American Law

This book provides an introduction to the American legal system for a broad readership. Its focus is on law in practice, on the rote of the law in American society, and how the social context affects the living law of the United States. It covers the institutions of law creation and application, law in American government, American legal culture and the legal profession, American criminal and civil justice, and civil rights. Clearly written, the book has been widely used in both undergraduate and graduate courses as an introduction to the legal system; it will be useful, too, to a general audience interested in understanding how this vital social system works. This new edition, which keeps the same basic structure of earlier editions, has been revised and brought up to date, reflecting the way the legal system Fias adapted to the complex new world of the twenty-first century. "American Law is a wise and illuminating introduction to the joints and sinews of the American legal system. In a relaxed conversational voice, it delivers a complex and sophisticated view of the workings of our legal order." Marc Galanter, Professor of Law Emeritus, University of Wisconsin Law School "In this compulsively readable book, Friedman and Hayden provide an insightful and occasionally irreverent introduction to law and the legal system. For anyone who wants to understand Nit what law is and how it operates in America, this is a must read." Chris Guthrie. Dean & John Wade-Kent Syverud, Professor of Law, Vanderbilt University Law School Lawrence M. Friedman is the Marion Rice Kirkwood Professor of Law at Stanford University Law School Grant M. Hayden is a Professor of Law at SMU Dedman School of Law.