James L. Gibson's Books

Black and Blue

How African Americans Judge the U.S. Legal System

By: James L. Gibson,Michael Nelson

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Black and Blue

How African Americans Judge the U.S. Legal System

By: James L. Gibson,Michael Nelson

The American legal system is experiencing a period of extreme stress, if not crisis, as it seems to be losing its legitimacy with at least some segments of its constituency. Nowhere is this legitimacy deficit more apparent than in a portion of the African American community in the U.S., as incidents of police killing black suspects - whether legally justified or not - have become almost routine. However, this legitimacy deficit has largely been documented through anecdotal evidence and a steady drumbeat of journalistic reports, not rigorous scientific research. This book offers an all-inclusive account of how and why African Americans differ in their willingness to ascribe legitimacy to legal institutions, as well as in their willingness to accept the policy decisions those institutions promulgate. Based on two nationally-representative samples of African Americans, this book ties together four dominant theories of public opinion: Legitimacy Theory, Social Identity Theory, theories of adulthood political socialization and learning through experience, and information processing theories. The findings reveal a gaping chasm in legal legitimacy between black and white Americans. More importantly, black people themselves differ in their perceptions of legal legitimacy. Group identities and experiences with legal authorities play a crucial role in shaping whether and how black people extend legitimacy to the legal institutions that so much affect them. This book is one of the most comprehensive analyses produced to date of legal legitimacy within the American black community, with many surprising and counter-intuitive results.

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Page Count

225

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0190865237

ISBN 13

9780190865238

Electing Judges

The Surprising Effects of Campaigning on Judicial Legitimacy

By: James L. Gibson

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Electing Judges

The Surprising Effects of Campaigning on Judicial Legitimacy

By: James L. Gibson

In Electing Judges, James L. Gibson responds to the growing chorus of critics who fear that the politics of running for office undermine judicial independence. While many people have opinions on the topic, few have supported them with empirical evidence. Gibson rectifies this situation, offering the most systematic study to date of the impact of campaigns on public perceptions of fairness, impartiality, and the legitimacy of elected state courts-and his findings are both counterintuitive and controversial"--Page [four] of cover.

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Page Count

240

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0226291073

ISBN 13

9780226291079

Democracy’s Destruction? Changing Perceptions of the Supreme Court, the Presidency, and the Senate after the 2020 Election

Changing Perceptions of the Supreme Court, the Presidency, and the Senate after the 2020 Election

By: James L. Gibson

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Democracy’s Destruction? Changing Perceptions of the Supreme Court, the Presidency, and the Senate after the 2020 Election

Changing Perceptions of the Supreme Court, the Presidency, and the Senate after the 2020 Election

By: James L. Gibson

On January 6, 2021, an angry mob stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. This assault on America’s democratic system was orchestrated by then President Donald Trump, abetted by his political party, and supported by a vocal minority of the American people. Did denial of the election results and the subsequent insurrection inflict damage on American political institutions? While most pundits and many scholars say yes, they have offered little rigorous evidence for this assertion. In Democracy’s Destruction? political scientist James L. Gibson uses surveys from representative samples of the American population to provide a more informed answer to the question. Focusing on the U.S. Supreme Court, the presidency, and the U.S. Senate, Gibson reveals that how people assessed the election, the insurrection, and even the second Trump impeachment has little connection to their willingness to view American political institutions as legitimate. Instead, legitimacy is grounded in more general commitments to democratic values and support for the rule of law. On most issues of institutional legitimacy, those who denied the election results and supported the insurrection were not more likely to be alienated from political institutions and to consider them illegitimate. Gibson also investigates whether Black people might have responded differently to the events of the 2020 election and its aftermath. He finds that in comparison to the White majority, Black Americans were less supportive of America’s democratic institutions and of democratic values, such as reverence for the rule of law, because they often have directly experienced unfair treatment by legal authorities. But he emphasizes that the actions of Trump and his followers are not the cause of those weaker commitments. Democracy’s Destruction? offers rigorous analysis of the effect of the Trump insurrection on the state of U.S. democracy today. While cautioning that Trump and many Republicans may be devising schemes to subvert the next presidential election more effectively, the book attests to the remarkable endurance of American political institutions.

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Page Count

288

Publisher

Russell Sage Foundation

Published Date

ISBN 10

1610449274

ISBN 13

9781610449274

Citizens, Courts, and Confirmations

Positivity Theory and the Judgments of the American People

By: James L. Gibson,Gregory A. Caldeira

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Citizens, Courts, and Confirmations

Positivity Theory and the Judgments of the American People

By: James L. Gibson,Gregory A. Caldeira

In recent years the American public has witnessed several hard-fought battles over nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court. In these heated confirmation fights, candidates' legal and political philosophies have been subject to intense scrutiny and debate. Citizens, Courts, and Confirmations examines one such fight--over the nomination of Samuel Alito--to discover how and why people formed opinions about the nominee, and to determine how the confirmation process shaped perceptions of the Supreme Court's legitimacy. Drawing on a nationally representative survey, James Gibson and Gregory Caldeira use the Alito confirmation fight as a window into public attitudes about the nation's highest court. They find that Americans know far more about the Supreme Court than many realize, that the Court enjoys a great deal of legitimacy among the American people, that attitudes toward the Court as an institution generally do not suffer from partisan or ideological polarization, and that public knowledge enhances the legitimacy accorded the Court. Yet the authors demonstrate that partisan and ideological infighting that treats the Court as just another political institution undermines the considerable public support the institution currently enjoys, and that politicized confirmation battles pose a grave threat to the basic legitimacy of the Supreme Court.

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Page Count

195

Publisher

Princeton University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1400830605

ISBN 13

9781400830602

Party Organizations in American Politics

By: Cornelius Cotter,James L. Gibson,John F. Bibby,Robert J. Huckshorn

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Party Organizations in American Politics

By: Cornelius Cotter,James L. Gibson,John F. Bibby,Robert J. Huckshorn

Contradicting the conventional political wisdom of the 1970s, which said state political parties were dormant and verging upon extinction, this book reveals that state party organizations actually grew stronger in the 1960s and 1970s. Reprinted with a new preface that covers changes in the 1980s in electoral politics, Party Organizations in American Politics encourages a reappraisal of scholarly treatment of party organization in political science.

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Page Count

230

Publisher

University of Pittsburgh Pre

Published Date

ISBN 10

0822974452

ISBN 13

9780822974451

Judging Inequality

State Supreme Courts and the Inequality Crisis

By: James L. Gibson,Michael J. Nelson

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Judging Inequality

State Supreme Courts and the Inequality Crisis

By: James L. Gibson,Michael J. Nelson

Social scientists have convincingly documented soaring levels of political, legal, economic, and social inequality in the United States. Missing from this picture of rampant inequality, however, is any attention to the significant role of state law and courts in establishing policies that either ameliorate or exacerbate inequality. In Judging Inequality, political scientists James L. Gibson and Michael J. Nelson demonstrate the influential role of the fifty state supreme courts in shaping the widespread inequalities that define America today, focusing on court-made public policy on issues ranging from educational equity and adequacy to LGBT rights to access to justice to worker’s rights. Drawing on an analysis of an original database of nearly 6,000 decisions made by over 900 judges on 50 state supreme courts over a quarter century, Judging Inequality documents two ways that state high courts have crafted policies relevant to inequality: through substantive policy decisions that fail to advance equality and by rulings favoring more privileged litigants (typically known as “upperdogs”). The authors discover that whether court-sanctioned policies lead to greater or lesser inequality depends on the ideologies of the justices serving on these high benches, the policy preferences of their constituents (the people of their state), and the institutional structures that determine who becomes a judge as well as who decides whether those individuals remain in office. Gibson and Nelson decisively reject the conventional theory that state supreme courts tend to protect underdog litigants from the wrath of majorities. Instead, the authors demonstrate that the ideological compositions of state supreme courts most often mirror the dominant political coalition in their state at a given point in time. As a result, state supreme courts are unlikely to stand as an independent force against the rise of inequality in the United States, instead making decisions compatible with the preferences of political elites already in power. At least at the state high court level, the myth of judicial independence truly is a myth. Judging Inequality offers a comprehensive examination of the powerful role that state supreme courts play in shaping public policies pertinent to inequality. This volume is a landmark contribution to scholarly work on the intersection of American jurisprudence and inequality, one that essentially rewrites the “conventional wisdom” on the role of courts in America’s democracy.

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Page Count

379

Publisher

Russell Sage Foundation

Published Date

ISBN 10

161044907X

ISBN 13

9781610449076

Overcoming Apartheid

Can Truth Reconcile a Divided Nation?

By: James L. Gibson

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Overcoming Apartheid

Can Truth Reconcile a Divided Nation?

By: James L. Gibson

Perhaps no country in history has so directly and thoroughly confronted its past in an effort to shape its future as has South Africa. Working from the belief that understanding the past will help build a more peaceful and democratic future, South Africa has made a concerted, institutionalized effort to come to grips with its history of apartheid through its Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In Overcoming Apartheid, James L. Gibson provides the first systematic assessment of whether South Africa's truth and reconciliation process has been successful. Has the process allowed South Africa to let go of its painful past and move on? Or has it exacerbated racial tensions by revisiting painful human rights violations and granting amnesty to their perpetrators? Overcoming Apartheid reports on the largest and most comprehensive study of post-apartheid attitudes in South Africa to date, involving a representative sample of all major racial, ethnic, and linguistic groups. Grounding his analysis of truth in theories of collective memory, Gibson discovers that the process has been most successful in creating a common understanding of the nature of apartheid. His analysis then demonstrates how this common understanding is helping to foster reconciliation, as defined by the acceptance of basic principles of human rights and political tolerance, rejection of racial prejudice, and acceptance of the institutions of a new political order. Gibson identifies key elements in the process—such as acknowledging shared responsibility for atrocities of the past—that are essential if reconciliation is to move forward. He concludes that without the truth and reconciliation process, the prospects for a reconciled, democratic South Africa would diminish considerably. Gibson also speculates about whether the South African experience provides any lessons for other countries around the globe trying to overcome their repressive pasts. A groundbreaking work of social science research, Overcoming Apartheid is also a primer for utilizing innovative conceptual and methodological tools in analyzing truth processes throughout the world. It is sure to be a valuable resource for political scientists, social scientists, group relations theorists, and students of transitional justice and human rights.

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484

Publisher

Russell Sage Foundation

Published Date

ISBN 10

1610442474

ISBN 13

9781610442473

The Torts Process

By: James A. Henderson,Douglas A. Kysar

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The Torts Process

By: James A. Henderson,Douglas A. Kysar

Principally authored by the late James A. Henderson, Jr., and now led by Douglas A. Kysar of Yale Law School, The Torts Process has for fifty years now has given law students a clear, engaging, and sophisticated treatment of the law of torts. The Torts Process uses a student-friendly, procedurally-focused approach that relies on proven problem-and-cases pedagogy to illuminate the overarching structure and organization of tort law. Its lively mix of problems, cases, notes, and questions stimulate thought and discussion, while providing a firm foundation in tort doctrine, history, and theory New to the Tenth Edition: Overhaul of section on economic loss rule, including new lead case, Southern California Gas Leak Cases, and references to Third Restatement (Torts): Liability for Economic Harm. A new section in Chapter 8 on Damages in Context, which includes the case B. B. v. County of Los Angeles, which exposes a divide among the justices regarding the degree to which tort law should be situated within a larger legal and social context, one that includes the urgent and troubling intersection of race, policing, and violence in America. A new section in Chapter 4 on Statutory Immunities, which provides information on statutes that provide immunity from tort liability to particular industries or activities. New discussion of sexual harassment claims under intentional infliction of emotional distress and federal antidiscrimination statutes. Significant revamping of Chapter 5’s treatment of public nuisance doctrine in light of increasingly prominent use in contexts such as the opioid epidemic and climate change. Three new lead cases in Chapter 7 reflecting developments in the law of products liability, as well as a new section exploring caselaw on Amazon.com’s treatment as a product seller. Additional new lead cases throughout the Tenth Edition offer compelling teaching opportunities on a variety of topics, including: Bassett v. Lamantia (public-duty doctrine) Warren v. Dinter (medical malpractice) Gomez v. Crookham Co. (worker’s compensation benefits and wrongful death) Rich v. Fox News Network, LLC (emotional distress) Gilmore v. Jones (defamation) Lunsford v. Sterilite of Ohio, L.L.C. (invasion of privacy) Professors and students will benefit from: Problem-and-cases pedagogical approach challenges students’ understanding through theoretical and real-life situations. Clear, balanced presentation enables students to understand the overarching structure, organization, and impact of tort law. Lively mix of problems, cases, excerpts, notes and questions. Comprehensive, process-oriented approach appropriate for basic, advanced, or year-long law school torts courses. Compelling presentation from multiple scholarly and interdisciplinary perspectives. Sensitive treatment of tort law’s implications for race, sex, and gender equity.

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Page Count

1540

Publisher

Aspen Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1543838960

ISBN 13

9781543838961

Overcoming Historical Injustices

Land Reconciliation in South Africa

By: James L. Gibson

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Overcoming Historical Injustices

Land Reconciliation in South Africa

By: James L. Gibson

Overcoming Historical Injustices is the last entry in Gibson's 'overcoming trilogy' on South Africa's transformation from apartheid to democracy. Focusing on the issue of historical land dispossessions - the taking of African land under colonialism and apartheid - this book investigates the judgements South Africans make about the fairness of their country's past. Should, for instance, land seized under apartheid be returned today to its rightful owner? Gibson's research zeroes in on group identities and attachments as the thread that connects people to the past. Even when individuals have experienced no direct harm in the past, they care about the fairness of the treatment of their group to the extent that they identify with that group. Gibson's analysis shows that land issues in contemporary South Africa are salient, volatile, and enshrouded in symbols and, most important, that interracial differences in understandings of the past and preferences for the future are profound.

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Page Count

309

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1139477641

ISBN 13

9781139477642

Book's by James L. Gibson

Black and Blue

Black and Blue

Electing Judges

Electing Judges

Democracy’s Destruction? Changing Perceptions of the Supreme Court, the Presidency, and the Senate after the 2020 Election

Democracy’s Destruction? Changing Perceptions of the Supreme Court, the Presidency, and the Senate after the 2020 Election

Citizens, Courts, and Confirmations

Citizens, Courts, and Confirmations

Party Organizations in American Politics

Party Organizations in American Politics

Judging Inequality

Judging Inequality

Overcoming Apartheid

Overcoming Apartheid

The Torts Process

The Torts Process

Overcoming Historical Injustices

Overcoming Historical Injustices

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