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:
Courses:
Constitutional Law
Constitutional Law
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
| The Road to the U.S. Constitution |
| Underlying Principles of the Constitution |
CHAPTER 1. Understanding the U.S. Supreme Court
| Processing Supreme Court Cases |
| Supreme Court Decision Making: Legalism |
| Supreme Court Decision Making: Realism |
| Conducting Research on the Supreme Court |
PART II. INSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY
| Origins of the Separation of Powers/Checks and Balances System |
| Separation of Powers and the Constitution |
| Contemporary Thinking on the Constitutional Scheme |
CHAPTER 2. The Judiciary
| Establishment of the Federal Judiciary |
| Judicial Review |
| Constraints on Judicial Power: Article III |
| Constraints on Judicial Power and the Separation of Powers System |
CHAPTER 3. The Legislature
| Article I: Historical Overview |
| Congressional Authority over Internal Affairs: Institutional Independence and Integrity |
| Legislative Powers: Sources and Scope |
| Federal Legislature: Constitutional Interpretations |
CHAPTER 4. The Executive
| The Structure of the Presidency |
| The President’s Constitutional Authority and Tools for Executing It |
| The Faithful Execution of the Laws: Defining the Contours of Presidential Power |
| Domestic Powers of the President |
| The Role of the President in External Relations |
CHAPTER 5. Interbranch Interactions
| Debates over Interbranch Interactions |
| Domestic Powers |
| Powers over Foreign Affairs |
PART III. NATION–STATE RELATIONS
| The Framers and Federalism |
| The Tenth and Eleventh Amendments |
CHAPTER 6. Federalism
| The Doctrinal Cycle of Nation–State Relations |
| The Eleventh Amendment and Sovereign Immunity |
| National Preemption of State Laws |
CHAPTER 7. The Commerce Power
| Foundations of the Commerce Power |
| Attempts to Define the Commerce Power in the Wake of the Industrial Revolution |
| The Supreme Court and the New Deal |
| The Era of Expansive Commerce Clause Jurisprudence |
| Limits on the Commerce Power: The Republican Court Era |
| Commerce Power of the States |
CHAPTER 8. The Power to Tax and Spend
| The Constitutional Power to Tax and Spend |
| Direct Taxes and the Power to Tax Income |
| Taxation of Exports |
| Intergovernmental Tax Immunity |
| Taxation as a Regulatory Power |
| Taxing and Spending for the General Welfare |
| Restrictions on the Revenue Powers of the States |
PART IV. ECONOMIC LIBERTIES
CHAPTER 9. The Contract Clause
| The Framers and the Contract Clause |
| John Marshall and the Contract Clause |
| Decline of the Contract Clause: From the Taney Court to the New Deal |
| Modern Applications of the Contract Clause |
CHAPTER 10. Economic Substantive Due Process
| Development of Substantive Due Process |
| The Roller-Coaster Ride of Substantive Due Process: 1898–1923 |
| The Heyday of Substantive Due Process: 1923–1936 |
| The Depression, the New Deal, and the Decline of Economic Substantive Due Process |
| Substantive Due Process: Contemporary Relevance |
CHAPTER 11. The Takings Clause
| Protecting Private Property from Government Seizure |
| What Is a Taking? |
| What Constitutes a Public Use? |
Reference Material
| Constitution of the United States |
| The Justices |
| Glossary |
| Online Case Archive Index |
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
