Despite having the final word on many policy issues, state supreme courts have received much less scholarly attention than the United States Supreme Court. Examining these often neglected institutions, this book demonstrates that by increasing our knowledge of the behavior of state supreme court judges across differing areas of law, we can enrich our understanding of the function of state supreme courts, and the relations between these institutions and other branches of government. In addition, Judicial Review in State Supreme Courts advances our conceptualization of the judiciary and offers a more general theory about judicial behavior, accountability, and the role of courts in American society. Langer looks at the policy-making powers of state supreme courts, and the conditions under which justices are most likely to review and invalidate state laws, portraying judges as forward thinking individuals who pursue both policy and electoral goals.

The New York State Constitution provides an outstanding constitutional and historical account of the state's governing charter. In addition to an overview of New York's constitutional history, it provides an in-depth, section-by-section analysis of the entire constitution, detailing the many significant changes that have been made since its initial drafting. This treatment, along with a table of cases, index, and bibliography provides an unsurpassed reference guide for students, scholars, and practitioners of New York's constitution. Previously published by Greenwood, this title has been brought back in to circulation by Oxford University Press with new verve. Re-printed with standardization of content organization in order to facilitate research across the series, this title, as with all titles in the series, is set to join the dynamic revision cycle of The Oxford Commentaries on the State Constitutions of the United States. The Oxford Commentaries on the State Constitutions of the United States is an important series that reflects a renewed international interest in constitutional history and provides expert insight into each of the 50 state constitutions. Each volume in this innovative series contains a historical overview of the state's constitutional development, a section-by-section analysis of its current constitution, and a comprehensive guide to further research. Under the expert editorship of Professor G. Alan Tarr, Director of the Center on State Constitutional Studies at Rutgers University, this series provides essential reference tools for understanding state constitutional law. Books in the series can be purchased individually or as part of a complete set, giving readers unmatched access to these important political documents.

"This book is an updated and expanded study of the manner in which the Supreme Court of Israel has related to petitions challenging actions of the Israeli authorities in the territories occupied by Israel during the 1967 War. The first edition of the study was published two decades ago by one of the present authors, David Kretzmer. The original work was completed just before the second intifida began in September 2000. It covered decisions of the Supreme Court both during the formative years of the Court's jurisprudence on the occupation, and during the first intifada that broke out in December 1987. As stated in the preface to the first edition, the beginning of the second intifada proved that the hopes that the historic Oslo Accords between Israel and the PLO (1993-1995) would lead to peace between Israel and the Palestinians and to the end of the occupation were premature. At the present time (2020) an end to direct Israeli control over the West Bank and restrictions on life in Gaza does not seem to be in sight. The so-called peace plan published by the Trump Administration in February 2020, as we were completing the manuscript, does not alter that picture, although it may contribute to changes in the regime in the West Bank. Much that has happened since the first edition was published has affected the type of cases that reach the Supreme Court, and consequently the topics covered in this study. After a wave of suicide bombings in Israel in 2001 and 2002 the IDF embarked on a military operation in the West Bank. This operation and subsequent hostilities between the IDF and armed Palestinian groups yielded a host of petitions relating to means and methods of warfare and to judicial review during active hostilities. In 2002 the Israeli government began the construction of a separation barrier in the West Bank, the declared purpose of which was to make it more difficult for potential Palestinian terrorists to enter Israel itself. The barrier's route not only spurred close to two hundred petitions to the Supreme Court; it was also the subject of an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice. In August 2005 Israel withdrew its armed forces and civilian settlements from the Gaza Strip under the Disengagement Plan, and the government announced that Israel no longer had responsibility for Gaza. Controversy arose whether Gaza remained occupied territory. In 2006 the Hamas movement gained control over Gaza and the Government of Israel declared Gaza to be 'hostile territory.' The relations between Israel and Gaza have been tense ever since, with firing of rockets and bombs on Israeli towns and villages, severe restrictions on supply of goods to Gaza and movement of people between Gaza and the West Bank, and periods of active hostilities between Israel and Gaza. Since the first edition of this study was completed there has been a dramatic expansion in the number of Israeli settlements and settlers in the West Bank. This expansion has had various legal and practical consequences, including the emergence of two different legal regimes applicable to Israelis and to Palestinians resident in the West Bank"--

“With Supreme Inequality, Adam Cohen has built, brick by brick, an airtight case against the Supreme Court of the last half-century...Cohen’s book is a closing statement in the case against an institution tasked with protecting the vulnerable, which has emboldened the rich and powerful instead.” —Dahlia Lithwick, senior editor, Slate A revelatory examination of the conservative direction of the Supreme Court over the last fifty years. In Supreme Inequality, bestselling author Adam Cohen surveys the most significant Supreme Court rulings since the Nixon era and exposes how, contrary to what Americans like to believe, the Supreme Court does little to protect the rights of the poor and disadvantaged; in fact, it has not been on their side for fifty years. Cohen proves beyond doubt that the modern Court has been one of the leading forces behind the nation’s soaring level of economic inequality, and that an institution revered as a source of fairness has been systematically making America less fair. A triumph of American legal, political, and social history, Supreme Inequality holds to account the highest court in the land and shows how much damage it has done to America’s ideals of equality, democracy, and justice for all.

Jury service is one of the most important civic duties a person can undertake, yet it is often poorly understood. This booklet has been prepared in consultation with the Juries Commissioner's Office. It answers frequently asked questions about jury service and provides prospective jurors with a clear explanation of their responsibilities and the processes involved in trials. All potential jurors will receive a copy when they attend for jury service.