Constitutional Law in Context, Volume 1

The 2016-2017 Annual Supplement is available here.

This volume is now available only as a paperback—ISBN 978-1-5310-0476-7 ($90).

Through both historical essays and a timeline of American constitutional history, Constitutional Law in Context helps students understand constitutional law in light of cases, doctrine, constitutional analysis, federalism, and historical context. It covers both structure of government and individual liberty cases, and it includes a substantial chapter on free speech. In addition, the book provides historical context for the cases.

The casebook helps students to see how historical context shaped doctrinal developments. It also shows how historical developments affecting one doctrine often shaped other doctrines as well. Examples include parallel changes in commerce clause, substantive due process, and equal protection cases, and in cases related to race and gender. The chapter on incorporation includes excerpts from the Black Codes and from the congressional debates on the Fourteenth Amendment. The incorporation chapter also shows how the framers of the amendment were influenced by denials of civil liberties that occurred during the crusade against slavery.

The book contains materials on constitutional decision-making outside of the Supreme Court including materials on the Clinton impeachment and examples from free speech history.

By its emphasis on the types of constitutional arguments, Constitutional Law in Context is designed to assist students in understanding and formulating constitutional arguments based on text, history, precedent, and policy.

To help students understand constitutional doctrine, the book contains short doctrinal essays, charts, and diagrams. It also deals with some state constitutional law cases to remind students that state constitutions may provide independent and sometimes greater protection of rights. This new third edition includes cases decided through the 2009–2010 term and several new essays. The authors traditionally provide online supplements each year at no charge.