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Constitutional Law for a Changing America
Institutional Powers and Constraints
Tenth Edition
- Lee Epstein - Washington University in St. Louis, USA
- Thomas G. Walker - Emory University, USA
Additional resources:
February 2019 | 784 pages | CQ Press
A host of political factors—both internal and external—influence the Court’s decisions and shape the development of constitutional law. Among the more significant forces at work are the ways lawyers and interest groups frame legal disputes, the ideological and behavioral propensities of the justices, the politics of judicial selection, public opinion, and the positions that elected officials take, to name just a few. Combining lessons of the legal model with the influences of the political process, Constitutional Law for a Changing America shows how these dynamics shape the development of constitutional doctrine.
The Tenth Edition offers rigorous, comprehensive content in a student-friendly manner. With meticulous revising and updating throughout, best-selling authors Lee Epstein and Thomas G. Walker streamline material while accounting for new scholarship and recent landmark cases—including key opinions handed down through the 2018 judicial session. Well-loved features keep students engaged by offering a clear delineation between commentary and opinion excerpts, a “Facts” and “Arguments” section before every case, a superb photo program, “Aftermath” and “Global Perspective” boxes, and a wealth of tables, figures, and maps. Students will walk away with an understanding that Supreme Court cases involve real people engaged in real disputes and are not merely legal names and citations.
Bundle with the Resource Center for FREE!
Take your constitutional law class beyond the book with Epstein and Walker’s newly redesigned Resource Center, featuring more than 500 excerpted, supplemental cases referenced in the commentary of the Constitutional Law for a Changing America volumes. The Resource Center offers a place for students to study core content with online quizzes and explore court cases, biographies, and reference material. Instructors can find teaching materials, including hypothetical cases paired with discussion questions and writing assignments, moot-court simulations, test banks, and more.
Ensure FREE access—use bundle ISBN: 978-1-5443-6930-3
The Tenth Edition offers rigorous, comprehensive content in a student-friendly manner. With meticulous revising and updating throughout, best-selling authors Lee Epstein and Thomas G. Walker streamline material while accounting for new scholarship and recent landmark cases—including key opinions handed down through the 2018 judicial session. Well-loved features keep students engaged by offering a clear delineation between commentary and opinion excerpts, a “Facts” and “Arguments” section before every case, a superb photo program, “Aftermath” and “Global Perspective” boxes, and a wealth of tables, figures, and maps. Students will walk away with an understanding that Supreme Court cases involve real people engaged in real disputes and are not merely legal names and citations.
Bundle with the Resource Center for FREE!
Take your constitutional law class beyond the book with Epstein and Walker’s newly redesigned Resource Center, featuring more than 500 excerpted, supplemental cases referenced in the commentary of the Constitutional Law for a Changing America volumes. The Resource Center offers a place for students to study core content with online quizzes and explore court cases, biographies, and reference material. Instructors can find teaching materials, including hypothetical cases paired with discussion questions and writing assignments, moot-court simulations, test banks, and more.
Ensure FREE access—use bundle ISBN: 978-1-5443-6930-3
Chronological Table of Cases
Tables, Figures, and Boxes
Preface
About the Authors
PART I. THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
CHAPTER 1. Understanding the U.S. Supreme Court
PART II. INSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY
CHAPTER 2. The Judiciary
CHAPTER 3. The Legislature
CHAPTER 4. The Executive
CHAPTER 5. Interbranch Interactions
PART III. NATION–STATE RELATIONS
CHAPTER 6. Federalism
CHAPTER 7. The Commerce Power
CHAPTER 8. The Power to Tax and Spend
PART IV. ECONOMIC LIBERTIES
CHAPTER 9. The Contract Clause
CHAPTER 10. Economic Substantive Due Process
CHAPTER 11. The Takings Clause
Reference Material
Case Index
Subject Index
Supplements
Instructor Resource Site
Instructor Resource site
- The Constitutional Law for a Changing America Resource Center features more than 500 supplemental cases that are mentioned or referenced in the text’s commentary. The authors have excerpted each case in the same format as those in the text, featuring the justices’ votes, a summary of case facts, and a carefully edited version of the justices’ opinions. The authors continue to post recent cases as soon as each Supreme Court term ends, making this the most up-to-date resource of its kind.
ORDER THE CORRECT ISBN to ensure that your students get FREE access to the cases.
Use bundle ISBN: 978-1-5443-6930-3 - Test banks provide a diverse range of prewritten options as well as the opportunity to edit any question and/or insert personalized questions to effectively assess students’ progress and understanding.
Editable, chapter-specific PowerPoint® slides offer complete flexibility for creating a multimedia presentation for the course. - An instructor manual features case briefs, notes, and questions to support your lectures and class discussions.
- Tables and figures from the book are provided for your courses.
- Hypothetical cases and questions help your students apply knowledge of court cases by analyzing and deciding simulated cases as a hypothetical justice. You can use these cases for mock trials, in-class discussion, exams, or homework assignments.
- Additional short-answer questions based on court cases in the book provide another way to assess students’ understanding of key facts and concepts.
Student Study Site
Student Study site
- The Constitutional Law for a Changing America Resource Center features more than 500 supplemental cases that are mentioned or referenced in the text’s commentary. The authors have excerpted each case in the same format as those in the text, featuring the justices’ votes, a summary of case facts, and a carefully edited version of the justices’ opinions. The authors continue to post recent cases as soon as each Supreme Court term ends, making this the most up-to-date resource of its kind. Students must order the bundle ISBN 978-1-5443-6930-3 to get FREE access to the cases.
- Mobile-friendly practice quizzes allow students to independently assess their own mastery of course material.
- Mobile-friendly court case quizzes allow students to check their understanding of key facts on the court cases covered in the book.
“This is the best undergraduate text I’ve found for teaching the evolution of the Supreme Court’s decision-making on constitutional rights and liberties. The authors strike an excellent balance between providing essential contextual material and offering well edited opinions of the Court on key topics. Students consistently respond positively to the textbook because it so engaging and accessible, in terms of both writing style and layout/design.”
Professor of Political Science & Pre-Law Advisor, Stockton University
“If you are teaching a course on Constitutional Law, you should use Epstein and Walker’s book. They have provided the gold standard. This book is chalked full of cases, concepts, analysis, and useful tables and charts. I think they present the political discussion in an ideologically neutral manner and stick to the facts when it comes to covering the main material. Epstein and Walker provide all of the tools that are needed for an instructor to properly present the material and for students to easily grasp the concepts in a course involving constitutional principles, institutional powers, and the checks on the exercise of power.”
Professor, Political Science, Chair, Department of History & Political Science, Barry University
This textbook is a thorough and thought-provoking textbook that provides historical context to assist students in understanding the complex, political, and evolutionary nature of the Supreme Court.
Charleston Southern University
