Historic U.S. Court Cases

Historic U.S. Court Cases offers 201 signed essays by political scientists, historians, and legal scholars that highlight major legal issues in five thematic areas: crime and criminal law; governmental organization, power, and procedure; economics and economic regulation; race, gender, sexual orientation, and disability; and civil liberties. Essays generally focus on one or two U.S. Supreme Court cases, although influential cases decided by lower federal courts, the colonial courts, and state courts are also covered. These range from the 1692 Salem witchcraft trials to the O.J. Simpson criminal and civil trials in California state court in the mid-1990s. Landmark cases are the subject of a number of the essays (e.g., Miranda v. Arizona, Roe v. Wade), but many lesser-known cases that are representative of a large body of litigation are included, as well as some, like Jerry Tarkanian's suit against the NCAA, that show "eccentricities in the American legal past."

Essays are arranged chronologically within each thematic area and provide the historical and social context, as well as the case's legal significance. Each essay begins with "the case in brief," which outlines the date, location, court, principal participants, and significance of the case. The essays vary in length from 1,000 words for "lesser" cases to 2,000 words for cases of "medium-level significance" and 5,000 words for cases of "monumental importance." Each concludes with a brief bibliography. Following the entries are an index of cases and a subject and name index.

This edition contains 43 new essays, half treating cases decided since the publication of the first edition in 1992 and half analyzing older cases. United States v. Microsoft Corporation, Bush v. Gore, and Clinton v. Jones are among the topics of new essays. Most of the essays included in the first edition have been updated by the authors. Format changes in the second edition make it more readable, and the new "Case in Brief" feature offers the user a quick overview. Students and researchers in political science and history, as well as law, will find the encyclopedia useful, and it is recommended for public, academic, and law school libraries.