Civil Rights Litigation: Cases and Perspectives

The second edition of Civil Rights Litigation retains the basic organization and many distinctive features of the first edition, including its broad coverage and diversity of viewpoints. Authors Brooks, Carrasco, and Selmi expose students to many different forms of discrimination, including education, housing, employment, voting, disability, language, police activities, and affirmative action. The book’s opening chapter offers a historic overview of civil rights litigation and raises several recurring themes in civil rights theory, including race versus class, the identity question, civil rights perspectives, and "anti-civil rights" perspectives. Each of the remaining nine chapters opens with an overview of the relevant social environment and applicable laws. As in the first edition, cases are presented with a minimum amount of editing to facilitate sophisticated class discussion or role-playing in which students argue the cases in class.

Principal changes in the second edition include the usual updating of cases and secondary material as well as the restructuring of sections in several chapters. The section on civil rights perspectives in Chapter 1 has been reorganized to reflect recent clarifications in critical theory as well as the development of a new civil rights theory called "limited separation." The cases and materials have been restructured in several sections.

Perhaps the most significant change has been the addition of a new co-author, Professor Michael Selmi, who replaces Judge Gordon Martin. Like Judge Martin, Professor Selmi brings both legal expertise and a different perspective to this unique collaboration.

A teacher's manual is also available, and 2003 supplement is forthcoming.