Human Rights and Legal Judgments The American Story

Human rights can be defined as the basic fundamental rights inherent to all human beings in any society. How these rights are made available and protected in individual countries is an area of much study and debate. Focusing on the significance of human rights in American law and politics, this book seeks to understand when, where, and how American law recognizes and responds to claims made in the name of human rights. How are they used by social movements as they advance rights claims? When are human rights claims accommodated and resisted? Do particular kinds of human rights claims have greater resonance domestically than others? What cultural and psychological factors impede the development of a human rights culture in the United States? This is an exciting and engaging volume that will appeal to a broad range of scholars, practitioners, and students interested in the study of human rights.

Introduction: human rights in American law and politics Austin Sarat; 1. Human rights, solitary confinement, and youth justice in the United States Cynthia Soohoo; 2. The story of environmental justice and race in the United States: international human rights and equal environmental protection Erika George; 3. Incorporation, federalism, and international human rights David Sloss; 4. Why do international human rights matter in American decision-making? Stephen A. Simon; Afterword: instrumental human rights William Brewbaker.

Austin Sarat is William Nelson Cromwell professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College, Massachusetts. He is author or editor of over ninety books in the fields of law and political science. His book When Government Breaks the Law: Prosecuting the Bush Administration was named one of the best books of 2010 by The Huffington Post.