Law and society scholars challenge the common belief that law is simply a neutral tool by which society sets standards and resolves disputes. Decades of research shows how much the nature of communities, organizations, and the people inhabiting them affect how law works. Just as much, law shapes beliefs, behaviors, and wider social structures, but the connections are much more nuanced-and surprising-than many expect. Law and Society Reader II provides readers an accessible overview to the breadth of recent developments in this research tradition, bringing to life the developments in this dynamic field. Following up a first Law and Society Reader published in 1995, editors Erik W. Larson and Patrick D. Schmidt have compiled excerpts of 43 illuminating articles published since 1993 in The Law & Society Review, the flagship journal of the Law and Society Association. By its organization and approach, this volume enables readers to join in discussing the key ideas of law and society research. The selections highlight the core insights and developments in this research tradition, making these works indispensable for those exploring the field and ideal for classroom use. Across six concisely-introduced sections, this volume analyzes inequality, lawyering, the relation between law and organizations, and the place of law in relation to other social institutions.
Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 Erik Larson and Patrick Schmidt Part I: Inequalities Does Law Benefit Those with the Most Resources? 7 1. Do the "Haves" Still Come Out Ahead? 13 Joel B. Grossman, Herbert M. Kritzer, and Stewart Macaulay 2. The Rule of Law and the Litigation Process: The Paradox of Losing by Winning 16 Catherine Albiston 3. The Good Case: Decisions to Litigate at the World Trade Organization 24 Joseph A. Conti How Do Authority and Power Influence the Implementation of Law? 4. Convictability and Discordant Locales: Reproducing Race, Class, and Gender Ideology in Prosecutorial Decisionmaking 35 Lisa Frohmann 5. The Reconstitution of Law in Local Settings: Agency Discretion, Ambiguity, and a Surplus of Law in the Policing of Hate Crime 42 Ryken Grattet and Valerie Jenness Can Rights-Based Litigation Address Inequalities? 6. Popular Constitutionalism's Hard When You're Not Very Popular: Why the ACLU Turned to Courts 55 Emily Zackin 7. Beyond Backlash: Assessing the Impact of Judicial Decisions on LGBT Rights 62 Thomas M. Keck For Full Description Visit: http://nyupress.org/webchapters/larson_toc.pdf
