Explores different examples of unpunished homicides and what these tell us about the interaction of law and society.

This monograph explains the deviance of illicit sexual immorality in the justice system. It includes extensive research of federal, state, and local scandals occurring in Washington DC, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, Texas, and other locations in the USA, to demonstrate the impacts of decaying morals on contemporary society and constitutional law. It explains that sexually immoral oligarchies may dilute or forfeit their authority and ability to chide and fastidiously control sexual choices and activities. The text brings to light sexual abuse and indiscretions by justice system members and compares their misconduct to American prison culture to prove systemic breakdown, dissipation of authority, and dwindling power to enforce morality laws.

In Now You Are Told: A Collection of True Tales from My Yesteryears, Bill Neal tells both serious and often funny and memorable true stories from his life. He begins with a history of the area, including the Comanche Indians, and how they influenced the naming of his hometown of Medicine Mound, Texas. These stories give us a glimpse of frontier life during the thirties and forties while growing up on a large West Texas ranch. One vivid childhood memory includes December 7, 1941, when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and forever changed life in America. After becoming friends with A. C. Greene, his college journalism teacher, Bill started an interesting career as a news reporter in several West Texas towns. Later, a desire to be his own boss led him to a new career. After graduating number one from his University of Texas Law School class in 1964, Bill returned to his home turf to practice law. He tells us of the unbelievable cases he handled-some funny and some sad-during his forty-year law career, as well as other unbelievable incidences that happened along the way.

With this book, Nancy Isenberg illuminates the origins of the women's rights movement. Rather than herald the singular achievements of the 1848 Seneca Falls convention, she examines the confluence of events and ideas--before and after 1848--that, in her view, marked the real birth of feminism. Drawing on a wide range of sources, she demonstrates that women's rights activists of the antebellum era crafted a coherent feminist critique of church, state, and family. In addition, Isenberg shows, they developed a rich theoretical tradition that influenced not only subsequent strains of feminist thought but also ideas about the nature of citizenship and rights more generally. By focusing on rights discourse and political theory, Isenberg moves beyond a narrow focus on suffrage. Democracy was in the process of being redefined in antebellum America by controversies over such volatile topics as fugitive slave laws, temperance, Sabbath laws, capital punishment, prostitution, the Mexican War, married women's property rights, and labor reform--all of which raised significant legal and constitutional questions. These pressing concerns, debated in women's rights conventions and the popular press, were inseparable from the gendered meaning of nineteenth-century citizenship.

Barbara Graham might have been a diabolical dame in a hard-boiled detective story--beautiful, sexy, and deadly. Charged alongside two male friends in the murder of an elderly widow during a botched robbery attempt, "Bloody Babs" became the third woman executed in California--after a 1953 trial that played out before standing-room-only crowds captured the imaginations of journalists, filmmakers, and death penalty opponents. Why, Kathleen A. Cairns asks, of all the capital cases in the twentieth century, did Graham's have such political resonance and staying power? Leaving aside the question of guilt or innocence--debated to this day--Cairns examines how Graham's case became a touchstone in the ongoing debate over capital punishment. While prosecutors positioned the accused woman as a femme fatale, the media came to offer a counternarrative for Graham's life highlighting her abusive and lonely beginnings. Cairns shows how Graham's case became crucial to the abolitionists of the time, who used instances of questionable guilt to raise awareness of the arbitrary and capricious nature of death penalty prosecutions. Critical in keeping capital punishment in the forefront of public consciousness until abolitionists homed in on a winning strategy, Graham's case illustrates the power of individual stories to shape wider perceptions and ultimately public policies.

Employing the unique, time-tested Examples & Explanations pedagogy, Examples & Explanations: Criminal Law combines textual material with well-written and comprehensive examples, explanations, and questions to test students’ comprehension of the materials and to provide practice in applying information to fact patterns. The questions, which often raise a variety of issues in one fact situation, are similar to those on a law school or bar examination. New to the Ninth Edition: Discussion of self-defense and police use of force issues Discussion of changes in model penal code rape law Interesting hypothetical situations based on real cases in recent years Professors and students will benefit from: Updated materials—utilizes well-known cases that have not made the appellate courts or even gone to litigation to make the material current and easily applicable Explanations include analysis of both prosecution and defense—this pedagogical approach provides valuable exam-writing skills for students Readable and accessible—often incorporates popular culture and humor to spark interest in students Highly recommended as the most popular preparation resource for Criminal Law— including by Atticus Falcon, author of Planet Law School, an orientation guide for students about to begin law school Straightforward presentation—clear, introductory text enables students to understand and apply principles Visual aids—tables and charts demonstrate legal standards and concepts

A HISTORY BOOK CLUB BESTSELLER "True crime fans will relish this thoughtful look at a murder and its aftermath that riveted a nation." — Publisher's Weekly book review "There may be no two more addicting topics to people right now than politics and true crime. Star Spangled Scandal delves into both of these—with a heavy dose of sex added in." — NPR book review “… and sir I do assure you he has as much the use of your wife as you have.” — From an anonymous note delivered to Congressman Daniel Sickles on February 24, 1859 It is two years before the Civil War, and Congressman Daniel Sickles and his lovely wife Teresa are popular fixtures in Washington, D.C. society. Their house sits on Lafayette Square across from White House grounds, and the president himself is godfather to the Sickles’ six-year-old daughter. Because Congressman Sickles is frequently out of town, he trusts his friend, U.S. Attorney Philip Barton Key—son of Francis Scott Key—to escort the beautiful Mrs. Sickles to parties in his absence. Revelers in D.C. are accustomed to the sight of the congressman’s wife with the tall, Apollo-like Philip Barton Key, who is considered “the handsomest man in all Washington society… foremost among the popular men of the capital.” Then one day an anonymous note sets into motion a tragic course of events that culminates in a shocking murder in broad daylight in Lafayette Square. This is the riveting true story of the murder and trial that sparked a national debate on madness, male honor, female virtue, fidelity, and the rule of law. Bestselling author Chris DeRose (The Presidents’ War) uses diary entries, letters, newspaper accounts, and eyewitness testimonies to bring the characters to thrilling life in this antebellum true crime history.