This engaging and accessible book focuses on high-profile criminal trials and examines the strategy of the lawyers, the reasons for conviction or acquittal, as well as the social importance of these famous cases.

The authors of this work have assembled the background to a selection of leading cases in English law. From the Mareva case (synonymous with a type of injunction) to Lord Denning's classic ruling in the High Trees House case (the turning point for equitable estoppel).

Slavery, segregation, abortion, workers' rights, the power of the courts. These issues have been at the heart of the greatest constitutional controversies in American history. And in this concise and thought-provoking volume, some of today's most distinguished legal scholars and commentators explain for a general audience how five landmark Supreme Court cases centered on those controversies shaped the country's destiny and continue to affect us even now. The book is a profound exploration of the Supreme Court's importance to America's social and political life. It is also, as many of the contributors show, an intriguing reflection of what some have seen as an important trend in legal scholarship away from an uncritical belief in the essentially benign nature of judicial power. Robert George opens with an illuminating survey of the themes that unite and divide the five cases. Other contributors then examine each case in detail through a lively commentary-and-response format. Mark Tushnet and Jeremy Waldron exchange views on Marbury v. Madison, the pivotal 1803 case that established the power of the courts to invalidate legislation. Cass Sunstein and James McPherson discuss Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), the notorious case that confirmed the rights of slaveowners, declared that black people could not be American citizens, and is often seen as a cause of the Civil War. Hadley Arkes and Donald Drakeman explore the legacy of Lochner v. New York (1905), a case that ushered in decades of judicial hostility to social welfare laws. Earl Maltz and Walter Murphy assess Brown v. Topeka Board of Education (1954), the famous case that ended racial segregation in public schools. Finally, Jean Bethke Elshtain and George Will tackle Roe v. Wade (1973), still a flashpoint a quarter of a century later in the debate over abortion. While some of the contributors show sympathy for strong judicial interventions on social issues, many across the ideological spectrum are sharply critical of judicial activism. A compelling introduction to the greatest cases in U.S. constitutional law, this is also an enlightening glimpse of the state of the art in American legal scholarship.

Certain criminal cases have a life of their own. Despite the passage of years they continue their hold on the public imagination, either because of the personalities involved, the depravity of the crime, doubts over whether justice was done, or the tantalizing fact that no one was ever caught... Now John Douglas, the foremost investigative analyst and criminal profiler of our time, turns his attention to eight of the greatest mysteries in the history of crime, including those of Jack the Ripper, The Boston Strangler and JonBenet Ramsey. Taking a fresh look at the established facts, Douglas and Olshaker dismantle the conventional wisdom regarding these most notorious of crimes and rebuild them - with astonishing results.

Including the Scott Peterson and Chandra Levy CasesA certifiable genius, Wecht has earned degrees both in medicine and the law, but his great passion...is the ever illusive commodity, justice.... [I]f it's an objective opinion you desire, predicated on facts gleaned from forensic science, then Dr. Cyril Wecht is your man. If it's the truth you want in a murder case, he'll give you his conclusions without regard to politics or profit, in fact he often works pro bono. If I'm ever unjustly accused, he's the first one I'm going to call.- IntellectualConservative.comYoung people drawn to the broad fields of criminal justice, medicine, or science will be fascinated by the forensic findings presented here. The thought-provoking cases span 40 years of renowned pathologist Wecht's career....[T]his chatty yet analytical book is written to appeal to laypersons, and it does. Its whodunit aspect is magnetic.- School Library JournalDr. Wecht's evalutions of the evidence in the Gander Airplane Crash, which claimed the lives of 248 American soldiers, and in the police custody death of Jonny Gammage, as well as in the deaths of Laci Peterson and Chandra Levy, raise very troubling questions about compromised investigations that the country's leading forensic pathologist-attorney-coroner uniquely addresses.- Michael Baden, M.D., Former Chief Medical Examiner, New York City and co-author with Linda Kenney of the thriller Remains SilentDr. Wecht is a world renowned pathologist. Reading this book is like being on one adventure after another. For those interested in true crime, you must read this book!- Dr. Henry C. Lee, Author of Cracking Cases and Cracking More Cases and professor of forensic science at the University of New HavenWas Scott Peterson convicted of murdering Laci Peterson based upon circumstantial evidence alone? Did Washington intern Chandra Levy know her killer?In Tales from the Morgue, Dr. Cyril Wecht, one of the most sought-after forensic pathologists in the world, shares his insights and scientific expertise on nine cases that he has officially investigated - high-profile cases as well as other lesser-known but highly intriguing mysteries. Dr. Wecht takes the reader inside some of the nation's most bizarre and intriguing medico-legal investigations and shows how forensic scientists help to solve crimes - and why they sometimes fail in their efforts. His vast experience and his willingness to take on the establishment if necessary and provide proof that runs counter to popular opinion make this book a page-turner.Cyril H. Wecht, M.D., J.D., one of the world's leading pathologists, is the author of Mortal Evidence, Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey?, Grave Secrets, Cause of Death, and hundreds of professional publications. He has served as president of both the American College of Legal Medicine and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, and has appeared on numerous nationally syndicated television programs including NBC's Dateline, Larry King Live, 20/20, Burden of Proof, and many others.Mark Curriden is the senior communications counsel for Vinson & Elkins, LLP; the former legal writer for The Dallas Morning News and The Atlanta Constitution; and a co-author of Mortal Evidence.Angela Powell, former columnist and children's book reviewer for The Dallas Morning News, is now a freelance publicist.

From the trials of Oscar Pistorius to O. J. Simpson and Michael Jackson, this innovative book provides a critical review of 11 high profile criminal cases. It delivers an accessible examination of the sociological and psychological processes underpinning the construction of guilt and innocence in criminal trials, the media and wider society.