Is eating people wrong? : great legal cases and how they shaped the world / Allan C. Hutchinson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hutchinson, Allan C., 1951- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sociological jurisprudence.

Rule of law.

Law--Social aspects.

Law.

Common law.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xi, 247 pages) : digital, PDF file(s)

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2011.

System Details:

text file

PDF

Summary:

Great cases are those judicial decisions around which the common law develops. This book explores eight exemplary cases from the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia that show the law as a living, breathing and down-the-street experience. It explores the social circumstances in which the cases arose and the ordinary people whose stories influenced and shaped the law as well as the characters and institutions (lawyers, judges and courts) that did much of the heavy lifting. By examining the consequences and fallout of these decisions, the book depicts the common law as an experimental, dynamic, messy, productive, tantalizing and bottom-up process, thereby revealing the diverse and uncoordinated attempts by the courts to adapt the law to changing conditions and shifting demands. Great cases are one way to glimpse the workings of the common law as an untidy but stimulating exercise in human judgment and social accomplishment.

Contents:

In praise of great cases : the big, the bad and the goodly

Is eating people wrong? : the law and lore of the sea

Bearing witness : in support of the rule of law

In the hunt : power, property, and possession

Shades of Brown : a constitutional catharsis

A snail in a bottle : nature, neighbors, and negligence

An aboriginal title : the lie and law of the land

Grinding at the mill : putting limits on agreements

Of crimes and cautions : the rights and rites of investigation

Coming up for air : the common law at 2010.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Other Format:

Print version:

ISBN:

9780511782152

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.