Constitutional Law for a Changing America: Institutional Powers and Constraints

by Lee Epstein, Kevin T. McGuire, Thomas G. Walker

Overview

In Constitutional Law for a Changing America: Institutional Powers and Constraints, 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 executive, legislative, and judicial power, facilitates a deeper understanding of how the U.S. Constitution defines what institutions can and cannot do.

This book is ideal for Constitutional Law courses in the two-semester sequence that covers powers and constraints. For courses that cover both rights and liberties and the separation of powers in one semester, see Constitutional Law for a Changing America: A Short Course.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781071934487
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	02/26/2025
Series:	Constitutional Law for a Changing America
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	728
File size:	24 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Lee Epstein (PhD, Emory University) is the University Professor of Law&Political Science and the Hilliard Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Southern California. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Political and Social Science. A recipient of 12 grants from the National Science Foundation, Epstein has authored or co-authored more than 100 articles and essays and 18 books. She is currently co-editing The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Judicial Behaviour. Professor Epstein’s empirical research is frequently cited in the New York Times, among other news media.

Kevin T. McGuire (PhD, The Ohio State University) is Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A former Fulbright Scholar at Trinity College, Dublin, he is the author of Understanding the U.S. Supreme Court: Cases and Controversies and The Supreme Court Bar: Legal Elites in the Washington Community. He is the editor of New Directions in Judicial Politics, and coeditor, with Kermit L. Hall, of Institutions of American Democracy: The Judiciary.

Thomas G. Walker (PhD, University of Kentucky) is the Goodrich C. White Professor Emeritus at Emory University, where he won several teaching awards for his courses on constitutional law and the judicial process. His book A Court Divided, written with Deborah J. Barrow, won the prestigious V. O. Key Award for the best book on Southern politics. He is the author of Eligible for Execution and coauthor of The Supreme Court Compendium: Data, Decisions, and Developments, 7th Edition, with Lee Epstein, Jeffrey A. Segal, and Harold J. Spaeth.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Part One: The U.S. Constitution
Chapter One: 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
Annotated Readings
Part Two: Institutional Authority
Chapter Two: The Judiciary
Establishment of the Federal Judiciary
Judicial Review
Constraints on Judicial Power: Article III
Constraints on Judicial Power: Judicial Self-Restraint and the Separation of Powers System
Annotated Readings
Chapter Three: The Legislature
Article I: Historical Overview
Congressional Authority over Internal Affairs: Institutional Independence and Integrity
Introduction to Legislative Powers
Enumerated Powers
Implied Powers and the Necessary and Proper Clause
Congress’s Intepretation of the Constitution
Annotated Readings
Chapter Four: 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
Annotated Readings
Chapter Five: Interbranch Interactions
Debates over Interbranch Interactions
Domestic Powers
Powers over Foreign Affairs
Annotated Readings
Part Three: Nation-State Relations
Chapter Six: Federalism
The Doctrinal Cycle of Nation-State Relations
The Eleventh Amendment and Sovereign Immunity
National Preemption of State Laws
Annotated Readings
Chapter Seven: 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
Annotated Readings
Chapter Eight: The Power to Tax and Spend
The Framers and Defining the Financial Powers
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
Annotated Readings
Part Four: Economic Liberties
Chapter Nine: 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
Annotated Readings
Chapter Ten: 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
Annotated Readings
Chapter Eleven: The Takings Clause
Protecting Private Property from Government Seizure
What Is a Taking?
What Is a Public Use?
What Is Just Compensation?
Annotated Readings
Reference Material

Editorial Reviews

This casebook for students explores the authority of government as it has developed under U.S. constitutional law, with an emphasis on political factors. The volume contains excerpts from important Court rulings as well as commentary explaining how the law is being applied. Epstein (political science, Washington U., St. Louis) and Walker (political science, Emory U.) describe the events that lead up to the suits and the lawyers, litigants, and interest groups involved. Also included are a glossary of legal terms and brief biographies of justices. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

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.

Sean D. Foreman

Constitutional Law for a Changing America: Institutional Powers and Constraints is by far the best text I’ve found for presenting the broad topics of constitutional law by integrating case law with the broader socio-political context. Epstein and Walker do a fine job of balancing excerpts and analyses throughout the book while keeping an admirably balanced tone."

Rebecca D. Gill

Constitutional Law for a Changing America remains the best political science Constitutional Law textbook on the market. It contains everything I want—an appropriate set of cases, lots of contextual material, and well edited opinions. It is a title that has evolved smartly without losing its core features.

Chad Westerland

Students really like the book and have made spontaneous comments in their course evaluations about how much they enjoy the text. The text has several strengths: great use of visuals and graphics; case discussion is quite good at placing cases in historical context; and the boxes with personal interest pieces are also very helpful.

Liane C. Kosaki

Constitutional Law in a Changing America: Institutional Powers and Constraints is a great textbook. What I like the most are the comprehensive ‘Facts’ and ‘Arguments’ sections within each case, which I find vital in teaching and explaining the reasons behind the Court’s outcomes. The introductory chapter explaining how cases arrive at the Supreme Court and the different methods of constitutional interpretation used in resolving cases also provides a natural starting point for discussions of the Supreme Court and constitutional law.

Benjamin Bricker

I have used this text for several years and students report enjoying it every year. The integration of historical documents and the lively commentary about the historical and political contexts of cases bring them to life and make the material more engaging for students.

Liane Kosaki

The design and focus of the book are terrific. I use several of the supplemental cases from the resource center in every unit; they are very helpful.”

 

Steven B. Lichtman

Overall, I like the Epstein and Walker book very much. In particular, I like the cases included as well as the specific excerpts. Additionally, I like the online bank of cases because there are some that I prefer to cover in class. Having the ‘Facts’ separated from the ‘Arguments’ is very appreciated and allowed for a more focused discussion during class and students were able to follow along more easily.

Kirk Randazzo

Students find the text lively and very helpful. In fact, some had been relying on Internet downloads until they realized how much essential background material they were forfeiting by not using the text. They find the text, moreover, easy to read—anything but ponderous (which many competing casebooks are).

Elizabeth Hull

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.

Linda J. Wharton

The presentation of cases in Constitutional Law for a Changing America: Institutional Powers and Constraints is useful for both my students and me. The presentation lends itself to in-class discussions, permitting students to participate in meaningful ways. The combination of legal, political, and historical analysis helps students to understand the multitude of considerations relevant to the Court’s decisions.

Douglas Rice

The strengths of the Epstein/Walker text include currency with online updates of most recent post-publication decisions; significant political analysis and editorial commentary to supplement the court’s legal opinions; summary tables of legal doctrine; and boxed comparative information about constitutional law and high courts in other countries. I also find the ‘Facts’ section critical as it assists students in case analysis that requires comparisons when deciding whether a precedent is controlling or can be distinguished. The ‘Arguments’ section helps students understand the need to address both sides when answering test problems or writing research papers.

Howard Tolley

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.

Christi Lee Gramling