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Constitutional Law for a Changing America
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Constitutional Law for a Changing America
Rights, Liberties, and Justice

Twelfth Edition
September 2024 | 720 pages | CQ Press
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In Constitutional Law for a Changing America: Rights, Liberties, and Justice, bestselling authors Lee Epstein, Kevin T. McGuire, and Thomas G. Walker show students how political factors influence judicial decisions and shape the development of constitutional law. The Twelfth Edition, updated with additional material such as recent court rulings, more than 500 supplemental cases, and greater coverage of freedom of expression, will facilitate a deeper understanding of how the U.S. Constitution protects civil rights and liberties.

Included with this title:

LMS Cartridge: Import this title's instructor resources into your school's learning management system (LMS) and save time. Don't use an LMS? You can still access all of the same online resources for this title via the password-protected Instructor Resource Site. Select the Resources tab on this page to learn more.
 
Part One: The Supreme Court and the Constitution
 
Chapter One: Understanding the U.S. Supreme Court
 
Chapter Two: The Judiciary: Institutional Powers and Constraints
 
Chapter Three: Incorporation of the Bill of Rights
 
Part Two: Civil Liberties
 
Chapter Four: Religion: Exercise and Establishment
 
Chapter Five: Foundations of Freedom of Expression
 
Chapter Six: Modern-Day Approaches to Free Expression
 
Chapter Seven: Freedom of the Press
 
Chapter Eight: The Boundaries of Free Expression: Libel, Obscenity, and Emerging Areas of Government Regulation
 
Chapter Nine: The Right to Keep and Bear Arms
 
Chapter Ten: Privacy and Personal Liberty
 
Part Three: The Rights of the Criminally Accused
 
Chapter Eleven: Investigations and Evidence
 
Chapter Twelve: Attorneys, Trials, and Punishments
 
Part Four: Civil Rights
 
Chapter Thirteen: Race Discrimination and the Foundations of Equal Protection
 
Chapter Fourteen: Contemporary Approaches to Equal Protection
 
Chapter Fifteen: Voting and Representation

Supplements

Instructor Resources
Online resources included with this text

The online resources for your text are available via the password-protected Instructor Resource Site, which offers access to all text-specific resources, including a test bank, and editable, chapter-specific PowerPoint® slides.

Case Archive
http://edge.sagepub.com/epsteinrights12e

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. 

Key features
NEW TO THIS EDITION:
  • Strengthened the distinctive features of earlier versions by maintaining a focus on enduring issues of constitutional law while incorporating new cases that reflect changes in the Court’s thinking or in the composition of the Court itself through the most recent term (2023). Highlights include:
    • Chapter 3: Review changes in the justices’ approach to free exercise of religion and expand the discussion of the establishment clause by examining the evolution and demise of the Lemon test, with a focus on Kennedy v. Bremerton School District.
    • Chapter 4: Traces the demise of the Court's Lemon test, including a complete presentation of Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, which overruled Lemon.
    • Chapter 6: Include the decision concerning the Court’s recent interest in compelled speech; 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis examines a clash between public accommodation laws that forbid discrimination and the expressive rights of creative business enterprises that are unwilling to create messages with which they disagree.
    • Chapter 7: Now includes a classic case of prior restraint, Nebraska Press Association v. Stuart.
    • Chapter 9: The justices expanding doctrine on the right to keep and bear arms is illustrated by including New York Pistol & Rifle Association, Inc. v. Bruen.
    • Chapter 10: Has been substantially revised to take account the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to abandon its longtime precedent on abortion, Roe v. Wade.
    • Chapter 14: Devotes a good deal of attention to the Court’s rejection of the use of race as a factor in college admissions. It includes Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College.
  • Each chapter is thoroughly updated for currency and scholarship and reflects the most recent court rulings.
  • Constitutional questions pertaining to the Internet are more fully integrated into relevant chapters.
KEY FEATURES:
  • Facts and Arguments sections before every case help students understand key rulings.
  • A range of Aftermath boxes for selected cases provide final chapters to these stories, stimulating interesting discussions about the decisions’ impacts on the lives of ordinary Americans.
  • Global Perspective boxes showcase laws and legal practices of other countries, enabling students to compare and contrast U.S. Supreme Court decisions, on a wide range of issues such as the death penalty and libel, with policies developed in other countries.
  • Tables and figures on Court trends bring out the rich legal, social, historical, economic, and political contexts in which the Court reaches its decisions.

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