'Great cases' are those judicial decisions around which the common law pivots. In a sequel to the instant classic Is Eating People Wrong?, this book presents eight new great cases from the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. Written in a highly accessible yet rigorous style, it explores the social circumstances, institutions (lawyers, judges and courts) and ordinary people whose stories shaped the law. Across the courts' diverse and uncoordinated attempts to adapt to changing conditions and shifting demands, it shows the law as the living, breathing and down-the-street experience it really is. Including seminal cases in end of life, abortion and equal rights, this is an ideal introduction for students to legal history and jurisprudence.

This book examines how the common law works through profiles of eight great cases.

1. Introduction: on the road (again); 2. Is killing people right? Law and the end of life; 3. Oil on troubled waters: the consequences of civil liability; 4. The politics of law: cats, pigeons and old chestnuts; 5. The companies we keep: the moralities of business; 6. Fifty shades of Brown: consent and the criminal law; 7. Putting up a defence: sex, murder and videotapes; 8. Wade-ing into controversy: a case of accidental activism; 9. Playing a different tune: fairness in deal-making; 10. Conclusion: surfing the tides.