Native title has dramatically altered the law and public policy in Australia. It has had a fundamental impact on social relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. The courts have played a central role in its development, and continue to do so. Twelve years have seen the evolution of native title, from uncertain foundations to an arguably compromised jurisprudence. Compromised Jurisprudence traces the development of the courts' thinking from the original decision in Mabo v Queensland [No.2] through to the significant High Court decisions in 2001 in Western Australia v Ward and Yorta Yorta, and the subsequent implementation of those cases by the Federal Court in cases such as De Rose. Each chapter contains a discrete analysis of the most significant cases during this period. A time line of events enables the reader to map the trajectory of the key doctrines of native title. The book's conclusion identifies the underlying themes and contradictions in the law.