A Guide to Civil Procedure - by Brooke Coleman & Suzette Malveaux & Portia Pedro & Elizabeth Porter (Hardcover)

About the Book

"This book represents our efforts, and the efforts of our contributors, to center questions of inequality in the teaching, learning, and practice of civil procedure by shining a light on the ways in which civil procedure may privilege-or silence-voices in our courts"--

Book Synopsis

Shines a light on the ways in which civil procedure may privilege--or silence--voices in our justice system

In today's increasingly hostile political and cultural climate, law schools throughout the country are urgently seeking effective tools to address embedded inequality in the United States legal system. A Guide to Civil Procedure aims to serve as one such tool by centering questions of systemic injustice in the teaching, learning, and practice of civil procedure.

Featuring an outstanding group of diverse scholars, the contributors illustrate how law school curriculums often ignore issues such as race, gender, disability, class, immigration status, and sexual orientation. Too often, students view the #MeToo movement, Black Lives Matter, immigration/citizenship controversy, or LGBTQ+ issues as mere footnotes to their legal education, often leading to the marginalization of many students and the production of graduates that do not view issues of systemic injustice as central to their profession.

A Guide to Civil Procedure reveals how procedure is, and always has been, a central pressure point in the struggle to eradicate structural inequality and oppression through the courts. This book will give students and scholars alike a more complex view of their roles as attorneys, sharpen their litigation skills, and provide a stronger sense of community and purpose in the law school classroom.

Review Quotes

"An impressive collection of essays by a diverse group of leading scholars in the field. A Guide to Civil Procedure is an extraordinarily comprehensive examination of the practical and theoretical relationships among the rules, doctrines, and practices that govern civil litigation and questions of race, gender, economic inequality, nationality, sexual identity, and orientation, among others. It is an invaluable resource for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of civil procedure, how it impacts these important issues, and why it matters."--Adam Steinman, University Research Professor of Law, The University of Alabama

"Cogently organized with a compelling foreword and introduction, A Guide to Civil Procedure powerfully demonstrates the profound relationship between civil procedure and access to justice."--Devon W. Carbado, author of Unreasonable: Black Lives, Police Power, and the Fourth Amendment

"Excellent and long overdue. This volume will be hugely beneficial to Civil Procedure professors and will play an important role in helping students of all backgrounds overcome their own implicit and cognitive biases to see that the law is not as blind or neutral as it is portrayed."--Laura J. Hines, University of Kansas School of Law

About the Author

Brooke Coleman (Editor)
Brooke Coleman is an Associate Dean of Research and Faculty Development and Professor of Law at Seattle University School of Law.

Suzette Malveaux (Editor)
Suzette Malveaux is Provost Professor of Civil Rights Law and Director of the Byron R. White Center for the Study of American Constitutional Law at the University of Colorado Law School.

Portia Pedro (Editor)
Portia Pedro is an Associate Professor of Law and a Peter Paul Career Development Professor at Boston University School of Law.

Elizabeth Porter (Editor)
Elizabeth Porter is the Associate Dean for Academic Administration and Charles I. Stone Professor of Law at the University of Washington School of Law.