Books by Howard Ball

The USA Patriot Act: A Reference Handbook is an in-depth examination of the difficult wartime task of balancing civil liberties against national security. Within weeks of the September 11 terrorist attacks, overwhelming majorities in both houses of Congress passed the USA Patriot Act.

This book provides a comprehensive and contemporary examination of the right-to-die issues facing society now that vast improvements in public health care and medicine have resulted in people not only living longer but taking much longer to die-often in great pain and suffering.In 1900, the average age at which people died in America was 47 years of age; the primary causes of death were tuberculosis and other respiratory illnesses. In the 21st century, as a result of better health care and working conditions as well as advances in medical technology, we live much longer-as of 2016, about 80 years. A much larger proportion of Americans now die from chronic diseases that generally appear at an advanced age, such as heart disease, cancer, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Should this fundamental change in human lifespan alter how society and government view right-to-die legislation? What are the pros and cons of giving a mentally competent person who is terminally ill and in great pain the right to end his or her life?The Right to Die: A Reference Handbook provides a complete examination of right-to-die issues in the United States that dissects the complex arguments for and against a person's liberty to receive a physician's assistance to hasten death. It covers the legal aspects and the politics of the right-to-die controversy, analyzes the battles over the right to die in state and federal courts, and supplies primary source documents that illustrate the political, medical, legal, religious, and ethical landscape of the right to die. Additionally, the book examines how members of our society typically die has changed in the past 150 years and how the practice of medicine has evolved over that time; explains why the right to die is strongly opposed by many religious groups as well as members of the medical profession; considers the "slippery slope" argument against doctor-assisted suicide; and identifies the reasons that the disabled, the poor, the elderly and infirm, and some members of ethnic, racial, and religious minority groups typically fear physician-assisted death.

This book presents the background and history of genocide, the key issues associated with this worldwide crime, and the problems inherent in preventing its occurrence.

Thurgood Marshall''s extraordinary contribution to civil rights and overcoming racism is more topical than ever, as the national debate on race and the overturning of affirmative action policies make headlines nationwide. Howard Ball, author of eighteen books on the Supreme Court and the federal judiciary, has done copious research for this incisive biography to present an authoritative portrait of Marshall the jurist.Born to a middle-class black family in "Jim Crow" Baltimore at the turn of the century, Marshall''s race informed his worldview from an early age. He was rejected by the University of Maryland Law School because of the color of his skin. He then attended Howard University''s Law School, where his racial consciousness was awakened by the brilliant lawyer and activist Charlie Houston. Marshall suddenly knew what he wanted to be: a civil rights lawyer, one of Houston''s "social engineers." As the chief attorney for the NAACP, he developed the strategy for the legal challenge to racial discrimination. His soaring achievements and his lasting impact on the nation''s legal system--as the NAACP''s advocate, as a federal appeals court judge, as President Lyndon Johnson''s solicitor general, and finally as the first African American Supreme Court Justice--are symbolized by Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark case that ended legal segregation in public schools. Using race as the defining theme, Ball spotlights Marshall''s genius in working within the legal system to further his lifelong commitment to racial equality. With the help of numerous, previously unpublished sources, Ball presents a lucid account of Marshall''s illustrious career and his historic impact on American civil rights.

Personal rights, such as the right to procreate - or not -and the right to die generate endless debate. This book maps out the legal, political, and ethical issues swirling around personal rights.

In June of 1972, the Democratic National Party headquarters in Washington, D.C., was the site of one of the most famous burglaries in U.S. history. The abortive Watergate break-in and subsequent cover-up is reexamined in this book from the unique perspective of the Supreme Court judges, who grappled with its political and legal ramifications. Howard Ball presents the litigation in the U.S. vs. Nixon case from the inside out, analyzing the constitutional issues that faced the court and the way in which the justices worked to resolve conflicts, overcome obstacles, and arrive at an institutional opinion.In recounting the tragedy of Watergate from the viewpoint of the judges, the book makes use of a number of important original sources, including interviews and letters from the justices. Perhaps most important in telling this story, though, are the conference notes and docket sheets of the Court members, especially those of Justices William J. Brennan, Jr., and William O. Douglas. To set the Watergate tapes litigation against the proper background, Ball also examines the role of the federal judiciary in the political system, the crucial concept of judicial review, and the Supreme Court's processes and personnel at the time of the litigation. A selected bibliography and comprehensive index conclude the work. As a unique chronicle of the Watergate scandal, this book will be a valuable resource for courses in American history, legal studies, and the Supreme Court, as well as a significant addition to academic, legal, and public libraries.

Studies the political, legal, social, medical, engineering and ethical problems that emerged when American leaders developed a nuclear arsenal to contain the USSR without considering the potential cost in innocent lives; intended for medical and public health personnel, policy-makers and others.

?Ball analyzes the underlying principles of the U.S. Constitution--such as the social compact and limited government powers--to study paths of stability and change in American constitutional law.... This book is a good addition to Supreme Court studies.?-Library Journal

The fundamental issue in the controversy over White House efforts to assume more complete control over the federal regulatory bureaucracy is that of administrative accountability in a democratic political system.

?The reality of voting rights policy (or, indeed, any policy) rests in its actual enforcement. The enforcement of voting rights policy (a compliance policy that reflects the realities of policymaking and policy implementation in a federal system) is more important than the existence of printed rights--this is the thesis of this exceptionally perceptive study....An important, sophisticated, quality book. Good bibliography, footnotes, appendixes, and stylistic qualities. Adequate index. Academic and general collections.?-Choice

The first sweeping history of the right-to-die movement

A legal scholar details the creation and function of the Department of Homeland Security, placing it in historical context. * A chronology of federal responses to homeland security threats from 1798 to the present* Primary source documents that show present and historical federal responses to internal and external threats

A thorough introduction to the laws of war, the savagery of war crimes, and the international system that demands justice. How do you speak of the unspeakable and defend the indefensible?

Howard Ball explores Hugo Black's development from his childhood days growing up in Alabama to his 34 years on the United States Supreme Court. Ball illustrates who and what shaped this controversial judge to become known as one of the "ten greatest" US Supreme Court justices of American history.