Crucible of Public Policy

Bruce W. Dearstyne is a historian specializing in New York state history. He is the author of several books, including The Spirit of New York, Second Edition, also published by SUNY Press.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Monitoring the Expansive State2. The Right to Privacy3. The Case That Helped Change Constitutional History and Launch a Quest for the Presidency4. The Chief Judge Runs for President5. Public Health and Individual Rights6. The Insanity Defense on Trial7. The Debut of the Administrative State8. The Administrative State in Action9. State Protection Denied for Women Workers10. State Protection Affirmed for Women Workers11. Workers' Compensation Denied12. Workers' Compensation AffirmedConclusionNotesSelected BibliographyIndexAbout the Author

"During the Progressive Era, the New York Court of Appeals was the greatest common law court of last resort in the Nation, and ceded pride of place only to the US Supreme Court as an arbiter of constitutional questions. Bruce W. Dearstyne shows us why in this insightful and lively book. The Court grappled with the great issues of the day, ranging from the scope of the administrative state, the right to privacy, women's rights, and the rights of the individual when government seeks to combat communicable disease. Dearstyne provides cameos of the Court's leaders and the historical context in which they rendered their verdicts. Ultimately, he teaches us that nothing is new under the sun." — Henry M. Greenberg, past president of the New York State Bar Association and a founding member of the Historical Society of the New York Courts.