The Measure of Injury : Race, Gender, and Tort Law

Tort law is the body of law governing negligence, intentional misconduct, and other wrongful acts for which civil actions can be brought. The conventional wisdom is that the rules, concepts, and structures of tort law are neutral and unbiased, free of considerations of gender and race. In The Measure of Injury , Martha Chamallas and Jennifer Wriggins prove that tort law is anything but gender and race neutral. Drawing on an in-depth analysis of case law ranging from the Jim Crow South to the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, the authors demonstrate that women and minorities have been under-compensated in tort law and that traditional biases have resurfaced in updated forms to perpetuate patterns of disparate recovery based on race and gender. Grappling with tort theory, the intricacies of legal doctrine and the practical effects of legal rules, The Measure of Injury is a unique treatise on torts that uncovers the public and cultural dimensions of this always-controversial domain of private law. Citizenship Is Generally Viewed As The Most Desired Legal Status An Individual Can Attain, Invoking The Belief That Citizens Hold Full Inclusion In A Society, And Can Exercise And Be Protected By The Constitution. Yet This Membership Has Historically Been Exclusive And Illusive For Many, And In Citizenship And Its Exclusions, Ediberto Roman Provides A Sweeping, Interdisciplinary Analysis Of Citizenship's Contradictions. Roman Offers An Exploration Of Citizenship That Spans From Antiquity To The Present, And Crosses Disciplines From History To Political Philosophy To Law, Including Constitutional And Critical Race Theories. Beginning With Greek And Roman Writings On Citizenship, He Moves On To Late-medieval And Renaissance Europe, Then Early Modern Western Law. His Analysis Culminates With An Explanation Of How Past Precedents Have Influenced U.s. Law And Policy Regulating The Citizenship Status Of Indigenous And Territorial Island People, As Well As How Different Levels Of Membership Have Created A De Facto Subordinate Citizenship Status For Many Members Of American Society, Often Lumped Together As The Underclass. What Kind Of Harms Matter, And Why? Steeped In The History Of American Tort Law, Martha Chamallas And Jennifer B. Wriggins Demonstrate How Attitudes About Race And Gender Run Through The Harms Recognized--and Not Recognized--by American Law. Along The Way, This Fine Book Sheds Light On Deliberate And Unconscious Stereotyping, The Shifting Treatments Of Workplace And Family Injuries, The Influence Of Social Movements On Law And Public Attitudes, And Alternative Approaches To Harms, Causation, And Damages. This Book Is Brimming With Insights About How Societies Do And Should Express What Matters In Assigning Liability For Human Pain And Loss. This Book Asks Important Questions About The Tort System. Tort Law Is Largely Taught And Described From A Doctrinal Perspective That Makes No Attempt To See How It Is Actualy Working On The Ground. This Book Assesses How The Tort System Fares In Operation By Examining How Race And Gender Influence Court Decisions In Torts Cases. A Promising Direction For Scholarship On The Tort System.--jacket. Theoretical Frames -- Historical Frames -- Intentional Torts -- Negligence -- Causation -- Damages. Martha Chamallas And Jennifer B. Wriggins. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 10 Introduction......Page 14 1 Theoretical Frames......Page 26 2 Historical Frames......Page 48 3 Intentional Torts......Page 76 4 Negligence......Page 102 5 Causation......Page 132 6 Damages......Page 168 Conclusion......Page 196 Notes......Page 204 C......Page 236 G......Page 237 M......Page 238 R......Page 239 Z......Page 240 About the Authors......Page 241 Tort law is the body of law governing negligence, intentional misconduct, and other wrongful acts for which civil actions can be brought. This title proves that tort law is anything but gender and race neutral. It demonstrates that women and minorities have been under-compensated in tort law.