Demand the Impossible (e-book) (used book) | Robert L Tsai | bookbook.eu

Description

How four Supreme Court cases in recent years―all argued and won by one indomitable lawyer―are central to the pursuit of equal justice in America. Tracing the remarkable career of renowned lawyer Stephen Bright, Robert L. Tsai explores the legal ideas that were central to the pursuit of equal justice in the early decades of mass incarceration. For nearly forty years, Bright led the Southern Center for Human Rights, a nonprofit that provided legal aid to people under death sentences. He argued four capital cases before the US Supreme Court―and won each one. With each victory, he brought to light how the law itself had become corrupted by the country’s thirst for severe punishment, exposing prosecutorial misconduct, continuing racial inequality, and the shameful quality of legal representation for the poor. Organized around these four major Supreme Court cases, Demand the Impossible is an inspiring work of legal scholarship that reveals how seemingly small victories can go on to have outsized effects, and the incredible advancements one exceptional lawyer made for equal rights.

“Tsai’s book makes an excellent complement to Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy. Provocative, necessary reading.” — Kirkus Reviews

"An inspiring account of one of our nation’s greatest lawyers, an advocate who has prioritized the poor, the vulnerable, and the condemned over money, fame, and the privileged. Stephen Bright is a rare legal champion for justice. This book reveals much about this extraordinary man and the critically important human rights he has passionately defended." — Bryan Stevenson, best-selling author of Just Mercy

"As Tsai’s latest deeply moving and sobering book makes so clear, this nation’s moral arc can indeed bend toward justice, but only when we are unfailing in our conviction that it can, and are unflinching in our insistence that it does." — Heather Ann Thompson, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Blood in the Water

"Beautifully written. At a time when heroes and inspirational figures are in short supply, Tsai provides a compelling account of how Stephen Bright fought for justice." — Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of UC Berkeley School of Law and author of We the People

"Riveting. This behind-the-scenes thriller brings to life stories of against-the-odds legal triumphs in cases of life or death. These victories shed light on the gross injustices and systemic racism that still infect our legal system. A must-read for everyone who cares about ensuring justice." — Carol S. Steiker, Henry J. Friendly Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and coauthor of Courting Death