The book emphasizes political aspects of the court system and gives examples from scholarly research. Several chapters address such issues as judicial salaries, the appointment of lay judges to appellate courts, bureaucratic decisionmaking, coercive consequences of alternative dispute resolution, and the explosion in litigation. Other chapters compare U.S. courts with judicial systems in foreign countries. Particular attention is paid to court organization and hierarchy, the politics of court reform, the legal profession's role in society, legal education, legal services, judicial selection and decisionmaking, criminal justice processes, appellate processes, judicial policymaking and processes, and the U.S. Supreme Court. References and notes