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Calavita adds 2nd edition of her classic U.S. Immigration Law and the Control of Labor
Reagan’s 1986 immigration reform law offered a composite of contradictory measures: sanctions curtailed employment of undocumented workers while other programs enhanced labor supply. Immigration law today continues the theme of contradictions and unmet goals. But hasn’t it always been so? Examining a century of U.S. immigration laws, from the nation’s early stages of industrialization to enactment of the quota system, Calavita explores the hypocrisy, subtext, and racism permeating an unrelenting influx of European labor. Now in its second edition, this groundbreaking book offers a materialist theory of the state to explain the zigzaggingpolicies that alternately encouraged and ostensibly were meant to control the influx. The author adds a 2020 Preface…
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Dundes’ Cracking Jokes analyzes sick humor as cultural signs; adds new foreword by Marc Galanter
This is a candid academic treatment of offensive and sick humor by the leading folklorist scholar on the topic of jokes and joke cycles. It features insightful, surprising, controversial and thought-provoking analyses of the jokes that have been told for years, throughout various cultures. Now in a 30th Anniversary Edition with new foreword. “No piece of folklore continues to be transmitted unless it means something—even if neither the speaker nor the audience can articulate what that meaning might be. In fact, it usually is essential that the joke’s meaning not be crystal clear. If people knew what they were communicating when they told jokes, the jokes would cease to be…
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Aviva Orenstein pens novel Fat Chance about a zaftig lawyer lucky at work but not so much at home and play
Confident at work but clueless at love, Claire is 40 and overweight—not a recipe she imagines can solve the romance gap. Dealing with her father’s death and an angry teen doesn’t make it easier. Finding no help from her ex, who is distracted by remarriage to a much younger woman, Claire copes by relying on a faithful circle of friends, a wicked sense of humor, and a new interest in fitness. When Claire meets Rob, a beguiling, slightly pudgy man at the gym, there is an instant connection. Just maybe she can haul the composure she finds at work into the gym with her. Or is it fat chance for…
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Michael Meltsner pens compelling novel of death and secrets in the civil rights-era South
A life-changing crime story, Mosaic brings to life the compelling story of the 60s murder of a charismatic woman doctor who courted danger trying to dismantle a racially segregated healthcare system in a large southern city. The search for who ordered the killing takes civil rights lawyer Christopher North to the centers of power, where a government intervention goes deadly wrong. It also forces him to confront the meaning of revenge—she wasn’t just a client to him—for a crime that occurs at the intersection of hate and greed. . “Michael Meltsner’s hot exploration of a cold murder case is a gripping who-done-it, accompanied by brilliant insights into racial neuroses of…
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Wasby’s rich study of visiting judges on the federal courts of appeals tracks an understudied but common practice
In the first systematic examination of the role and impact of visiting judges, Borrowed Judges analyzes the U.S. courts of appeals’ use of judges who visit from other circuits and in-circuit district judges, along with the courts’ own senior judges. It shows the considerable variation in the extent to which these judges are used and their role in writing the law of the circuit. It also shows whether their presence affects courts in rehearing cases en banc and whether the U.S. Supreme Court grants review. The study draws on insightful interviews with judges, their statements both public and within the court, and empirical data gathered by the author. “This fascinating work provides…
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Wester’s book Land Divided By Law explores environmental history of Yakama Indians in Pacific Northwest
Wester’s environmental history of Yakama and Euro-American cultural interactions during the 19th and early 20th century explores the role of law in both curtailing and promoting rights to subsistence resources within a market economy. Her study, using original source files, case histories, and contemporary writings, particularly describes how the struggle to assert treaty rights both sprang from and impacted the daily lives of the Yakama people. The study is now widely available in this new paperback (and digital) edition, adding a 2014 foreword by Harry N. Scheiber, professor of law and history at Berkeley. This book, he writes, “is a masterful study of the complex, extended series of confrontations between…
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Norris’ Liberal Opinions shares the life of a judge and lawyer who made a difference
Author of the controversial but prescient judicial opinion striking down the ban on gays in the military — two decades before the Supreme Court finally recognized such equal rights — Bill Norris made law and waves on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Yet his legal and civic life before and after, though less well known, is equally the measure of the man. This is his autobiography: a reminiscing about a life in the law and politics. “Bill Norris tells his American story — growing up in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, then rising to legal, judicial and political heights in post-war California. His zest for life comes off every page as…
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Raskin explores the beauty and function of seashells in a colorful new book
The poet Pablo Neruda kept a box of seashells on his desk for inspiration and was in awe of their beauty. But does that beauty serve a survival function for the mollusk that produced it? Does it help to attract a mate, to capture prey, to ward off predators? If not, does that very beauty defy the principle that ‘Nature does nothing in vain’? In addressing these basic questions, Raskin discusses a controversial answer that many will find intriguing. This little book on seashells, with its many photos, will deepen your appreciation of their beauty — and invite you to consider nature in a light you may never have expected.…
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The Process and Pluses of Becoming a Civil Law Notary
Now in a revised and updated 2023-2024 edition: Louisiana civil law notaries enjoy functions, responsibilities, and earning potential unmatched in any other state — and reserved there to attorneys. Louisiana notaries wield the power not just to verify signatures but also to create the legal papers they notarize, including affidavits, donations, powers of attorney, and even wills and trusts. And so much more, with no educational requirement beyond high school … but a state exam that is famously challenging. The entire process to become a notary is difficult, and wrapped in some mystery. This book is helpful if you’re in the beginning stages of becoming a notary public. Or just…
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Lawrence Friedman’s new Frank May Mystery has him confronting Stanford professors and their bad prose
Frank May’s practice leans heavily to estate planning. Murder cases are way out of his line. But when his client, Stanford law professor Peter Prosser, is found murdered at home, Frank becomes deeply entangled in yet another violent death. Prosser had been writing a detective novel; Frank has the only copy of the manuscript, minus the crucial last chapter. Far from a literary masterpiece, the novel features the (thinly disguised) members of the Soames family, the family of Prosser’s ex-wife — and even a pudgy character based on Frank himself. Can this badly-written novel tell us why Prosser died and who killed him? Mysteriously, real-life events start paralleling events in…
