Author Description

This casebook continues to focus primarily upon Supreme Court opinions and other primary documents, offering deep and wide coverage of almost all major areas of constitutional doctrine in a way very few other casebooks do. For decades, the distinctive pedagogical approach reflected in the book--its commitment to providing as much of the raw decisional, statutory and historical background material as is practical--has allowed teachers to structure constitutional law courses as they see fit, and has encouraged students to formulate their own generalizations directly from the materials. The book provides comprehensive coverage of all major traditional constitutional topics, including the role of the federal judiciary, separation of powers, federalism, the non-criminal provisions of the Bill of Rights, the Reconstruction Amendments (including all aspects of due process, equal protection, and congressional powers to enforce them), and the First Amendment's protections of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion. Current through the decisions of the 2024 Supreme Court term, the 17th edition contains notable updates, including expanded discussion of Article II and presidential authority; the First Amendment's Religion Clauses; the Second Amendment's right to bear arms; the Fourteenth Amendment's protections (or not) for abortion rights and equality, and the Constitution's various protections (or not) for voting and related rights of democratic participation. The 17th edition highlights recent cases on these topics, in part by reorganizing several chapters. Our previous Chapter 9, which addressed several different due process and property-related issues, is reconstituted here as a full chapter on property and economic regulatory issues and a separate Chapter 10 on personal liberties protected by the Due Process Clauses and the Second Amendment. And materials concerning voting, elections, and related democracy-enhancing powers and protections