Everything Is Jake: A T. R. Softly Detective Novel (2021)

A federal plea deal in Manhattan goes off the rails when a mob boss inexplicably recants his testimony days after voluntarily confessing to a lifetime of crime, and immediately, an FBI agent involved with the case goes missing. To find out what happened, the Feds call in T. R. Softly, detective fiction’s newest and most intuitive sleuth. Softly’s search takes him to Washington, D.C., where the “oddest of the forty-odd presidents of the United States” is suddenly laying plans to evaporate the U.S. government, as assassination rumors percolate in dark corners. Co-opted into partnering with a secret government agency, Softly struggles to understand how many games are being played and by whom. Is he master of his fate or has he been the unwitting agent of friends and foe? A twisting, rollicking tale that enthralls readers until the last page.https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/fac_books/1154/thumbnail.jp

Fight the Hypo: Fake Arguments, Trolleyology, and the Limits of Hypotheticals

The hypothetical is the staple of the law school classroom and useful in most intellectual endeavors. But, this inaugural lecture argues, interlocutors frequently misuse and misinterpret responses to hypotheticals because they demand that their respondents accept the “facts” embedded within. This form of argument, dubbed “FAKE” (for “Facts Are Known Exactly”), poses “facts” that are either impossible to accept or highly improbable and that would provoke counterarguments but for the command to accept the facts as hypothesized. The author presents his thesis in part through the lens of recent literature on the ethics of runaway trolley cars (these cases constitute a field of study known as “trolleyology”) and questions whether the answers we give and the preconceptions we seem to have about the morality of saving many at the expense of one can be explained by examining responses to the hypotheticals provided. The paper also examines the FAKE argument as used to justify assisted suicide, the right to harshly cross-examine the truth-telling but infirm witness, and upholding the law by violating it.https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/tribeca_square_press/1001/thumbnail.jp

Checks and balances: The Alaska Pipeline Case

Illustrates the complex workings of the system of checks and balances by examining the building of the Alaska pipeline which involved the federal government, a state government, and the actions of private citizens.https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/fac_books/1148/thumbnail.jp

A Practical Companion to the Constitution: How the Supreme Court Has Ruled on Issues from Abortion to Zoning

This is the most comprehensive and readable one-volume reference book in print, accessible to lay readers and specialists alike, on the meaning of the American Constitution as the Supreme Court has interpreted it. It is an indispensable tool for students and lay persons who want to understand today\u27s constitutional controversies and their background in our history. It is equally useful to lawyers and other specialists who seek quick reviews of constitutional issues with immediate reference to cases for further research.Unlike conventional treatises that discuss the Constitution clause by clause or under a few broad concepts, this book uniquely treats every aspect of the Constitution and every constitutional topic in alphabetical order, in more than 1,000 short essays. It is extensively cross-referenced and exhaustively indexed, so that even a reader with only a minimal notion of the Constitution or constitutional law can quickly find clear answers to questions about pressing issues of the day.Among the other unique features: a set of introductory essays on the background of the Constitution and the many difficulties of interpreting it; a concordance to each word and phrase in the Constitution; a year-by-year chronology of justices who have served on the Supreme Court; and a table of the more than 2,650 Supreme Court cases from 1792 to the present referred to in the book, listing the vote, the author of the majority opinion, the concurring and dissenting justices, and the length of the opinions.https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/fac_books/1040/thumbnail.jp

Fight the Hypo: Fake Arguments, Trolleyology, and the Limits of Hypotheticals

The hypothetical is the staple of the law school classroom and useful in most intellectual endeavors. But, this inaugural lecture argues, interlocutors frequently misuse and misinterpret responses to hypotheticals because they demand that their respondents accept the “facts” embedded within. This form of argument, dubbed “FAKE” (for “Facts Are Known Exactly”), poses “facts” that are either impossible to accept or highly improbable and that would provoke counterarguments but for the command to accept the facts as hypothesized. The author presents his thesis in part through the lens of recent literature on the ethics of runaway trolley cars (these cases constitute a field of study known as “trolleyology”) and questions whether the answers we give and the preconceptions we seem to have about the morality of saving many at the expense of one can be explained by examining responses to the hypotheticals provided. The paper also examines the FAKE argument as used to justify assisted suicide, the right to harshly cross-examine the truth-telling but infirm witness, and upholding the law by violating it.https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/tribeca_square_press/1001/thumbnail.jp

Jumpstart Constitutional Law: Reading and Understanding Constitutional Law Cases

Jumpstart Constitutional Law: Reading and Understanding Constitutional Law Cases, sheds light on the threshold issues and substantive questions common to all constitutional law cases thus bringing everything into focus for the student. Key to constructing cogent answers on a Constitutional Law exam, Jethro K. Lieberman\u27s straightforward approach teaches students how to spot the issues and respond to the relevant questions in any constitutional law case.https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/fac_books/1030/thumbnail.jp