Only Judgment: The Limits of Litigation in Social Change

Is litigation an appropriate, effective way to promote social change? What criteria should we use to distinguish among causes, and is there a sound basis in law for making distinctions? In Only Judgment, Aryeh Neier examines how the role of litigation and the public interest bar has changed since Brown v. Board of Education, the impact of litigation in advancing causes, as well as its impact on the movements espousing those causes. Suggesting that in the US, public interest litigation can be a double-edged sword, Only Judgment explores both the possibilities and the limits of litigation as a way to advance interests. Neier s writing gets at the heart of how groups and movements gain, or fail to gain, access to political power.