Gay Politics and Precedents

One can find many analyses of the development of gay rights law in America but none are so illuminating as Daniel Pinello's in his book Gay Rights and American Law. More significantly, while it offers a superb understanding of the recent record of gay rights litigation, the book provides a fine-grained and sophisticated understanding of judicial decisionmaking in this important and developing area of the law. Indeed, the value of the book for students of judicial decisionmaking even transcends its value for students of gay rights jurisprudence. Review: Gay Rights And American Law. By Daniel R. Pinello. New York: Cambridge University Press. 2003. Pp. xv, 349. Clo.th, $70; paper, $23.