Courts, Judges, and Politics: An Introduction to the Judicial Process

This classic reader has been a best selling component to the Judicial Process/Judicial Politics/American Legal System course for years. Now thoroughly updated while retaining the features that made it attractive for so long: organization, structure, coverage, narrative, choice of excerpts, and flexibility in use, Lee Epstein and Walter Murphy continue the tradition of this book.

Walter F. Murphy is the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Emeritus at Princeton University. Murphy was one of the creators of Courts, Judges, & Politics in 1961. His other books include Congress and the Court (1962), Elements of Judicial Strategy (1964); The Vicar of Christ (1979), and American Constitutional Interpretation (with James E. Fleming and Sotirios A. Barber, 2d ed. 1995). A former Commissioner of Civil Rights in New Jersey, Murphy served for 13 years as a member of that state's committee, monitoring judicial conduct.

Lee Epstein received her PhD from Emory University. She is the Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Professor of Law at Washington University of St. Louis. She is the author of 'Conservatives in Court' (1985) and the co-author of 'The Supreme Court Compendium: Data, Decisions, and Developments' (1994); 'Constitutional Law for a Changing America: Institutional Powers and Constraints' (1992);'Constitutional Law for A Changing America: Rights, Liberties and Justice: A Short Course' (1996);'The Choices Justices Make' (1998);'The Supreme Court of the United States: An Introduction' (1993);'The Supreme Court and Legal Change: Abortion and the Death Penalty' (1992);'Public Interest Law Sourcebook: An Annotated Bibliography and Research Guide' (1992) and 'Public Interest Law Groups' (1989), as well as various journal articles and chapters in edited volumes. Epstein serves on the board of multiple Political Science Associations and has been awarded grants from the National Science Foundation, the Center for New Institutional Social Science, the Business, Law, and Economics Center at Washington University, Southern Methodist University, and the Earhart Foundation. Southern Methodist University awarded her the Margareta Deschner Teaching Award in 1988 and the Rotunda Teaching Award in 1988 and 1991. She has also been named Professor of the Year, 2000 by Washington University's Undergraduate Political Science Association; Faculty of the Year, 2000 by the Washington University Student Union and Outstanding Faculty Member, 1999 by Washington University’s Women’s Panhellenic Association.