Description
This book is a collection of comprehensive background essays coupled with carefully edited Supreme Court case excerpts designed to explore constitutional law and the role of the Supreme Court in its development and interpretation. Well-grounded in both theory and politics, the book endeavors to heighten students’ understanding of this critical part of the American political system.
New to the 18th Edition
- An account of the Trump impeachments and a full discussion of the recent Supreme Court transitions including recent Supreme Court transitions including the fraught Kavanaugh hearings, the death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and the nomination process surrounding Amy Coney Barrett.
- Fourteen new cases carefully edited and excerpted, including Chifalo v. Washington (2020) on the Electoral College, Masterpiece Cakeshop (2018) on gay rights, and three Trump cases as well.
- Thirty-one new cases discussed in chapter essays in addition.
Table of Contents
Preface
The Constitution of the United States Of America
Introduction: A Political Supreme Court
1. Jurisdiction and Organization of the Federal Courts
2. The Constitution, the Supreme Court, and Judicial Review
3. Congress and the President
4. Federalism
5. The Electoral Process
6. The Commerce Clause
7. National Taxing and Spending Power
8. Property Rights and the Development of Due Process
9. The Bill of Rights and the Second Amendment
10. Criminal Justice
11. Freedom of Expression
12. Religious Liberty
13. Privacy
14. Equal Protection of the Laws
15. Security and Freedom in Wartime and Pandemic
Appendix A: Justices of the Supreme Court
Appendix B: Presidents and Justices
Appendix C: American Constitutional Development as Reflected in a Chronology of Cases Reprinted in This Book
Glossary
Index of Cases
Index of Subjects and Names
