Since the first editon was published in 1996, the nature of judges' papers has changed as more and more of the work of the federal courts is documented in electronic records. The record-keeping practices of the courts have also changed. This second edition discusses the preservation challenges of new media, the protocols surrounding sensitive and classified documents, and the range of access restrictions that might be appropriate for a collection of judicial papers. This edition includes updated samples of donor agreements and inventories of judicial collections.

There is no book of political strategy more canonical than Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince, but few ethicists would advise policymakers to treat it as a bible. The lofty ideals of the law, especially, seem distant from the values that the word "Machiavellian" connotes, and judges are supposed to work above the realm of politics. In The Judge, however, Ronald Collins and David Skover argue that Machiavelli can indeed speak to judges, and model their book after The Prince. As it turns out, the number of people who think that judges in the U.S. are apolitical has been shrinking for decades. Both liberals and conservatives routinely criticize their ideological opponents on the bench for acting politically. Some authorities even posit the impossibility of apolitical judges, and indeed, in many states, judicial elections are partisan. Others advocate appointing judges who are committed to being dispassionate referees adhering to the letter of the law. However, most legal experts, regardless of their leanings, seem to agree that despite widespread popular support for the ideal of the apolitical judge, this ideal is mere fantasy. This debate about judges and politics has been a perennial in American history, but it intensified in the 1980s, when the Reagan administration sought to place originalists in the Supreme Court. It has not let up since. Ronald Collins and David Skover argue that the debate has become both stale and circular, and instead tackle the issue in a boldly imaginative way. In The Judge, they ask us to assume that judges are political, and that they need advice on how to be effective political actors. Their twenty-six chapters track the structure of The Prince, and each provides pointers to judges on how to cleverly and subtly advance their political goals. In this Machiavellian vision, law is inseparable from realpolitik. However, the authors' point isn't to advocate for this coldly realistic vision of judging. Their ultimate goal is identify both legal realists and originalists as what they are: explicitly political (though on opposite ends of the ideological spectrum). Taking its cues from Machiavelli, The Judge describes what judges actually do, not what they ought to do.

“Rare books and archives come alive when consulted by readers and researchers.” --from the Introduction In the administrative and budgetary environment of law librarianship, outstanding reference service is crucial to the survival and growth of special collections. Public Services Issues with Rare and Archival Law Materials offers practical suggestions for putting these valuable special collections to work. Each chapter gives clear, proven advice on making the most of rare book sections and archives to contribute to the mission of their libraries and parent institutions. Public Services Issues with Rare and Archival Law Materials provides a comprehensive overview of issues in using these special collections. It begins with an original study of the research habits of legal historians, which can help you plan a strategy for making your collection more accessible to scholars. It concludes with thoughtful consideration of the ethical issues of using archived papers, balancing the scholar’s need to understand the inner workings of the legal system against the need for private court deliberations and attorney-client privilege. This wide-ranging book provides the tools you need for keeping archives in active service, including: detailed instructions for the care and use of rare legal materials ideas for creating exhibits and outreach activities, including Web sites suggestions for working with early books on Roman and canon law practical techniques for using archives in litigation and cooperating with attorneys a bibliography of law-related archives and rare-book librarianship This essential book will assist rare book librarians and archivists to provide better reference service by providing examples of best practice and solutions to common problems. Public Services Issues with Rare and Archival Law Materials is an indispensable resource for law librarians, archivists, and scholars.

This guide describes the records of the federal courts, as well as records of Congress and the executive branch, that are relevant to researching federal judicial history. Includes an Introduction to Historical Research in Federal Judicial History. This is a print on demand edition of an important, hard-to-find publication.