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Contemporary Supreme Court Cases With its blend of accessible writing and actual excerpts from Court opinions, this book serves to explain the legal and cultural underpinnings of landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions of the past 35 years--and to illuminate how these decisions have shaped the trajectory and character of modern American society. Provides comprehensive, objective, and accessible coverage of major Supreme Court decisions since the early 1970s; Presents easy-to-understand breakdowns of competing perspectives on contemporary constitutional issues that illuminate divisions within the Court; Places modern case law into historical perspective for readers of all levels of expertise; Enables readers to appreciate that interpreting the U.S. Constitution is not simple, contrary to some political rhetoric regarding the document.
Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States Focuses on the substance of American law, the processes that produce its legal principles, and the history of the Supreme Court, from its creation to the present. Overview essays address the history of such topics as citizenship, due process, Native Americans, racism, and contraception, emphasizing the social context of each and the social and political pressures that shaped interpretation.
Landmark Supreme Court Cases Through its interpretations of the Constitution and Bill of Rights, the Supreme Court issues decisions that shape American law, define the functioning of government and society, and address the most important issues of the day. No court in the country can overturn Supreme Court rulings. Famous cases like Roe v. Wade, Plessy v. Ferguson, Dred Scott v. John F.A. Sanford, and Miranda v. Arizona are among the most important decisions made by the court, but many others have also had a profound impact on the American way of life. Now available in three volumes, Landmark Supreme Court Cases, Second Edition has been extensively revised and updated to feature more than 600 of the most important and influential cases in American history. Intended for U.S. history and political science students, this encyclopedia contains concise, straightforward summaries, analyzing and explaining groundbreaking court cases on such issues as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, civil rights, labor unions, abortion, antitrust and competition, due process, search and seizure, executive privilege, and more. Organized chronologically by issue, each entry includes the case title and legal citation, year of decision, key issue, historical background, legal arguments, decision (majority and dissenting opinions), aftermath and significance, related cases, and recommended reading. Coverage includes: Baker v. Carr, Bush v. Gore, The Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, Dred Scott v. Sandford, Gideon v. Wainwright, Korematsu v. United States, Marbury v. Madison, Plessy v. Ferguson, Roe v. Wade, Rumsfeld v. Padilla.
Political Control of America's Courts This volume explores the many ways in which politics shapes the allegedly nonpartisan judicial system in America, ranging from how judges are selected to the bench to how they rule when they get there. Each title in the Contemporary Debates series examines the veracity of controversial claims or beliefs surrounding a major political/cultural issue in the United States. Each book gives readers a clear and unbiased understanding of current high-interest issues by informing them about falsehoods, half-truths, and misconceptions-and confirming the factual validity of other assertions-that have gained traction in America's cultural and political discourse.This volume in the series provides a deeply researched and even-handed account of the relationship between America's judicial branch-which is supposed to view law through a nonpartisan lens-and the sometimes poisonous partisanship that is such a notorious factor in the nation's other two branches of government. Is political combat over judicial nominations worse than ever before? What impact is the politicization of the courts having on public faith in the legitimacy of the courts and our wider political system? Was former Supreme Court justice Sandra Day right when she asserted that "judicial independence is a bedrock principle of our court system, and we are losing it"? This work will provide insights into all these questions and more.
The Reference Shelf: The Supreme Court Each book in the Reference Shelf series offers extensive, unbiased exploration of a topic of importance in modern society, in a compilation of notable articles from respected publications, abstracts of 20 to 30 additional articles, and a bibliography of other sources.
The State and Federal Courts: A Complete Guide to History, Powers, and Controversy How does the American judiciary impact the development of legal and social policies in the United States? How are the state and federal court systems constructed? This book answers these questions and many others regarding politics, the U.S. courts, and society. Presents a broad and detailed perspective on law and politics that enables students and laypeople to analyze the judicial process and the role that state and federal courts play in American society; Comprehensively surveys the myriad contemporary issues of law and politics that affect the scope and application of social and public policies; Supplies selected primary source documents that give readers the opportunity to view key judicial documents firsthand; Includes a glossary of terms and annotated bibliography that facilitate a complete comprehension of the organization, structure, and politics of state and federal courts.
Supreme Decisions: Great Constitutional Cases and Their Impact Supreme Decisions: Great Constitutional Cases and Their Impact, Volumes 1 and 2, covers twenty-four Supreme Court cases (twelve per volume) that have shaped American constitutional law. Interpretive chapters shed light on the nuances of each case, the individuals involved, and the social, political, and cultural context at that particular moment in history. Discussing cases from nearly every decade in a two-hundred-year span, Melvin I. Urofsky expounds on the political climate of the United States from the country's infancy through the new millennium. Featuring Marbury v. Madison, Dred Scott v. Sandford, Miranda v. Arizona, Brown v. Board of Education, and many more, this text covers foundational rulings and more recent decisions. Written with students in mind, Melvin I. Urofsky's voice offers compelling and fascinating accounts of American legal milestones.
Supreme Decisions: Great Constitutional Cases and Their Impact Supreme Decisions: Great Constitutional Cases and Their Impact, Volumes 1 and 2, covers twenty-four Supreme Court cases (twelve per volume) that have shaped American constitutional law. Interpretive chapters shed light on the nuances of each case, the individuals involved, and the social, political, and cultural context at that particular moment in history. Discussing cases from nearly every decade in a two-hundred-year span, Melvin I. Urofsky expounds on the political climate of the United States from the country's infancy through the new millennium. Featuring Marbury v. Madison, Dred Scott v. Sandford, Miranda v. Arizona, Brown v. Board of Education, and many more, this text covers foundational rulings and more recent decisions. Written with students in mind, Melvin I. Urofsky's voice offers compelling and fascinating accounts of American legal milestones.
That Eminent Tribunal: Judicial Supremacy and the Constitution The role of the United States Supreme Court has been deeply controversial throughout American history. Should the Court undertake the task of guarding a wide variety of controversial and often unenumerated rights? Or should it confine itself to enforcing specific constitutional provisions, leaving other issues (even those of rights) to the democratic process? That Eminent Tribunal brings together a distinguished group of legal scholars and political scientists who argue that the Court's power has exceeded its appropriate bounds, and that sound republican principles require greater limits on that power. They reach this conclusion by an interesting variety of paths, and despite varied political convictions. Some of the essays debate the explicit claims to constitutional authority laid out by the Supreme Court itself in Planned Parenthood v. Casey and similar cases, and others focus on the defenses of judicial authority found commonly in legal scholarship (e.g., the allegedly superior moral reasoning of judges, or judges' supposed track record of superior political decision making). The authors find these arguments wanting and contend that the principles of republicanism and the contemporary form of judicial review exercised by the Supreme Court are fundamentally incompatible. The contributors include Hadley Arkes, Gerard V. Bradley, George Liebmann, Michael McConnell, Robert F. Nagel, Jack Wade Nowlin, Steven D. Smith, Jeremy Waldron, Keith E. Whittington, Christopher Wolfe, and Michael P. Zuckert.
The U.S. Supreme Court Magill's Choice: U.S. Supreme Court is an affordable, comprehensive and up-to-date survey of the history and functions of the Supreme Court. There are articles on all the justices, including those appointed by George W. Bush, articles on key constitutional issues, and more than 110 on landmark cases. "U.S. Supreme Court" is well organized and features clearly written articles. It offers the additional advantage of coming out at a time when the Supreme Court itself is undergoing important changes that need to be explained. Covered here are issues such as the Court responding to the aftermath of 9/11, the complications of the 2000 presidential election, U.S. involvement in Iraq, and the replacement of two justices, including the chief justice. "U.S. Supreme Court" also contains essays on types of law (such as administrative law, bankruptcy law, and state constitutions), individual pieces of legislation, and clauses and amendments to the U.S. Constitution. "U.S. Supreme Court" is alphabetically arranged. Each essay opens with selected ready-reference top matter that is most relevant to its category (such as birth and death dates for justices, along with details about their terms of service) and a statement of significance. Longer articles have updated bibliographies, and all articles have cross-references to other articles in the set. Emphasis throughout the set is on clear explanations of subjects, supported by illuminating graphics and illustrations. The 391 essays range in length from 250 to 3,000 words and contain several distinct component parts. All essays open with specially formatted top-matter sections, whose content varies according to essay type. The core of every essay is a clear discussion of its subject, whose relevance to the Supreme Court is constantly stressed. This is followed by alphabetically arranged cross-references to related articles. The top matter of the 110 essays on landmark cases is equally comprehensive. The Cases Appendix in volume 3 summarizes data on more than 590 major court cases, and additional references to cases - including hundreds of cases not covered in individual essays - can be found in the Court Case Index. A comprehensive Subject Index locates discussions of personages, concepts, laws, events, and other topics. Essay top matter is presented in a concise, ready-reference format that provides the most essential information at a glance. Top matter in each of the essays on individual justices, for example, opens with its subject's full name, brief identification, full birth and death information, date and president of appointment, and a summary statement of the justice's significance in Court history. Essay top matter also adds exact dates of the justices' Supreme Court service and identifies the presidents who appointed them.

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Confirmation Bias: Inside Washington's War Over the Supreme Court, From Scalia's Death to Justice Kavanaugh The Chief Washington Correspondent for the New York Times presents a richly detailed, news-breaking, and conversation-changing look at the unprecedented political fight to fill the Supreme Court seat made vacant by Antonin Scalia’s death - using it to explain the paralyzing and all but irreversible dysfunction across all three branches in the nation’s capital. The embodiment of American conservative thought and jurisprudence, Antonin Scalia cast an expansive shadow over the Supreme Court for three decades. His unexpected death in February 2016 created a vacancy that precipitated a pitched political fight. That battle would not only change the tilt of the court, but the course of American history. It would help decide a presidential election, fundamentally alter longstanding protocols of the United States Senate, and transform the Supreme Court - which has long held itself as a neutral arbiter above politics - into another branch of the federal government riven by partisanship. In an unprecedented move, the Republican-controlled Senate, led by majority leader, Mitch McConnell, refused to give Democratic President Barack Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, a confirmation hearing. Not one Republican in the Senate would meet with him. Scalia’s seat would be held open until Donald Trump’s nominee, Neil M. Gorsuch, was confirmed in April 2017. Carl Hulse has spent more than 30 years covering the machinations of the beltway. In Confirmation Bias, he tells the story of this history-making battle to control the Supreme Court through exclusive interviews with McConnell, Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer, and other top officials, Trump campaign operatives, court activists, and legal scholars, as well as never-before-reported details and developments.
Dissenter on the Bench: Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Life and Work Dramatically narrated case histories from Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's stellar career are interwoven with an account of her life - including her childhood, family, beliefs, many-faceted personality, education, marriage, children, legal and judicial career, and other achievements. The cases described, many involving young people, demonstrate her passionate concern for gender equality, fairness, and our constitutional rights.
Essential Supreme Court Decisions: Summaries of Leading Cases in US Constitutional Law First published in 1954, this indispensable reference quickly became the gold standard for concise summaries of important U.S. Supreme Court cases. Updated through the end of the 2008 term, the 15th edition is an essential resource for students, lawyers, and everyone interested in our nation's Constitution.
First: Sandra Day O'Connor The intimate, inspiring, and authoritative biography of Sandra Day O'Connor, America's first female Supreme Court justice, drawing on exclusive interviews and first-time access to Justice O'Connor's archives--by the New York Times bestselling author Evan Thomas. She was born in 1930 in El Paso and grew up on a cattle ranch in Arizona. At a time when women were expected to be homemakers, she set her sights on Stanford University. When she graduated near the top of her law school class in 1952, no firm would even interview her. But Sandra Day O'Connor's story is that of a woman who repeatedly shattered glass ceilings--doing so with a blend of grace, wisdom, humor, understatement, and cowgirl toughness. She became the first ever female majority leader of a state senate. As a judge on the Arizona Court of Appeals, she stood up to corrupt lawyers and humanized the law. When she arrived at the United States Supreme Court, appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, she began a quarter-century tenure on the Court, hearing cases that ultimately shaped American law. Diagnosed with cancer at fifty-eight, and caring for a husband with Alzheimer's, O'Connor endured every difficulty with grit and poise. Women and men who want to be leaders and be first in their own lives--who want to learn when to walk away and when to stand their ground--will be inspired by O'Connor's example. This is a remarkably vivid and personal portrait of a woman who loved her family, who believed in serving her country, and who, when she became the most powerful woman in America, built a bridge forward for all women.
The Great Dissenter The biography of an American who stood against all the forces of Gilded Age America to fight for civil rights and economic freedom: Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan. They say that history is written by the victors. But not in the case of the most famous dissenter on the Supreme Court. Almost a century after his death, John Marshall Harlan's words helped end segregation and gave us our civil rights and our modern economic freedom. But his legacy would not have been possible without the courage of Robert Harlan, a slave who John's father raised like a son in the same household. After the Civil War, Robert emerges as a political leader. With Black people holding power in the Republican Party, it is Robert who helps John land his appointment to the Supreme Court. At first, John is awed by his fellow justices, but the country is changing. Northern whites are prepared to take away black rights to appease the South. Giant trusts are monopolizing entire industries. Against this onslaught, the Supreme Court seemed all too willing to strip away civil rights and invalidate labor protections. So as case after case comes before the court, challenging his core values, John makes a fateful decision: He breaks with his colleagues in fundamental ways, becoming the nation's prime defender of the rights of Black people, immigrant laborers, and people in distant lands occupied by the US. Harlan's dissents, particularly in Plessy v. Ferguson, were widely read and a source of hope for decades. Thurgood Marshall called Harlan's Plessy dissent his "Bible"--and his legal roadmap to overturning segregation. In the end, Harlan's words built the foundations for the legal revolutions of the New Deal and Civil Rights eras. Spanning from the Civil War to the Civil Rights movement and beyond, The Great Dissenter is a rendering of the American legal system's most significant failures and most inspiring successes.
Keeping Faith with the Constitution Chief Justice John Marshall argued that a constitution "requires that only its great outlines should be marked [and] its important objects designated." Ours is "intended to endure for ages to come, and consequently, to be adapted to the various crises of human affairs." In recent years, Marshall's great truths have been supplanted by originalism and strict construction. Such legal thinkers as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia argue that the Constitution must be construed as it was in the eighteenth century--that judges must adhere to the original understandings of the founding law. In Keeping Faith with the Constitution, three legal authorities make the case for Marshall's vision. They describe their approach as "constitutional fidelity" - not to the indecipherable intent of the framers, but to the principles of the Constitution.
Nine Black Robes: Inside the Supreme Court's drive to the right and its historic consequences CNN Senior Supreme Court Analyst Joan Biskupic provides an urgent and inside look at the history-making era in the Supreme Court during the Trump and post-Trump years, from its seismic shift to the Right to its controversial decisions, including its reversal of Roe v. Wade, based on access to all the key players. Nine Black Robes displays the inner maneuverings among the Supreme Court justices that led to the seismic reversal of Roe v. Wade and a half century of women's abortion rights. Biskupic details how rights are stripped away or, alternatively as in the case of gun owners, how rights are expanded. Today's bench--with its conservative majority--is desperately ideological. The Court has been headed rightward and ensnared by its own intrigues for years, but the Trump appointments hastened the modern transformation. With unparalleled access to key players, Biskupic shows the tactics of each justice and reveals switched votes and internal pacts that typically never make the light of day, yet will have repercussions for generations to come. Nine Black Robes is the definitive narrative of the country's highest court and its profound impact on all Americans.
The Supreme Court: An Essential History For more than two centuries, the U.S. Supreme Court has provided a battleground for nearly every controversial issue in our nation's history. Now a veteran team of talented historians-including the editors of the acclaimed Landmark Law Cases and American Society series-have produced the most readable, astute, and up-to-date single-volume history of this venerated institution, as engaging for general readers as it is rigorous for scholars. The Supreme Court chronicles an institution that dramatically evolved from six men meeting in borrowed quarters to the most closely watched tribunal in the world. Underscoring the close connection between law and politics, the authors highlight essential issues, cases, and decisions within the context of the times in which the decisions were handed down.
The US Supreme Court: A Very Short Introduction For 30 years, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Linda Greenhouse chronicled the activities of the U.S. Supreme Court and its justices as a correspondent for the New York Times. In this Very Short Introduction, she draws on her deep knowledge of the court's history and of its written and unwritten rules to show readers how the Supreme Court really works. Greenhouse offers a fascinating institutional biography of a place and its people - men and women - who exercise great power but whose names and faces are unrecognized by many Americans and whose work often appears cloaked in mystery. How do cases get to the Supreme Court? How do the justices go about deciding them? What special role does the chief justice play? What do the law clerks do? How does the court relate to the other branches of government? Greenhouse answers these questions by depicting the justices as they confront deep constitutional issues or wrestle with the meaning of confusing federal statutes. Throughout, the author examines many individual Supreme Court cases to illustrate points under discussion, ranging from Marbury v. Madison, the seminal case which established judicial review, to the recent District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), which struck down the District of Columbia's gun-control statute and which was, surprisingly, the first time in its history that the Court issued an authoritative interpretation of the Second Amendment. To add perspective, Greenhouse also compares the Court to foreign courts, revealing interesting differences. For instance, no other country in the world has chosen to bestow life tenure on its judges. A superb overview packed with telling details, this volume offers a matchless introduction to one of the pillars of American government.