Constitutional Law and Politics: Struggles for Power and Governmental Accountability

by David M. O'Brien

The most cases to choose from, with the contextual headnotes students need to make sense of�and engage with�American constitutional law and politics.

Constitutional Law and Politics, Eighth Edition, has more material�including case excerpts, concurring and dissenting opinions, and topical introductions�than any other casebook. Each case is set in its historical and political context, with social and technological factors relevant to the study of Supreme Court rulings noted throughout. Special feature boxes make constitutional law come alive with additional insights on the history, context, and personalities behind Supreme Court deliberations and decisions.

New cases added for the Eighth Edition include: Boumediene v. Bush, about presidential power, detainees in the War on Terror, and the writ of habeas corpus; Medellin v. Texas, about presidential power, treaties, and federalism; Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a landmark case about corporate contributions in federal elections and First Amendment rights; United States v. Williams, about regulating the Internet; Safford Unified School Dist. No. 1 v. Redding, about strip searches of students; and Herring v. United States, about the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Law, School, Summer Reads

1152 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2002

Reviews

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I assigned an earlier version of this book when I taught Conlaw in 1997-01. This spring, I assigned the latest version (11th?). They added a new author with the passage of the first.

So, basically, I knew what I was getting--it's a very good book for a conlaw course in that the introductions set up the cases well, the cases are well selected, and for the most part I agree with the editing choices.

In fact, I have more confidence in O'Brien than ever because for the second half of my course, I chose to go full text online for the civil rights cases rather than have my students buy the damn $100+ second volume. And while I still think it was the right choice, it is quite challenging to tell them which parts of a 87 page case to read. To figure out which of 45 cases on privacy they should even know at all, let alone read part of.

The latest version had a lot of typos. I was going to keep track of them, but I got lazy as they got so numerous. So for this price, it should be better edited, and the latest author doesn't have as careful an eye (or as careful graduate students) as O'Brien did.

Still, I don't know a better book. If I teach it again, I'll use this one.

[Shea ☾⚂ · Rating 4 out of 5]

For American Constitutional Law 1 (Prof: Cooley)

[Samir Salifou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Must have guide to the constitution and the key cases.

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

I will have nightmares over this book.
Probably as dense as it is intellectual.