The Devil and Daniel Webster


Book Description

THE STORY: Jabez Stone, young farmer, has just been married, and the guests are dancing at his wedding. But Jabez carries a burden, for he knows that, having sold his soul to the Devil, he must, on the stroke of midnight, deliver it up to him. Shortly before twelve Mr. Scratch, lawyer, enters and the company is thunderstruck. Jabez bids his guests begone; he has made his bargain and will pay the price. His bride, however, stands by him, and so will Daniel Webster, who has come for the festivities. Webster takes the case. But Scratch is a lawyer himself and out-argues the statesman. Webster demands a jury of real Americans, living or dead. Very well, agrees the Devil, he shall have them, and ghosts appear. Webster thunders, but to no avail, and at last realizing Scratch can better him on technical grounds, he changes his tactics and appeals to the ghostly jury, men who have retained some love of country. Rising to the height of his powers, Webster performs the miracle of winning a verdict of Not Guilty.




Elizabeth Webster and the Court of Uncommon Pleas


Book Description

Welcome to Elizabeth Webster's world, where the common laws of middle school torment her days . . . and the uncommon laws of an even weirder realm govern her nights. Elizabeth Webster is happy to stay under the radar (and under her bangs) until middle school is dead and gone. But when star swimmer Henry Harrison asks Elizabeth to tutor him in math, it's not linear equations Henry really needs help with-it's a flower-scented, poodle-skirt-wearing, head-tossing ghost who's calling out Elizabeth's name. But why Elizabeth? Could it have something to do with her missing lawyer father? Maybe. Probably. If only she could find him. In her search, Elizabeth discovers more than she is looking for: a grandfather she never knew, a startling legacy, and the secret family law firm, Webster & Son, Attorneys for the Damned. Elizabeth and her friends soon land in court, where demons and ghosts take the witness stand and a red-eyed judge with a ratty white wig hands out sentences like sandwiches. Will Elizabeth's father arrive in time to save Henry Harrison-and is Henry the one who really needs saving? Set in the historic streets of Philadelphia, this riveting middle-grade mystery from New York Times bestselling author William Lashner will have readers banging their gavels and calling for more from the incomparable Elizabeth Webster.




Constitutionalism and the Rule of Law


Book Description

Rule of law and constitutionalist ideals are understood by many, if not most, as necessary to create a just political order. Defying the traditional division between normative and positive theoretical approaches, this book explores how political reality on the one hand, and constitutional ideals on the other, mutually inform and influence each other. Seventeen chapters from leading international scholars cover a diverse range of topics and case studies to test the hypothesis that the best normative theories, including those regarding the role of constitutions, constitutionalism and the rule of law, conceive of the ideal and the real as mutually regulating.




Daniel Webster


Book Description

In this monumental new biography, Robert V. Remini gives us a full life of Webster from his birth, early schooling, and rapid rise as a lawyer and politician in New Hampshire to his equally successful career in Massachusetts where he moved in 1816. Remini treats both the man and his time as they tangle in issues such as westward expansion, growth of democracy, market revolution, slavery and abolitionism, the National Bank, and tariff issues. Webster's famous speeches are fully discussed as are his relations with the other two of the "great triumvirate", Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun. Throughout, Remini pays close attention to Webster's personal life - perhaps more than Webster would have liked - his relationships with family and friends, and his murky financial dealings with men of wealth and influence.




Starting Off Right in Law School


Book Description

The 2018 printing of Starting Off Right in Law School, Second Edition, contains a new chapter, "Organizing Your Reading." To access the bonus chapter online, click here. Law school is different. Incoming students, confronted with an entirely new vocabulary and unfamiliar with the discipline's unique and demanding educational methods, are often disoriented. This book is designed to give these students a head start, both by introducing them to the fundamentals of the legal process and by helping them acquire the study skills necessary for success. Starting Off Right in Law School introduces new law students to the practice and study of law by following a lawsuit from its inception through the appeals process, illustrating what lawyers actually do, how they prepare, how they interact with clients and in courtrooms, how a lawsuit proceeds, and how students can effectively read and analyze cases, outline, and apply what they have learned on the exams. Widely used in law schools, the first edition of Starting Off Right in Law School prepared new law students to excel in doctrinal courses. The second edition has been updated to prepare students both for the broader demands of doctrinal courses and for the more distinct reading and writing demands of legal writing courses. This book is the perfect tool for pre-law students to read on their own or for law school orientation required reading.







Elizabeth Webster and the Chamber of Stolen Ghosts


Book Description

In this final installment of the Elizabeth Webster series, Philadelphia's youngest barrister faces a ghostly case that will determine the future of her world. Reeling from recent struggles in the courtroom, Elizabeth Webster is surprised when two sisters ask her to find the spirits of their parents who have been stolen by a ghost thief. But this simple matter becomes the most terrifying case of Elizabeth's career. Soon, she finds herself battling the ghost thief himself, two cement Martha-Washington-faced dogs, and an army raised by the demon Redwing in the Chamber of Stolen Ghosts. To find a way forward, Elizabeth will have to rely on an unexpected ally in her quest—her mother. With her mother's history guiding her, Elizabeth will return to the Court of Uncommon Pleas to face her own self-doubts, battle the formidable Redwing, and protect the balance of natural and supernatural realms.




The Making and Measure of a Judge


Book Description

The Making and Measure of a Judge - Biography of the Honorable Sammie Chess, Jr. is the definitive biography of North Carolina's first African American Superior Court Judge. It is a vivid historical journey of Chess's humble beginning on the dirt floor of a tenant dwelling, in the midst of the Great Depression, in rural South Carolina. Chess's journey continues through the Jim Crow era and the civil rights struggle as a civil rights attorney, and his rise to an outstanding Superior Court judge, Administrative Law judge, mentor and public servant. The book contains many lessons on how one should conduct themselves as lawyers and judges, and more importantly, many lessons on how to live one's life. When asked how he was able to rise above all he had experienced first-hand of the segregated south and set aside any personally biases he might have, without hesitation, Chess responded: "You treat people the way you want to be treated, not the way you are treated. I didn't let them set my standards. If a Klan member can bring you to his level, then you are not well rooted." Chess lived by a moral compass that lead him to dispense equal justice under law for all, irrespective of race or any other status in life. Undoubtedly, Chess reminds all of us of one of the greatest lessons one can learn in life: "With perseverance we can achieve."




Deliberate Evil


Book Description

"This is true crime at its most enthralling—prepare to be transported." —Terri Cheney, New York Times bestselling author of Manic The 1830 murder of wealthy slaver Joseph White shook all of Salem, Massachusetts. Soon the crime drew national attention when it was discovered that two of the conspirators came from Salem's influential Crowninshield family: a clan of millionaire shipowners, cabinet secretaries, and congressmen. A prosecution team led by famed Massachusetts senator Daniel Webster made the case even more newsworthy. Meanwhile, young Salem native Nathaniel Hawthorne—who knew several of the accused—observed and wrote. Here, using source materials not available previously, Edward J. Renehan Jr. provides a riveting narrative of the cold-blooded murder, intense investigations, scandal-strewn trials, and grim executions that dominated headlines nearly two-hundred years ago.




The Black Widower


Book Description

He drugged his first wife and staged a fireball car crash, collecting a £200,000 insurance payout. He cheated his second wife of her life savings and attempted to kill her in a copycat crash. He faked cancer to dupe his third victim into a bigamous marriage, plotting her murder to steal her inheritance. He is Malcolm Webster: The Black Widower. After seventeen years of deception and brutality, Webster was finally jailed for thirty years in July 2011 at the climax of one of the longest trials in Scottish legal history. In this chilling book, award-winning journalist Charles Lavery documents the Black Widower’s life and crimes, giving a compelling insight into the mind of a man who killed for money and attempted to cover his tracks with drugs and fire.