The Immigration Battle in American Courts

Traces the institutional evolution of the Supreme Court and the US Courts of Appeals by assessing how each court has treated immigration cases over time.

Anna O. Law (Author)

9780521767088, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 14 June 2010

282 pages, 7 b/w illus. 6 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm, 0.6 kg

"This is an important and much-needed account, and Law tells a persuasive story in her thorough and comprehensive book.... It takes a close and serious look at one of the leading debates of this generation. Anyone interested in the immigration debate, the role of the federal courts in the federal system, judicial behavior, or the interaction among these complex variables would be well served by it."
—Luis Fuentes-Rohwer, Indiana University, Perspectives on Politics

This book assesses the role of the federal judiciary in immigration and the institutional evolution of the Supreme Court and the US Courts of Appeals. Neither court has played a static role across time. By the turn of the century, a division of labor had developed between the two courts whereby the Courts of Appeals retained their original function as error-correction courts, while the Supreme Court was reserved for the most important policy and political questions. Law explores the consequences of this division for immigrant litigants, who are more likely to prevail in the Courts of Appeals because of advantageous institutional incentives that increase the likelihood of a favorable outcome. As this book proves, it is inaccurate to speak of an undifferentiated institution called 'the federal courts' or 'the courts', for such characterizations elide important differences in mission and function of the two highest courts in the federal judicial hierarchy.

1. Introduction
2. How do we know what we know?
3. The rise of two courts with differentiated functions
4. Interstial policy making in the US Courts of Appeals
5. Institutional growth and innovation
6. Continuity amidst change
7. Conclusion
Appendices.

Subject Areas: Immigration law [LNDA1], Law [L], Politics & government [JP]