Law 101: Everything You Need to Know about the American Legal System by Jay M. Feinman Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Law 101: Everything You Need to Know about the American Legal System
Book Review: Good overview of American legal system but remember every state is different!
Summary: 4 Stars
This book is excellent in outlining the foundations of our American legal system for laymen. The author really gives the reader a feel of the origins of American legal principles and I defer to other reviewers that have already pointed out its many good qualities. However, do remember that there is no such thing as a generic civil or criminal case of any kind in the U.S. since each state is so very different in their law. Going bankrupt? In Texas you get to keep your whole house even if it's a mansion, in Virginia you get to keep $5000 of your home's equity...not enough to buy a cardboard box. Getting divorced? In New York no more than 25% of your income can go to child support no matter how many children you have. In Virginia you can actually wind up with negative income! How long will you pay child support? In Massachusetts it can go on until the child is 23 as long as they are enrolled in college, in Virginia it ends at high school graduation. In New York it does not end until age 21 even if the child spends his/her days watching soap operas. Think you are legally an adult at age 18? In Nebraska you are not emancipated until age 19. And the list goes on. Thus, read this book to get an appreciation of our American legal system, but carefully consider the laws and legal traditions of your own state if you ever find yourself involved in a legal skirmish.Book Review: All about the American Legal System
Summary: 5 Stars
Unlike the stereotypical law book, Law 101 is rarely boring and actually quite readable. From reading this book, I have learnt how a case begins, how it may be settled, what happens at trial, about the first amendment, criminal law, tort law, civil law, how a case is often presented, and much, much more. This book is meant for an intelligent U.S. citizen curious about the basics of the American legal system - it is not for experienced judges, lawyers and legal scholars.Book Review: A great resource
Summary: 5 Stars
Since I just recently reviewed Jay Feinman's excellent _Un-Making Law_, I may as well review this one too.
This book is a terrific resource, both for people in general who want to know how U.S. law works and for students headed to law school who want to jump-start their studies.
Basically, it's a user-friendly (but not oversimplified) introduction to the entire first-year law school curriculum. Feinman's claim is that the law isn't something mysterious that you have to belong to an esoteric priesthood in order to understand; on the contrary, it's possible for the ordinary layperson to understand what the law is and how it works.
His book bears out that claim. Heck, I wish _I'd_ had it to read before I started law school; he sets out the major concepts clearly and intelligibly, in the process touching on many of the key cases. I'd have had a _much_ better idea of what to expect during my first year if I'd read this first. (Nor would that have exhausted its usefulness. It would probably be handy to have around while, say, Putting Together The Big Picture for your state bar exam.)
Nor, of course, is it just for future lawyers. It's suitable for anyone who wants to know how the U.S. legal system works. ('Knowing how it works' here means 'understanding the principles and competing incentives that drive the development of U.S. law', not 'knowing how to act as your own lawyer'. This book isn't about 'how'; it's about 'why'. If you want to draft your own employee handbook or something, get a book from Nolo Press.)
You don't have to be of any particular political persuasion to profit from it, either. It's very fair and even-handed, carefully presenting both sides of every controversial issue.
In fact, just about the only people in the U.S. who may not get much out of it are practicing attorneys, who are already supposed to know all this stuff. And even there, it's just barely possible that . . . nahhhhh.
Book Review: just fairy tales for children
Summary: 1 Stars
I`ve been practicing a law for five years in Europe and I could not learn anything from this book.The authors just tells us interesting stories simply to amuse readers not to provide
serious and meaningful information about American legal system.
Too much bubbles...
Book Review: Every American should read this book
Summary: 5 Stars
I heard about this book on a web page about good books to read prior to law school. I just finished reading it yesterday, and I am very impressed. The author writes in such a way that any reader can acquire a basic understanding of our legal system. He explores the foundational areas of our body of laws, and he describes both sides of hotly debated issues such as abortion and the death penalty. Most of all, the author emphasizes that the law is not something that ordinary people cannot understand. It is not just for lawyers, judges, and politicians. Rather, the law is determined by the way we shape our society, and it starts from the ground up.