Vol. 5 No. 2 (February, 1995) pp. 50-52

SPECIAL ISSUE, JUDICIAL PROCESS TEXTS
Michael W. McCann, Editor

INTRODUCTION TO LAW & THE LEGAL SYSTEM (5th) by Harold J. Grilliot and Frank A. Schubert. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1992. 648 pp. Cloth $44.00.

Reviewed by John Culver, Department of Political Science, California Polytechnic State University.

The first three editions of this text were written by the late Harold J. Grilliot. Following his death in the mid-1980s, Frank Schubert of Northeastern University's College of Criminal Justice assumed responsibility for the subsequent editions, including a new one which will be available in early 1996.

This is a comprehensive text written from a legal and institutional perspective. In the preface, Schubert says that the book is designed to allow students to understand the "strengths and weaknesses of law" and that readers "can decide for themselves whether the lawmaking institutions -- the legislative, executive, judicial and administrative agencies -- are dealing adequately with social and business problems" (p. xxi). These goals are to be fulfilled as students analyze the cases included in each chapter.

The strength of the text lies with these cases for they illustrate key points made by the author and demonstrate how legal concepts are operationalized in judicial decisions. Unlike some case-oriented texts that have students jump from one lengthy case decision to another without any narrative explanation, Schubert has carefully abridged them and provided the necessary linkage on their importance; few of the cases go beyond three pages. The cases, which are varied and well chosen, are then followed by several questions designed to encourage students to think about the application of the law and the consequences of the decisions. Some of the questions turn on narrow points of the law. For example, in discussing civil procedure, Schubert has several paragraphs on "Notifying the Defendant," followed by DORSEY v. GREGG, a decision handed down by the court of appeals in Oregon in 1988. One of the three questions at the end of the case asks, "Why did the Oregon Court of Appeals rule that the alternative service of process was invalid?" (p. 107). Other case questions lead directly to larger and more controversial issues. Thus, after a page on "Other Pretrial Procedures," a 1987 courts of appeals decision from South Carolina is included. One of the case questions asks, "The media often depicts courtroom lawyers using surprise witnesses and evidence. In reality, thorough discovery usually destroys any possibility of surprise. Is this good or bad? Exhaustive discovery is very expensive. One party will frequently be able to afford more discovery than his or her opponent. Does this change your mind about the value of discovery?" (p. 117).

One other example shows the diversity of cases in the text. In the chapter on Judicial Decision Making, Schubert addresses precedent and the absence of precedent in one subsection. The case he employs to illustrate how unique situations can be translated into new laws is STRUNK v. STRUNK, a 1969 decision handed down by the court of appeals in Kentucky. This is an intriguing case involving the legality of removing a kidney from a mentally incompetent man for transplant into his brother who is suffering from a fatal kidney disease. A divided court found this acceptable. In one of the questions

Page 51 follows:

posed about the decision, Schubert asks, "Does the decision make mental institutions a storehouse of human bodies available for distribution to the more productive members of society whenever the state decides that someone's need outweighs the danger to the incompetent?" (p. 191). This is the stuff from which stimulating class discussions can be had.

The first chapter of most any textbook is critical for it is here where students are initially excited or let down by what follows. One of the advantages in teaching about law and the legal system is that the vast majority of students begin with an interest in the subject matter by virtue of their own experiences, career ambitions, popular movies and novels on things legal, and news accounts of controversies in the courts. Schubert covers considerable conceptual ground in his introductory chapter with its focus on ways of thinking about law, different types of law, the objectives of law, and the sources of law. This chapter also shows students how to brief cases. Diligent students will realize that, unlike their preconceptions about law and justice, there is a theoretical domain that has important signposts for future travel in this material. Virtually all of the chapters that follow can be built on the foundation laid in this chapter.

The next six chapters cover material found in the ten or so mainstay texts associated with Legal Process-Law and Society courses: the Judicial System, Civil Procedure, Judicial Decision Making, and Criminal Law and Procedure. However, chapters on Limitations in Seeking Relief ( Ch. IV) and Judicial Remedies (Ch.. VI) distinguish this text from others. The subsequent seven chapters are much more specialized, covering such topics as Contracts, Property, Torts, Administrative Law, Employment and Discrimination, and Antitrust. The concluding chapter is devoted to alternative dispute resolution. The Antitrust chapter will be replaced in the forthcoming sixth edition with one on Family Law. This should be a welcome revision.

The text is too legalistic for my undergraduate course in Judicial Process. There is nothing wrong with the legalistic emphasis. Indeed, were I to stress this, rather than a political orientation, this book would be fine. But, I wish Frank Schubert would weave some of what Glendon Schubert has written about the law, the judiciary, judicial behavior, and influences on judicial decision making into these chapters. Topics common to many texts such as the politics of judicial appointments, the politics of the legal profession, jury behavior, and the dimensions of judicial policymaking are not discussed in any depth. This is a mild criticism but a significant one for me when it comes to choosing from competing texts. At my institution, our Business Department offers a Government Regulation of Business course which is taught from a legalistic perspective. This text would work well in that course or similar ones such as the Legal Environment of Business or Introduction to Law. Social science faculty who are grounded in a case approach will be comfortable with this text.

Earlier I said this was a comprehensive and complete text. It is also a serious one that demonstrates sound scholarship both in reference to the substantive issues and the

Page 52 follows:

level of writing. Schubert, a law school graduate, moves from one subtopic to another easily, with the chapter cases illustrating important points of law. A number of charts serve as welcome visuals to show the stages in the processing of criminal and civil cases, variations in judicial remedies, and, among others, the organization of federal agencies. While there are no summaries at the end of each chapter, students are presented with a list of important terms and a number of situations from which Schubert asks whether a court's decision was correct, the persuasiveness of a dissenting opinion, and whether a collateral issue would be covered by the court's decision. The book is quite complete. In addition to its fourteen chapters, there is a glossary of legal terms, chapter boxes on law in an international context, and suggested readings following each of the numerous abridged case decisions. A Study Guide and an Instructor's Resource Manual (with a test bank) are also available.

The fact that a new edition of INTRODUCTION TO LAW & THE LEGAL SYSTEM will be out soon speaks well of its popularity with faculty and students. Faculty can appreciate its rigor and students should emerge with new insights into legal reasoning. While all textbooks are overpriced, and the fifth edition is priced at the high end, this text is still a value given the breadth and depth of its contents.


Copyright 1995