What is law? This question has preoccupied philosophers from Plato to Thomas Hobbes to H. L. A. Hart. Yet many others find it perplexing. How could we possibly know how to answer such an abstract question? And what would be the point of doing so? In Legality, Scott Shapiro argues that the question is not only meaningful but vitally important. In fact, many of the most pressing puzzles that lawyers confront—including who has legal authority over us and how we should interpret constitutions, statutes, and cases—will remain elusive until this grand philosophical question is resolved. Shapiro draws on recent work in the philosophy of action to develop an original and compelling answer to this age-old question. Breaking with a long tradition in jurisprudence, he argues that the law cannot be understood simply in terms of rules. Legal systems are best understood as highly complex and sophisticated tools for creating and applying plans. Shifting the focus of jurisprudence in this way—from rules to plans—not only resolves many of the most vexing puzzles about the nature of law but has profound implications for legal practice as well. Written in clear, jargon-free language, and presupposing no legal or philosophical background, Legality is both a groundbreaking new theory of law and an excellent introduction to and defense of classical jurisprudence.

Matthew Whitaker came to Washington to serve as chief of staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and following Sessions’s resignation, he was appointed Acting Attorney General of the United States. A former football player at the University of Iowa who had been confirmed by the Senate as a U.S. Attorney, Whitaker was devoted to the ideals of public service and the rule of law. But what he found when he led the Department of Justice on behalf of President Trump were bureaucratic elites with an agenda all their own. The Department of Justice had been steered off course by a Deep State made up of Washington insiders who saw themselves as above the law. Recklessly inverting, bending, and breaking the law to achieve their own political goals, they relentlessly undermined the Constitution by flaunting the rightful authority of a President they despised. Whitaker was an outsider with a desire to see justice done and democracy work. In his straightforward new book, Above the Law, he provides a stunning account of what he found in the swamp that is Washington. Whitaker reveals: • How former FBI Director James Comey and top figures in the Justice Department openly worked against President Trump • How the Deep State relies on the complicity of the mainstream media to achieve its ends • How the Deep State—drawing on elite universities and corporate law firms—perpetuates itself, keeping a small clique of people in power to ensure that nothing ever changes • How Robert Mueller’s investigation into alleged Russian collusion quickly concluded there was no evidence of wrong- doing by the President or his campaign but nevertheless produced a massive report that was intended as an act of political subversion If you had any doubts that the Deep State actually exists, that it perpetuates a government of insiders, and that it inexorably pursues a political agenda of its own, then you will find Whitaker’s first-person account eye-opening and utterly convincing.

Publisher Description

This book explores the critical role of law in protecting - and protecting against - religious beliefs in American health care.

An urgent, compact manifesto that will teach you how to protect your rights, your freedom, and your future when talking to police. Law professor James J. Duane became a viral sensation thanks to a 2008 lecture outlining the reasons why you should never agree to answer questions from the police--especially if you are innocent and wish to stay out of trouble with the law. In this timely, relevant, and pragmatic new book, he expands on that presentation, offering a vigorous defense of every citizen's constitutionally protected right to avoid self-incrimination. Getting a lawyer is not only the best policy, Professor Duane argues, it's also the advice law-enforcement professionals give their own kids. Using actual case histories of innocent men and women exonerated after decades in prison because of information they voluntarily gave to police, Professor Duane demonstrates the critical importance of a constitutional right not well or widely understood by the average American. Reflecting the most recent attitudes of the Supreme Court, Professor Duane argues that it is now even easier for police to use your own words against you. This lively and informative guide explains what everyone needs to know to protect themselves and those they love.