Legal History Book List
All Titles
The Black Laws
Race and the Legal Process in Early Ohio
Beginning in 1803, the Ohio legislature enacted what came to be known as the Black Laws. These laws instituted barriers against blacks entering the state and placed limits on black testimony against whites.…
Black Lawyers, White Courts – On Sale
The Soul of South African Law
In the struggle against apartheid, one often overlooked group of crusaders was the coterie of black lawyers who overcame the Byzantine system that the government established oftentimes explicitly to block the paths of its black citizens from achieving justice.…
Closing Arguments
Clarence Darrow on Religion, Law, and Society
By Clarence Darrow
Edited by S. T. Joshi
Clarence Darrow, son of a village undertaker and coffinmaker, rose to become one of America's greatest attorneys—and surely its most famous. The Ohio native gained renown for his central role in momentous trials, including his 1924 defense of Leopold and Loeb and his defense of Darwinian principles in the 1925 Scopes “Monkey Trial.…
Democratic Reform in Africa
Its Impact on Governance and Poverty Alleviation
Edited by Muna Ndulo
Democratic reform in Africa has been slow, difficult, and at times painful. Nevertheless, sufficient time has passed for those interested in political and economic development to assess what progress, if any, Africa has made in addressing the need for the consolidation of democratic reform and the resolution of considerable developmental challenges.…
The Fairer Death
Executing Women in Ohio
Women on death row are such a rarity that, once condemned, they may be ignored and forgotten. Ohio, a typical, middle-of-the-road death penalty state, provides a telling example of this phenomenon. The Fairer Death: Executing Women in Ohio explores Ohio’s experience with the death penalty for women and reflects on what this experience reveals about the death penalty for women throughout the nation.…
Frontiers of Freedom
Cincinnati’s Black Community 1802–1868
Nineteenth-century Cincinnati was northern in its geography, southern in its economy and politics, and western in its commercial aspirations. While those identities presented a crossroad of opportunity for native whites and immigrants, African Americans endured economic repression and a denial of civil rights, compounded by extreme and frequent mob violence.…
The History of Indiana Law
Edited by David J. Bodenhamer and Randall T. Shepard
Long regarded as a center for middle-American values, Indiana is also a cultural crossroads that has produced a rich and complex legal and constitutional heritage. The History of Indiana Law traces this history through a series of expert articles by identifying the themes that mark the state’s legal development and establish its place within the broader context of the Midwest and nation.…
The History of Michigan Law
Edited by Paul Finkelman and Martin J. Hershock
The History of Michigan Law offers the first serious survey of Michigan's rich legal past. Michigan legislators have played a leading role in developing modern civil rights law, protecting the environment, and assuring the right to counsel for those accused of crimes.…
The History of Nebraska Law
Edited by Alan G. Gless
In the aftermath of the Civil War, legislators in the Nebraska Territory grappled with the responsibility of forming a state government as well as with the larger issues of reconstructing the Union, protecting civil rights, and redefining federal-state relations.…
The History of Ohio Law
By Michael Les Benedict and John F. Winkler
History of Ohio Law is a complete sourcebook on the origin and development of Ohio law and its relationship to society. A model for work in this field, it is the starting point for any investigation of the subject.…
The Lê Code
Law in Traditional Vietnam
By Ngọc Huy Nguyễn, Tài Văn Ta and Binh Tu Tran
The Lê Code: Law in Traditional Vietnam is the first English translation of the penal code produced by Vietnam’s Lê Dynasty (1428-1788). The code itself was the culmination of a long process of political, social and legal development that extended into the period of the succeeding Nguyen Dynasty and, in many respects, into the twentieth century.…
Noble Purposes
Nine Champions of the Rule of Law
Edited by Norman Gross
Throughout the history of the United States, the acts of a few have proved to be turning points in the way our legal system has treated the least of us. The nine individuals whose deeds are recounted have compelling stories, and though they remain unknown to the general public, their commitment to the rule of law has had a lasting impact on our nation.…
A Place of Recourse
A History of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, 1803-2003
The first history of a federal district court in a midwestern state, A Place of Recourse explains a district court's function and how its mission has evolved. The court has grown from an obscure institution adjudicating minor debt and land disputes to one that plays a central role in the political, economic, and social lives of southern Ohioans.…
The Post-Apartheid Constitutions
Perspectives on South Africa's Basic Law
Edited by Penelope Andrews and Stephen Ellmann
Offering a unique range of perspectives on South Africa's interim and final constitutions, this collection of essays by scholars, lawyers, and political leaders illuminates the many issues of process, substance, and context presented by the constitutions.…
The Rescue of Joshua Glover
A Fugitive Slave, the Constitution, and the Coming of the Civil War
On March 11, 1854, the people of Wisconsin prevented agents of the federal government from carrying away the fugitive slave, Joshua Glover. Assembling in mass outside the Milwaukee courthouse, they demanded that the federal officers respect his civil liberties as they would those of any other citizen of the state.…
