In this study, a general model is developed for judicial assessment of equal treatment cases. The model is based on theoretical research after the standards that should be used in assessing cases against the general principle of equal treatment, supplemented by an elaborate comparative analysis of the equal treatment case law in various legal systems. The result of this approach is an assessment model that is both theoretically sound and workable in practice. The use of the model by the courts will improve judicial reasoning and enhance the legitimacy of equal treatment case law.

After a successful career as a law professor and government regulator, William O. Douglas was appointed to the Supreme Court by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939. During his thirty-six years on the court, he became known as one of its most outspoken and controversial members. In this volume, which was originally published for the William O. Douglas Institute, distinguished scholars examine four major aspects of Justice Douglas's work: his relations with his colleagues; his views on civil liberties, which primarily led to his reputation as a liberal; his stance as an environmentalist; and his views as an internationalist.