Jamie Raskin is a professor of Law at American University's Washington College of Law. He teaches Constitutional Law, the First Amendment, and Legislative Process and is the Director of the Program on Law and Government. Professor Raskin also worked with Professor Steve Wermiel to found the acclaimed Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project and is also a State Senator in Maryland.
An excellent book for classrooms or research. Well-organized, current, and relevant, and includes the actual text (edited for brevity/clarity) of the decisions of the Supreme Court, and in most cases also includes dissenting opinions. Very balanced, no obvious agenda one way or the other. Presents cases on a variety of issues relevant to students: freedom of speech, dress codes, discrimination, privacy, locker searches, etc.
Can't speak to how it compares to previous editions (I can't track down the second edition) but it does include references to things that happened as recently as late 2007. Not the most engaging book I've read (or skimmed), but an important book to have around for government classes.
A great book to introduce a beginner to the Constitution and basic government functions. Cases are trimmed down to a page or two. I am teaching this to kids with a reading comprehension skill between 3-5 grade. With help, these young men and women can understand most of what is written. A great book for those beginners.
Wonderful discussion of case law (Court rulings) impacting a specified area of civil rights as related to the classroom..including freedom of speech implications! [recommended to me by my student teacher mentor)