Constitutional Law and Politics: Struggles for Power and Governmental Accountability

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.

In this massive volume, O'Brien (Government and Foreign Affaird, University of Virginia) examines more than 100 cases heard by the U.S. Supreme Court to show the interplay between law and politics. Cases deal with issues ranging from the establishment of the principle of judicial review in Marbury v. Madison in 1803 to the removal of limits on corporate political contributions in the 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision. Discussions include case excerpts, concurring and dissenting opinions, and material placing each case into historical and political context. New cases included in this edition deal with presidential power, the rights of prisoners detained on terrorism charges, regulating the internet, and the exclusionary rule. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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

David M. O'Brien is Leone Reaves and George W. Spicer Professor of Government and Foreign Affairs at the University of Virginia. He is the author of several books, including Constitutional Law and Politics and Storm Center: The Supreme Court in American Politics, winner of the American Bar Association's Silver Gavel Award and now in its widely adopted Seventh Edition.