... by seamen in court proceedings. Specifically, it explores a series of crimes (ranging from assault and murder to maiming, mutiny, and revolt) that were heard in the federal courts between 1790 and 1861. Conway Joseph discipline cruel and unusual punishment and Flood John Lorena vessel maritime culture...

... seamen and the nation in the years prior to the Civil War. Antebellum America developed a system to define itself through the federal courts and consuls that tackled maritime cases. citizenship consuls’ role in defining Constitution of the United States citizenship and consuls ad hoc nature of duels...

...This chapter reviews a controversy about forensic DNA testing that ran for several years in the late 1980s and early 1990s and which was brought to a head in the legal domain, particularly in contested admissibility hearings in U.S. state and federal courts. The key issue was whether DNA profiling...

... of the link between individual judges and fields of legal policy. The chapter turns to the landscape of specialization in the federal and state court systems. A significant portion of the work of federal courts is handled by specialized bodies. Finally, an overview of the other chapters included in the book...

...This chapter explores the federal courts that address disputes between government and private parties. It is organized in terms of three major roles of government on economic matters: Obtaining revenue, expending money, and regulating the economy. The overlap in jurisdiction between the claims...

... the federal courts. By appointing a majority of rights-based liberals deferential to presidential power, Roosevelt ensured that the Supreme Court would be receptive to civil rights claims, especially when those claims had the support of the executive branch....

... outside legal encroachment upon their authority, and adapted their methods of labor control to conform to the letter of the law and to their reputation as the source of all authority at sea. The resulting dialogue among seafarers, their officers, and the federal courts formed the basis for delineating...

...This chapter addresses the federal courts that deal with issues relating to foreign policy and national security. Five categories of courts are presented: overseas courts, military courts, military tribunals, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Courts, and Removal Courts. The overseas courts resulted...

... must never become a one-way ratchet that expands but never contracts. The Supreme Court's habeas decisions have provided guideposts for fair detention and judicial review policies. The latest empirical research showed that the lower federal courts currently serve exactly the core functions...

...Congress and the president are not the only branches that deal with fiscal issues in times of war. This book focuses on the role of federal courts in fiscal matters during warfare and high-cost national defense emergencies. It argues that a judicial power of the purse becomes evident upon examining...