Ebook346 pages8 hours
Distorting the Law: Politics, Media, and the Litigation Crisis
By William Haltom and Michael McCann
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
()
About this ebook
In recent years, stories of reckless lawyers and greedy citizens have given the legal system, and victims in general, a bad name. Many Americans have come to believe that we live in the land of the litigious, where frivolous lawsuits and absurdly high settlements reign.
Scholars have argued for years that this common view of the depraved ruin of our civil legal system is a myth, but their research and statistics rarely make the news. William Haltom and Michael McCann here persuasively show how popularized distorted understandings of tort litigation (or tort tales) have been perpetuated by the mass media and reform proponents. Distorting the Law lays bare how media coverage has sensationalized lawsuits and sympathetically portrayed corporate interests, supporting big business and reinforcing negative stereotypes of law practices.
Based on extensive interviews, nearly two decades of newspaper coverage, and in-depth studies of the McDonald's coffee case and tobacco litigation, Distorting the Law offers a compelling analysis of the presumed litigation crisis, the campaign for tort law reform, and the crucial role the media play in this process.
Scholars have argued for years that this common view of the depraved ruin of our civil legal system is a myth, but their research and statistics rarely make the news. William Haltom and Michael McCann here persuasively show how popularized distorted understandings of tort litigation (or tort tales) have been perpetuated by the mass media and reform proponents. Distorting the Law lays bare how media coverage has sensationalized lawsuits and sympathetically portrayed corporate interests, supporting big business and reinforcing negative stereotypes of law practices.
Based on extensive interviews, nearly two decades of newspaper coverage, and in-depth studies of the McDonald's coffee case and tobacco litigation, Distorting the Law offers a compelling analysis of the presumed litigation crisis, the campaign for tort law reform, and the crucial role the media play in this process.
Related to Distorting the Law
Related ebooks
Law and Public Choice: A Critical Introduction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Economics and the Law: From Posner to Postmodernism and Beyond - Second Edition Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Working Law: Courts, Corporations, and Symbolic Civil Rights Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Accidental History of the U.S. Immigration Courts: War, Fear, and the Roots of Dysfunction Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNone of Your Damn Business: Privacy in the United States from the Gilded Age to the Digital Age Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Yale Law Journal: Volume 124, Number 8 - June 2015 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Torts: Majority Rule Cases Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Modern Legal Ethics: Adversary Advocacy in a Democratic Age Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5The Cult of the Constitution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Criminal Capital: How the Finance Industry Facilitates Crime Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJustice Without Trial: Law Enforcement in Democratic Society Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hot Topics in the Legal Profession: 2017 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCyber Law: A Legal Arsenal for Online Business Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRegulatory Rights: Supreme Court Activism, the Public Interest, and the Making of Constitutional Law Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Spirit of International Law Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShameless: The Fight for Adoption Disclosure and the Search for My Son Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Expert Witness Handbook Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMisdemeanorland: Criminal Courts and Social Control in an Age of Broken Windows Policing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHarvard Law Review: Volume 130, Number 1 - November 2016 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Secrets of Law Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYale Law Journal: Volume 124, Number 4 - January-February 2015 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEvidence of the Law: Proving Legal Claims Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Business Law in California Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWinning with Financial Damages Experts: A Guide for Litigators Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJudicial Politics in Polarized Times Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWho Owns the News?: A History of Copyright Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGoverning Security: The Hidden Origins of American Security Agencies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPrivacy in Context: Technology, Policy, and the Integrity of Social Life Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5With Liberty and Justice for Some: How the Law Is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rights Revolution: Lawyers, Activists, and Supreme Courts in Comparative Perspective Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice For You
Drafting Applications Under CPC and CrPC: An Essential Guide for Young Lawyers and Law Students Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You Report to Me: Accountability for the Failing Administrative State Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUnelected Power: The Quest for Legitimacy in Central Banking and the Regulatory State Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Register for Recording Purchases and Supplies of Dangerous Drugs Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAn Introduction to Animal Law Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKAM: the Commercial Law Benchbook Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Voice for Human Rights Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5US Citizenship Test Study Guide 2023 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Drafting Written Statements: An Essential Guide under Indian Law Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBar Review Companion: Civil Law: Anvil Law Books Series, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Expert Guide to Your Life in Switzerland Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHandbook of Commercial Policy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Unmasking the Administrative State: The Crisis of American Politics in the Twenty-First Century Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Layman’s Guide to The Right to Information Act, 2005 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Administrative Law Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYale Law Journal: Volume 123, Number 2 - November 2013 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHarvard Law Review: Volume 131, Number 1 - November 2017 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIs Administrative Law Unlawful? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Unelected: How an Unaccountable Elite is Governing America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCommentaries on the Laws of England, Volume 1: A Facsimile of the First Edition of 1765-1769 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Notable Judgements of the United States Supreme Court: Full Text Judgements with Summary Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsClassic Mystery Short Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Effectively Market and Manage a Law Firm Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsProtecting the Social Service Client: Legal and Structural Controls on Official Discretion Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Constitution of the United States of America: 1787 (Annotated) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Shocking Judgements Delivered by the Supreme Court of United States: Full Text Judgements with Summary Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Man's Guide to Child Custody Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpeaking in God's Name: Islamic Law, Authority and Women Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Distorting the Law
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
2 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Distorting the Law - William Haltom
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1