiley & Sons
• Encuadernacion: Rústica
• Páginas: 352
• Fecha Publicación: 02/05/2012
• Nº Volúmenes: 1
• Idioma: Inglés