Although argument in its ideal form is central to the study of rhetoric, controversy in the real world also needs to be addressed in the classroom. The author reports on his study of the Overton Park expressway controversy, which produced a landmark Supreme Court decision on environmental policy. (PD)

The appellate argument of Paul Wilson, who represented the Topeka, Kansas, school board in the 1952 Supreme Court case, "Brown v. Board of Education," presents an excellent example of the influence of personal and legal ethics on rhetorical choices. A reluctant advocate of racially segregated education, a policy the Topeka Board of…