The History of the New York Court of Appeals: 1932-2003

From 1932 to 2003, the New York Court of Appeals-the highest court in the state- decided crucial cases pertaining to the social and legal issues of the day. The judges' rulings affected laws regarding motion picture censorship; obscenity, indecency, and immorality; religion; capital punishment; torts; the right to control personal medical care; and abortion. This comprehensive history completes a two volume series that began with The History of the New York Court of Appeals, 1847-1932. Each case is richly recounted and analyzed, detailing the decisions and dissenting opinions. Short biographies are provided for the judges who served during this period, and changes in the selection of judges, as well as the court's jurisdiction, are thoroughly explained. Particular to this volume, the authors provide the legal, social, and political contexts for these cases, showing how the law has evolved over time. They examine the court's view concerning its constitutional power to respond to an economic emergency during the Great Depression; they outline cases in which the judges ruled on the government's role in legislating morals and morality; and they focus on the evolution of the court's opinions regarding statutory interpretation, judicial federalism, censorship, constitutional reform, criminal law and capital punishment, rules of evidence, education, family law, and antitrust and labor law.

Preface 1. A Brief Overview of the Court of Appeals 2. Jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals 3. Interrelation of the Court of Appeals, the Legislature, and the Executive 4. Common Law and the Court of Appeals 5. Statutory Interpretation 6. Form of Opinions and Reports 7. The Great Depression 8. New Judicial Federalism 9. Motion Picture Censorship 10. Obscenity, Indecency, and Immorality 11. Religion 12. Real Property 13. Contracts 14. Torts 15. Corporations 16. Arbitration 17. Criminal Law 18. Evidence 19. Conflict of Laws 20. Procedure 21. Education 22. Abortion, Right to Control Own Medical Care, and Some Related Matters 23. Family Law 24. Election Law 25. Antitrust and Restraints on Competition 26. Picketing and Labor Relations 27. The Chief Judges' Contributions: State of the Judiciary Notes Subject Index Table of Statutes Table of Cases