Justice and Legal Change on the Shores of Lake Erie: A History of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio (Law Society & Politics in the Midwest)

Justice and Legal Change on the Shores of Lake Erie explores the many ways that the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio has affected the region, the nation, the development of American law, and American politics. The essays in this book, written by eminent law professors, historians, political scientists, and practicing attorneys, illustrate the range of cases and issues that have come before the court. Since the court’s inception in 1855, judges have influenced economic developments and social issues, beginning with the court’s most famous early case, involving the rescue of the fugitive slave John Price by residents of Northern Ohio. Chapters focusing on labor strikes, free speech, women’s rights, the environment, the death penalty, and immigration illustrate the impact this court and its judges have had in the development of society and the nation’s law. Some of the cases here deal with local issues with huge national implications xad—like political corruption, school desegregation, or pollution on the Cuyahoga River. But others are about major national issues that grew out of incidents, such as the prosecution of Eugene V. Debs for opposing World War I, the litigation resulting from the Kent State shootings and opposition to the Vietnam War, and the immigration status of the alleged Nazi war criminal John Demyanjuk. This timely history confirms the significant role played by district courts in the history of the United States. "Justice and Legal Change on the Shores of Lake Erie explores the many ways that the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio has affected the region, the nation, the development of American law, and American politics. The essays in this book, written by eminent law professors, historians, political scientists, and practicing attorneys, illustrate the range of cases and issues that have come before the court. Since the court{u2019}s inception in 1855, judges have influenced economic developments and social issues, beginning with the court{u2019}s most famous early case, involving the rescue of the fugitive slave John Price by residents of Northern Ohio. Chapters focusing on labor strikes, free speech, women{u2019}s rights, the environment, the death penalty, and immigration illustrate the impact this court and its judges have had on the development of society and the nation{u2019}s law. Some of the cases here deal with local issues with huge national implications - like political corruption, school desegregation, or pollution on the Cuyahoga River. But others are about major national issues that grew out of incidents, such as the prosecution of Eugene V. Debs for opposing World War I, the litigation resulting from the Kent State shootings and opposition to the Vietnam War, and the immigration status of the alleged Nazi war criminal John Demjanjuk. This timely history confirms the significant role played by district courts in the history of the United States"--Unedited summary from book jacket The Willson era : the inception of the Northern District of Ohio, 1855/67 / Roberta Sue Alexander A political show trial in the Northern District : the Oberlin-Wellington fugitive slave rescue case / Paul Finkelman The impact of the Northern District of Ohio on industrialization and labor : liability law and labor injunctions in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, 1870-1932 / Melvyn Dubofsky The trial of Eugene V. Debs, 1918 / Melvin I. Urofsky Bringing Brown to Cleveland / Richard B. Saphire The struggle for gender equality in the Northern District of Ohio / Tracy A. Thomas Religion in the public sector / Martin H. Belsky From Euclid to the development of federal environmental law : the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio and the regulation of physical space / Keith H. Hirokawa Preserving trust in government : public corruption and the court / Nancy E. Marion The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio and the May 4, 1970, shooting at Kent State University / Thomas R. Hensley When law and conscience conflict : the draft nonregistration case of United States v. Mark Arden Schmucker / Elizabeth Reilly The trials of John Demjanjuk / Renee C. Redman Capital litigation in the Northern District / Alison K. Guernsey.