Law Books

The text was as described with no issues. The delivery was prompt and handled in a professional manner. I recommend this seller.

The authors provide a scholarly yet entertaining look behind the scenes to the expert psychological evidence in 20 renowned cases. Some of the cases involve household names - Lee Harvey Oswald, Patricia Hearst, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Hinckley Jr., Dan White, Judas Priest, Woody Allen, Mike Tyson. Others are seminal cases in which the names are less well known - the fascinating 1956 case of "mad bomber" George Metesky, credited with initiating the field of criminal profiling, the Guildford Four IRA bombing case in 1974 that led to psychological interest in false confessions (and Icelandic psychologist Gisli Gudjonsson's development of an instrument to measure interrogative suggestibility), and the case of Daryl Atkins, in which the U.S. Supreme Court abolished the death penalty for the mentally retarded.

This book is appropriate for both professionals in forensic psychology and law and also for laypeople who enjoy fact-based accounts of true crime. I assign my graduate students several chapters as examples of forensic topics. In particular, the chapter on the USS Iowa explosion, which catalogues the failure of the "equivocal death analysis" technique, is a great example of the shortcomings of forensic profiling. And the chapter on Colin Ferguson provides a vivid example of the whittling down of competency jurisprudence in the wake of the 1993 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Godinez v. Moran.

Minds on Trial is well-written, factually accurate, and educational. Yet it still works as entertaining bedtime reading. I recommend it highly.

In "Minds on Trial," the authors, Charles Patrick Ewing and Joseph McCann select 20 cases from roughly the past 50 years in which there is a fascinating intersection between law and psychology. The work initially looks like a book the casual reader may have some difficulty getting through. Such is not the case as each of the 20 cases are broken down into manageable chapters and are written in such a way so as to engage even the casual reader.

The cases that are the most fascinating include, George Metesky and the work of the psychological profiler; The Guildford Four which shows the danger of involuntary confessions; Prosenjit Poddar and Tatiana Tarasoff and the development of the requirement now known as a "Tarasoff Letter;" John Demjanjuk and vicisitude of identification testimony conducted over several year; and the USS Iowa and the failure of equivocal death analysis.

In many cases, the case comes down to a "battle of the experts" which illustrates just how important expert testimony has become in our legal system. The authors' only apparent bias aoppears to lie against those expert witnesses whose opinion is bought and sold by fee. In many of the cases, such biased experts take the hardest falls.

This excellent, thought-provoking analysis covers a widespread but little studied shift in the way the world works. The advance of international communications, technology, economics and finance networks has had an unmistakable effect on business and industry. The ways states function has also changed - shifting the operation of the world order. Author Anne-Marie Slaughter, dean of Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, is on expert ground. She asserts that networks of financiers, regulators, judges and even legislators can solve problems that would be intractable if left only to traditional states and familiar international organizations. She provides many examples of such networks, notes the criticism against them and suggests norms to govern their conduct. Her book is not light reading. Readers need some familiarity with international organizations and institutions (sometimes cited by unexplained acronyms), but we highly recommend this book to sophisticated observers of international policy.

This book is a must-read for any student of International Affairs. By providing historical and present-day examples of international and transnational relations among states, Dean Slaughter brilliantly lays the framework and provides justification for a new disaggregated, effective, and just world order. Both synoptic in organization and substantive throughout, this book will prove valuable to all readers regardless of political affiliation or school of thought.

This book is well written and up to date. I needed detailed information on shading and it was covered very well. If your new to patent drawings, this is covers the subject well.

I bought this book and Patent Pending in 24 Hours. The latter was a complete disappointment (read my review of it). This book however, was fairly detailed and answered quite a few questions for me. I am trained as a Graphic Designer. So I was very interested in doing the drawings myself on the computer. While the book focuses on traditional drawings for the most part, the information is still relevant for computer drawings. The book tells you what parts you need to draw and what to leave out. It also talks about how to shade the different elements. Which is one of the major things the examiner uses to differentiate the parts of your invention that connect or are attached. The book also goes into detail about how to label your figures and numbering of parts.
The one thing that did bother me about this book is that more than once they tell you to reference Patent It Yourself for more information. I bought this book because it implies that it will tell you everything you need to know about making patent drawings. I thought it was ridiculous that they spread the information out into their other book as a ploy to make more money. Luckily, there is enough information here to do what you need to do.
Overall I thought the book is a good collection of information. Despite the references to their other book.

I found this book to be excellent. Lot's of information and concisely written. A MUST reference if you are planning to make your own patents. Some good info on CAD drafting software, also.

On the last couple of patent applications I submitted, I ended up doing 90% of the drawings myself because it turned out to be easier than continuously having to correct the mistakes of the draftsman. My attorney said that my drawings just needed to be shaded and cleaned up a bit, and have the legends applied, but otherwise what ended up going into the applications was essentially my drawings with a few more bells and whistles. His draftsman had just put them on a light table and copied them as is. But I still had to pay for the drawings!

This book was able to get me the rest of the way there by detailing the regulations that the USPTO puts on drawings. They're not really difficult, but they ARE specific. Don't be intimidated by them. The very simple drawing style specified by the USPTO is to allow clear reproduction and printing. My attorney charges $295 per figure, and one page can have 2 or 3 figures on it! The last application we submitted had about a dozen figures total. Some of the expense is the work of integrating and describing the drawings, but it is guaranteed to save you money if you do your own drawings. Besides, this ensures that you will be satisfied with the quality and accuracy. Don't forget you can also have the draftsman do the difficult 3-D "Figure 1" bit, and you do the simpler stuff. Like me, I'll bet you'll find it easier than you thought!

I have all of David Pressman's books on patenting, you know why? Because I filed my own patent using these books. That's how good they are. They really do have step by step instructions. He also has software that helps you prepare the docs. I sort of used that as well. Again, reasonable priced, and useful. I strongly recommend these books for anyone that wants to File a Patent. They will allow you to do it yourself without an attorney.

I would NOT recommend this book for younger kids. It treats death too flippantly. Too many stories about dogs helping to find dead little girl's bodies and killers dropping bodies in places and... death on most of the pages. Judge the maturity of your kid to handle this stuff before you buy! Otherwise, the facts are interesting on things they use to solve crimes.

I did my review on Fingerprints and Talking Bones. It`s how real-life crimes are sloved. From geting the clue to U.S. crime facts this is a very good book. I recommend this book for ages 10 and up. It tells you storys of cases that was sloved related to that clue. For ex. it may say cats and have a story on how a crime was solved with the help of a cat. That is why I give this book 4 stars.

Samuel Kernell argues that Washington politics have undergone a structural change over the past half century. Traditionally, politics in Washington were conducted according to a system of mutually beneficial interactions and bargains. Kernell refers to this structure as institutionalized pluralism. Under such a system, the political elite are the ultimate decision makers. It is these elites that have access to a number of political resources that help shape and enforce their political power.
As such, this early era Washington is essentially isolated from the core constituents. Party leaders and other senior political elites offer support to candidates who will not only tow the party line, but respect the seniority system already in place. Furthermore, institutionalized pluralism supports an environment in which coalitions form the spine of the system. The coalitions often shape the options available to the early presidents. Kernell describes the role of the President; "(he) seizes the center of the Washington bazaar and actively barter's with fellow politicians to build winning coalitions. He must do so...or he will forfeit any claim to leadership" (18).
However, Washington politics has moved from a closely regulated environment of institutionalized pluralism to what Kernell refers to as individualized pluralism. A system of individual pluralism is one in which the system of strong parties, seniority and bargaining are in decline. In their stead has emerged a system of individualistic politicians which are driven not by coalition building and party support, but by maintaining the will of their constituent base. Kernell describes the institutionalized plural Washington as, "a political community constituted of independent members who have few group or institutional loyalties and who are generally less interested in sacrificing short-run, private career goals for the longer-term benefits of bargaining" (27). As such, a president is forced to deal with weakened leaders and weakened parties who may be unwilling or unable to deliver on proposed bargains.
Kernell explains the change from institutionalized to individual pluralism as the result of an increased welfare state which "increased the size of the community and created large, interested constituencies outside of Washington" (28). In other words, Washington was no longer an isolated island of political elites. Secondly, individual pluralism emerged as a result of changes to communication and transportation. The President and elites had the means to communicate directly to the people. Lastly, Kernell argues that a decline in the strength of political parties in Washington as well as nationally fueled the evolution towards individualized pluralism.
In the new era, the President and other major Washington players have evolved new leadership strategies. Going public can be described as political elites making a conscious appeal for support to their constituents, or as in the case of the President, to the nation as a whole.
Kernell explains the increase in making appeals to the public in order to garner support for views or popularity as the result of a number of developments in national politics. First, in the system of individualized pluralism, bargaining between the Executive and legislature has grown ineffective. For example, since 1956 the United States is often confronted with a divided government, one in which one party controls the legislature and the opposing party sits in the Executive office. In such situations, negotiations become difficult. Often the President cannot get his policies through and opposing Congress. As such, he calls on the people to pressure their representative into accepting the President's proposal.
Second, rather than being nominated by major political parties, presidential selection reforms have allowed ordinary voters to place their presidential choice on the ballot. Now, a President is no longer beholden to party leadership. Instead, the president is beholden to the people. As such, the President does not always feel obligated to negotiate with party leadership and may appeal to the people to pressure the party.
The ways in which the President shapes "going public" differ. Perhaps the earliest method of going public was through manipulation of the media. In an earlier era, a good deal of bargaining existed between press and President. A system of reciprocity existed. A President would exchange personal interviews for an article that leaned in favor of his proposals.
However, John Kennedy shaped a system which is still in use today. President Kennedy used live television to carry his message. With the use of such a direct medium, the president is able to shape his message with little outside influence from newspaper men, editors and others. In this way, the President had to rely on bargaining to an even less extent.
Aside from "going public" in order to garner support for policy, the President uses public appeal to garner popular support. The President does so in a number of ways. First, the President may offer a public address. The public addresses used by a President appear in two forms, major and minor. A major address allows the President to speak directly to the American people. "Of the major addresses, the most dramatic and potentially the most effective are special reports the president delivers to the nation on primetime television" (107). These addresses often accompany some sort of crisis and can develop into what Kernell calls a "rally event." Rally events often drive the President's popularity up a few points in the polls. However, it is important to note that the major address can only rarely be used as the interest of the voter wanes quickly. If the President continuously interrupts Desperate Housewives, regardless of the importance of the address, he is bound to lose 5 points with every broadcast.
The second type of address Kernell refers to is minor. The formality of the address is limited and generally the message is specified to a particular constituent group. For example, Kernell cites Ronald Regan appealing to Catholic voters in order to garner support for a school funding initiative.
Lastly, the President may go public though appearances. In this situation, the President need not say anything. His presence alone will suffice. An example of an appearance shaping popularity would be George W. Bush visiting the Twin Towers shortly after the September 11 attack. He said very little, but his presence increased his popularity.

Kernell's fine work is a wonderful addition to the scholarly literature in political science on the American presidency. It's well-written and well-organized. His insights into why, when and how presidents "go public" and take their case over the heads of congressmen to the people are informative and worthwhile. Not all of his observations fit the case studies he uses, and he sometimes exaggerates his case a bit, but overall he makes good points.

Highly recommended for scholars of the presidency, or American politics in general. Also a good book for a knowledgeable layman interested in politics.

Sam Kernell's book is a must-read for students and scholars of the American Presidency. He artfully examines how modern American Presidents seek to persuade their constituents in a media-driven political environment. He takes Richard Neustadt's Presidential Power, and adds to it a crucial blend of modern circumstances in this evaluation. It is an enoyable read, chalked full of potentially valuable information for anyone seeeking to understand the modern Presidency and its persuasive difficulties.

Kernell described "going public" as "a strategy whereby a president promotes himself and his policies in Washington by appealing to the American public for support" (p.2). Use of this strategy is said to be on the rise as it is particularly well suited to the modern president. Kernell argued that this strategy is a powerful tactic that can be used by a president to force a reluctant Congress to go along with a certain policy, but that it is incompatible with Neustadt's "bargaining president." He described several cases where the strategy was used, sometimes it worked, other times it did not, he said. The underlying premise though is that our government has moved from being institutionally pluralistic to a more individualized pluralism where every Congressman must fend for themselves (decline of party argument). One is left agreeing that public support does give a president certain leverage in bargaining with Congress, but how the support is measured or that it definitely replaces bargaining and forces Congress to act is not adequately substantiated. The book has some interesting stories on how some policies of some presidents played out in the political arena. If you like behind-the-scenes writings on policy making and president-Congress relations - buy the book.

This book takes the seemingly complicated aspects of crime scene photography and makes them much easier to understand. Along with this, the author gives numerous examples of every concept (both with illustrations in the book and examples at the website given) and also gives exercises that can be done to practice each concept. Understand, though, that this book is a text book (which most are expensive) and it is not one that can be skimmed. If you want to understand crime scene photography, you have to understand general photography concepts before moving to crime scene photography. This book accomplishes this. Included in this book are chapters on digital imaging and the legal issues that come with digital photographs (for those whose police departments can afford digital cameras)

There are many books out there on this increasingly popular field, and this one is the best I've seen! Some texts in the field, even ones updated in the last year or two, have non-existent information on digital concepts and equipment. This text covers it. The chapter contributed by Dave Witzke adds further to the substantial information presented. The chapters on photogrammetry, IR/UV photography, special situations, and legal aspects contribute to a very good foundation for grasping the concepts necessary for success in crime scene imaging. The examples of photographic theory depicted in the photographs and illustrations are very good quality, and illustrate the principles clearly. After nineteen years in the field, this one is my pick!

I was disappointed in this book. I waited so long to be able to afford it and I feel that I paid 10 times what the book is worth.

As a photography instructional book, it is mediocre. As a book to help advanced amateurs learn crime scene photography, it is next to useless.

The first chapters put me off and I skimmed the rest of the book looking for the value - I did not find it.

I am an in-house attorney for a film production company. This book is a great resource to point you in the right direction in many respects: reminders of what terms various contracts/agreements should contain, the different types of agreements common to the film industry, copyright information ... just to name a few items. Money well spent for a very focused look at legal aspects to the film industry.

This book helps anyone who wants to do or is doing anything in entertainment be on top of their game. I carry this book with me, along with my bible (that says a lot about the book right there!) I read it every chance I get and learn so much more as a Writer/Producer, about the legalities and expectations of each member of a production team. This book is necessary for a business minded person. Crowell educates the readers in the basics of entertainment law, however he does not use language that only an attorney or judge can comprehend. He breaks concepts down in bite size pieces. I have gained a better understanding of what needs to happen in pre, pro. and post production of a film and will make sure that the many areas in film making get the attention and documentation that it needs because of this book.

This book is so useful, I don't know where to begin. It's well-structured, well-researched, and I don't know where I'd be without it. The author has so much useful information, and puts it in a way a filmmaker, who doesn't speak legalese, can understand. This book gets a very high recommendation from me for sure.

Having the hindsight of producing several movies, I wish I had read this book much earlier. ANY filmmaker would benefit from reading this book as early in their career as possible and then keeping it on their shelf as an invaluable reference tool to return to again and again.

This review is specifically directed to aspiring professional screenwriters: GET THIS BOOK.

(Note I did not say "buy" this book, since, if you truly are an aspiring professional screenwriter, you're probably sucking your own body lint for food and live under a bush overlooking the Santa Monica pier.)

Yes, do whatever you have to do. Beg, borrow, steal...pawn...get this book. You've already read your Sun Tzu:

"If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt."

Hollywood was built on exploiting talent, and specifically exploiting writers. It's time we (YOU!) writers start preparing for the business side of things because gosh knows the other guys are plenty prepared already. Reading this book will make you realize three things.

1. Actually getting your great little/big screenplay made will be incredibly complicated, even if you're just selling it to someone who already knows what they're doing.

2. There are ways to make your script more attractive for producers/distributers and more lucrative for you.

3. Thom Crowell is an informative and entertaining scribe.

I had a friend of mine in negotiations with a major studio executive. True story. Wrote a little script called "Balls, No Balls II." Guy tried to get my buddy to sign a contract without an NDA. My buddy stood up, whipped out his Pocket Lawyer and KA-BLAW! Smacked that suit right in the mouth! "You want my high concept? I WILL be signing that NDA!"

Hmmm, actually this never happened. But at least I know what an NDA is now. Do you? Oh, you don't? GET THIS BOOK!

And yes, AMAZON, you do offer a very reasonable price. I suppose buying it isn't out of the question.

High Court Case Summaries does really well in getting you the information you need. It is very thorough, but concise. Definitely one of the best supplements I've found so far.

In my property class, I have used this study aid extensively. It is great at whittling down the cases into easy-to-understand briefs. However, this does *not* replace actual briefing that every law student should do. Important facts, rules, explanations, and public policy arguments are often missing from the HCCS briefs. In addition, sometimes they miss what professors are really seeking in the arguments and sometimes miss the issue entirely. However, if you are looking for a good resource to supplement your own briefing and cut through a lot of the SCOTUS and Circuit Court garble, this is a great purchase. I received a B+ in Property I (the class average was a C+) - this helped achieve the grade.

As an attorney who works with social workers on a routine basis, it is clear that professional social workers, students and others who care about the essential link between law and social work will derive substantial benefit from this solid, basic resource. LAW IN SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE reveals the connection between law and social work as perhaps no other has before. The authors' strong professional credentials and ability to write insightfully and succinctly provide the reader with a multitude of valuable information and practical tips toward pursuing social work practice with added effectiveness and efficiency.