United States Supreme Court justices make decisions that have a profound impact on American society. Empirical legal scholars have portrayed justices as either single-minded or strategic seekers of policy, and there is little room in these theories for things like law, reputation, or personality. This book offers a fresh perspective that will jar Supreme Court scholarship out of complacency. It argues that justices' personalities influence their behavior, which in turn influences legal dev...

This book is the first study specifically to investigate the extent to which US Supreme Court justices alter the clarity of their opinions based on expected reactions from their audiences. The authors examine this dynamic by creating a unique measure of opinion clarity and then testing whether the Court writes clearer opinions when it faces ideologically hostile and ideologically scattered lower federal courts; when it decides cases involving poorly performing federal agencies; when it dec...

In the United States, federal judges occupy weighty positions. They interpret the Constitution, define people's rights and liberties, and apply laws and regulations to myriad cases. They also are older than ever. In 2023, the median age of a federal judge reached 70 for the first time. Nearly one-third of federal judges exceeded the age of 75. And ten percent were 85 years or older. The federal judiciary has become a graying judiciary. Recent advances in neuroscience show that cognitive ag...

The U.S. Supreme Court, with its controlled, highly institutionalized decision-making practices, provides an ideal environment for studying coalition formation. The process begins during the oral argument stage, which provides the justices with their first opportunity to hear one another's attitudes and concerns specific to a case. This information gathering allows them eventually to form a coalition.In order to uncover the workings of this process, the authors analyze oral argumen...

The Tenant of Fire is about Queens, NY—its history, public and personal, real and imagined. Many of the people who populate this book—Irish Catholics, Italian-Americans—were once considered ethnic but now fall wholly under the banner of white. And from their anxieties a man like Donald Trump emerges. Born and raised in Queens, Trump is both the product and purveyor of a localized nativist politic.The young white speaker of these poems works to record his parents’ and neigh...

When the dragon offers him a deal, he takes the sensible choice.Morgan has high hopes of slaying a dragon. He and his squire plod through the wilderness for weeks, missing the company of anyone other than themselves. Soon, Morgan finds himself curious about things he's never been curious about before. But he's decided that it will be worth it, once they receive a kingly sum for their work.When they find the dragon, the situation is far from what they expect...

When the council summons him, he has to comply.Aidan Pierce is the son of the Duke of Eldenvale and the perfect marriage match for the king's daughter. He's unsure about it, and he wouldn't be the first in Eldenvale's history to have trouble producing an heir. After all, he finds himself hot and bothered in the presence of a group of slick, muscled knights cleaning up after a tournament. In their state of undress, they make it look so effortless to display themselv...

When it's time to present in class, he almost presents it all.Darren's cornerstone project is due tomorrow at the Hillbrand School of Sorcery in Eldenvale. He's worked all semester with his project mate, but Darren can't quite ignore the fact that he wants more from him. When they agree to review their project before their presentation, Darren gets an opportunity and finds himself unable to keep a cool head.When the time comes to present, his day gets off t...

What happens beside the river isn't as private as he thought.Gareth wants to leave his small town and start a better life in Eldenvale, but it doesn't come cheap. He needs money, so he takes a job helping out on the local farm. It's going well, except that the other men can't seem to stop bothering him. He's used to being picked on, but there's something about their leader that makes it different. And what starts as harmless teasing becomes fodder for his wildest d...

His punishment doesn't fit the crime.Seth is a petty thief, and a hungry one at that. He's becoming desperate and tries his hand at stealing something more substantial. But when he's caught playing around in a dressmaker's shop, the money becomes the least of his concerns.He wasn't working alone, but he'll never say it. There's honor among thieves and all. But maybe there's something else, too, especially when he finds himself thinking of his best friend in...

In a world that has been overran by an alien species intent on reproducing with the human race, Seren finds herself living and training in the Blitz Sanctuary. To Seren, its a means of survival, but when her mentor, Cort, is assigned to her, it becomes clear that something is not as it seems. Young, beautiful and authoritative, Cort eludes to the under workings of the society that has been her refuge. But there's something more to Cort, something familiar... and dark. Dealing with extreme ...

A short story collection of public CMNM tales within a fantasy setting, explore your desires with these thrilling situations. Each features an MM pairing and revealing, public scenes. Each protagonist discovers that he might like being exposed more than he thought, and that his private fantasies can become very public. You'll find public nudity, exhibitionism, gay encounters, and more.