Groat, George Gorham. Attitude of American Courts in Labor Cases: A Study in Social Legislation. New York: Columbia University Press, 1911. vii, 400 pp. Reprinted 2003 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. LCCN 2002192202. ISBN 1-58477-308-1. Cloth. $80. * American courts took a keen interest in union and labor issues during the opening decades of the twentieth century. Lochner v. New York (1905) and Adair v. U.S. (1908) are among the many landmark cases argued at this time. Groat offers a valuable contemporary perspective on these developments. Restricting his focus to "principles and problems that are still unsettled," Groat examines "the political economic and social principles that guide the courts" (Preface, v). Reprinted from the series Studies in History, Economics and Public Law edited by the Columbia University Department of Political Science.

In follow-up studies, dozens of reviews, and even a book of essays evaluating his conclusions, Gerald Rosenberg’s critics—not to mention his supporters—have spent nearly two decades debating the arguments he first put forward in The Hollow Hope. With this substantially expanded second edition of his landmark work, Rosenberg himself steps back into the fray, responding to criticism and adding chapters on the same-sex marriage battle that ask anew whether courts can spur political and social reform. Finding that the answer is still a resounding no, Rosenberg reaffirms his powerful contention that it’s nearly impossible to generate significant reforms through litigation. The reason? American courts are ineffective and relatively weak—far from the uniquely powerful sources for change they’re often portrayed as. Rosenberg supports this claim by documenting the direct and secondary effects of key court decisions—particularly Brown v. Board of Education and Roe v. Wade. He reveals, for example, that Congress, the White House, and a determined civil rights movement did far more than Brown to advance desegregation, while pro-choice activists invested too much in Roe at the expense of political mobilization. Further illuminating these cases, as well as the ongoing fight for same-sex marriage rights, Rosenberg also marshals impressive evidence to overturn the common assumption that even unsuccessful litigation can advance a cause by raising its profile. Directly addressing its critics in a new conclusion, The Hollow Hope, Second Edition promises to reignite for a new generation the national debate it sparked seventeen years ago.