Introduction : noting strengths, and weaknesses some of which I'll ignore, and proposing a new research program -- Some weaknesses of our legal system mistakenly denied by a critic -- Tier One of the federal judiciary : the Supreme Court -- Tier Two of the federal judiciary : the federal courts of appeals -- Tier Three of the federal judiciary : the federal district courts -- Civil litigation revisited -- Conclusion

"No sitting federal judge has ever written so trenchant a critique of the federal judiciary as Richard A. Posner does in this, his most confrontational book. He exposes the failures of the institution designed by the founders to check congressional and presidential power and resist its abuse, and offers practical prescriptions for reform"--