Great cases are those judicial decisions around which the common law develops. This book explores eight exemplary cases from the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia that show the law as a living, breathing and down-the-street experience. It explores the social circumstances in which the cases arose and the ordinary people whose stories influenced and shaped the law as well as the characters and institutions (lawyers, judges and courts) that did much of the heavy lifting. By examining the consequences and fallout of these decisions, the book depicts the common law as an experimental, dynamic, messy, productive, tantalizing and bottom-up process, thereby revealing the diverse and uncoordinated attempts by the courts to adapt the law to changing conditions and shifting demands. Great cases are one way to glimpse the workings of the common law as an untidy but stimulating exercise in human judgment and social accomplishment.

This book explores the consequences of eight exemplary cases around which the common law developed to reveal the diverse and uncoordinated attempts by the courts to adapt the law to changing conditions.

About the Author
Allan C. Hutchinson is a Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School at York University, Toronto and a widely recognized leading law scholar. In 2004, he was elected to the Royal Society of Canada, and in 2006 he was named as a Distinguished Research Professor of York University. Hutchinson has authored and/or edited sixteen books, most recently The Province of Jurisprudence Democratized and Evolution and the Common Law.

Reviews
'Hutchinson here, as with all the cases, proves an adept storyteller. One may wonder whether this case is as important as he believes, but it is hard not to be interested in its outcome.' John M. Sands, The Federal Lawyer



Book Information
ISBN 9780521188517
Author Allan C. Hutchinson
Format Paperback
Page Count 257
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 410g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 153mm * 15mm