Most of us know very little about the law. We pick up bits of information at random, from Court TV, from news accounts of current legal battles, from bestselling novels and popular movies. But these pieces do not really help us fill in the picture. In Law 101, Jay M. Feinman offers a delightfully clear introduction to law, covering the main subjects found in the first year of law school and giving us a basic understanding of the American legal tradition. Readers are introduced to every aspect of the legal system, from constitutional law to tort law, contract law, property law, and criminal law. Feinman illuminates each discussion with many intriguing, outrageous, and infamous cases, from the scalding coffee case that cost MacDonald's half a million dollars, to the sensational murder trial in Victorian London that led to the McNaghten rule (the basic legal definition of insanity), to the epochal decision in Marbury v. Madison that gave the Supreme Court the power to declare state and federal laws unconstitutional.

He broadens the reader's legal vocabulary, clarifying the meaning of everything from "ripeness" and "mootness" in constitutional law, to the distinction between "reckless" and "negligent" acts in criminal law. Perhaps most important, we learn how the various aspects of law come together to protect our individual rights and why they are so vitally important to our society. Anyone who enjoys Court TV will find this book irresistible. Journalists covering the law, students contemplating law school, and anyone who wants a better grasp of current legal issues, will find Law 101 a wonderful source of information--a complete, clear, and colorful map of the American legal system.