Fundamentals of American Law / Edition 1

by Alan B. Morrison, William J. Brennan

Overview

The American legal system is the most significant in the world today, yet until recently there had not been a book that provided both the basic rules and the theoretical understanding necessary to comprehend it. Now, Fundamentals of American Law supplies these concepts to a number of audiences, ranging from students and scholars of law to business people and government officials; from those whose work regularly involves legal issues and who want to understand the law better than they do now, to the general reader who wants to gain a stronger appreciation of our legal system.

In twenty-three chapters, the book looks at the overarching principles of American law, the seven subject areas primarily governed by the States, and the eight areas governed by Federal Law. Each chapter is written by an acknowledged expert in that area. All of the authors are on the faculty of the New York University School of Law, regarded as one of the elite law schools in America, and this work is offered as an element of its unique Global Law School Program.

The book not only provides the reader with a solid foundation of American law, but will also serve as a basic reference book for years to come. Fundamentals of American Law is one volume anyone will want to have on hand to gain an understanding of our legal system.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198764052
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	10/10/1996
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	734
Product dimensions:	9.18(w) x 6.62(h) x 1.37(d)

About the Author

Alan Morrison has served as professor at both Harvard Law School and New York University Law School. He is currently a Senior Attorney for the Public Citizen Litigation Group in Washington, DC, which he co-founded with Ralph Nader.

Table of Contents

	Preface	v
	List of Contributors	xxv
	Foreword	xxvii
	Table of Cases	xxxiii
	Table of Legislation	liii
	Introduction	1
I.	General Principles	7
1.	Common Law Systems	9
I.	Introduction	9
II.	The Reception of the Common Law in America	12
III.	The Growth of Legislation and Regulation	14
IV.	The Continued Vitality of the Common Law	15
V.	Precedent and the Growth of the Law	18
VI.	The Institutions and Method of the Common Law	21
VII.	Interpretation of Statutes	23
VIII.	The Future of the Common Law	25
2.	The Sources and Limits of Legal Authority	27
I.	Introduction: Federalism and Separation of Powers	27
II.	The Basic Allocation of State Federal Authority	28
III.	Protection from the Burdens of Multi-State Legal Authority	36
IV.	The Distinct Character of Separation of Powers Issues in the United States	41
V.	The Robust Constitutional Judiciary	52
VI.	Conclusion	56
3.	Courts	57
I.	Introduction	57
II.	Methods of Selecting Judges	57
III.	Division of Judicial Workload	58
IV.	Parallel Systems of Adjudication	60
4.	Litigation	61
I.	Starting a Lawsuit	62
II.	Responses to the Complaint	64
III.	Multi-Party Actions	67
IV.	Discovery	70
V.	Summary Judgment	73
VI.	Trial	75
VII.	Appeals	79
VIII.	Conclusion	81
5.	An Overview of the Bill of Rights	83
I.	Introduction	83
II.	The First Amendment: The Founders' Ideal Commonwealth	86
III.	The Fourth Through Eighth Amendments: Control of the Law Enforcement Function	104
IV.	The Ninth and Tenth Amendments: the Enigma of the Closing Amendments	112
V.	The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments: Equality and the Second Bill of Rights	115
VI.	Conclusion	127
6.	Administrative Law	129
I.	Administrative Agencies	130
II.	Independent Agencies and Separation of Powers	132
III.	Delegation	133
IV.	Administrative Procedure	136
V.	Judicial Review	143
VI.	Freedom of Information	148
7.	The American Legal Profession	151
I.	A Statistical Portrait	151
II.	Entering the Profession	152
III.	Regulating the Profession	154
IV.	Malpractice and Related Claims	157
V.	Court Sanctions	159
VI.	Right to Counsel	160
VII.	Conflicts of Interest	161
VIII.	Confidentiality	164
IX.	Adversary Justice	166
X.	Legal Fees	168
XI.	Lawyers Employed by Corporations	170
XII.	Marketing Legal Services	171
XIII.	The Judiciary	173
XIV.	The Future: More Competition	175
8.	Conflict of Laws	177
I.	Personal Jurisdiction	178
II.	Choice of Law	184
III.	Judgments Enforcement	193
IV.	Conclusion	196
II.	State Based Laws	199
9.	Contract Law	201
I.	Introduction	201
II.	Sources of Obligation	204
III.	Contract Formation	207
IV.	Identifying the Contract	213
V.	Defenses Against Enforcement	217
VI.	Performance	223
VII.	Remedies for Breach of Contract	228
10.	Torts	239
I.	Negligence	241
II.	Negligence Principles Applied to Some Common Activities	252
III.	Intentional Torts	257
IV.	Strict Products Liability	259
V.	Conclusion	261
11.	Property	263
I.	The Nature of Ownership in America	264
II.	Taxation of Real Property	266
III.	The Power of Eminent Domain	268
IV.	Government Regulation of Land	270
V.	The Ultimate Protection of Property Rights	291
12.	Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, and Criminal Justice	293
I.	Overview of the Systems	293
II.	Substantive Criminal Law	295
III.	Criminal Procedure	305
13.	Corporations and Other Business Organizations	331
I.	Forms of Business Association	331
II.	The Process of Formation	334
III.	Raising of Capital	338
IV.	Control Structure--Stockholders	342
V.	Control Structure--Directors and Officers	346
VI.	Fiduciary Obligations and Standard of Care	350
VII.	Corporate Distributions	353
VIII.	Major Corporate Changes	356
IX.	Conclusion	363
14.	Commercial Law	365
I.	Introduction	365
II.	The Uniform Commercial Code	369
III.	The Common Law of Suretyship and Guaranty	391
IV.	Special Treatment of Consumer Transactions	394
15.	Family Law	397
I.	Introduction	397
II.	Constitutional Principles of Family Law--The Relationship of the Family and the State	399
III.	'Public Family Law'--Child Protection, Foster Care, Termination of Parental Rights, and Adoption	403
IV.	Private Family Law--Marriage, Separation, Divorce, and Related Matters	413
V.	Conclusion	424
III.	Federal Law	425
16.	Antitrust Law	427
I.	Overview: Antitrust Statutes and Enforcement	427
II.	Monopolization	433
III.	Mergers	439
IV.	Horizontal Agreements	444
V.	Distribution Restraints	450
VI.	Conclusion	457
17.	Bankruptcy and Other Insolvency Remedies	459
I.	Introduction	459
II.	Some General Considerations	462
III.	Introduction to Chapter 11	464
IV.	The Plan of Reorganization	473
V.	Discharge	478
18.	Environmental Law	481
I.	The Origins of Contemporary Environmental Law	482
II.	The Subjects of Environmental Law and Regulation	486
III.	Distinctive Elements of United States Environmental Law	491
IV.	Current Topics in United States Environmental Law	501
V.	Conclusion	506
19.	Intellectual Property Law	507
I.	Introduction to Intellectual Property	507
II.	Sources of Intellectual Property Law	510
III.	Patent Law	513
IV.	Copyright Law	521
V.	Trademark Law	528
20.	Labor and Employment Law	535
I.	Rationales for and Structure of Employment Regulation	535
II.	Substantive Employment Protections	539
III.	Employment Discrimination Law	543
IV.	Union Organization and Collective Bargaining Law	552
V.	Conclusion	561
21.	Regulation of Banks	563
I.	Introduction	563
II.	Policy Overview	564
III.	The Allocation of Regulatory Responsibility	566
IV.	The Chartering Process	568
V.	Regulation of the Bank's Business	569
VI.	Regulation of Banks' Affiliates	576
VII.	International Banking	577
VIII.	Examinations and Enforcement	579
IX.	Bank Failures	580
X.	Conclusion	582
22.	Federal Regulation of Securities	583
I.	Introduction to the United States Securities Markets	583
II.	The Systems of Regulation	586
III.	Federal Regulation of Companies Under the 1933 and 1934 Acts	591
IV.	Antifraud Liability for Reporting Companies	600
V.	Insider Trading: A Species of Antifraud Liability	606
VI.	Conclusion	608
23.	Taxation	611
I.	Overview of the United States Tax System	611
II.	Sources of the Law	612
III.	General Framework for Taxing 'Citizens' and 'Aliens'	613
IV.	Federal Income Taxation of United States Individuals	614
V.	Federal Taxation of United States Corporations	626
VI.	Federal Taxation of United States Partnerships	632
VII.	Federal Taxation of Other Flow Through Entities	635
VIII.	Taxation of United States Persons with Foreign Income	637
IX.	Taxation of United States Corporations with Foreign Income	639
X.	Anti-abuse Rules	640
XI.	Taxation of Foreign Persons with United States Income	642
XII.	Federal Estate and Gift Taxes	645
	Index	647

Editorial Reviews

"...this volume achieves excellence precisely because its goal is to communicate to those who do not have a working knowledge of our culture or legal system."—Bimonthly Review of Law Books

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