Essential Supreme Court Decisions: Summaries of Leading Cases in U.S. Constitutional Law

by John R. Vile Dean of University Honors

Overview

The only reference guide to Supreme Court cases organized both topically and chronologically within chapters so that readers understand how cases fit into a historical context, the 18th edition has been updated with 20 new cases, including landmark decisions on such topics as executive powers, federalism, religious freedom, free speech, LGBTQ rights, and voting rights, among others. Updated through the end of the 2021 Supreme Court session, this book remains and indispensable resource for undergraduate and law school students, lawyers, and everyone interested in our nation’s laws and Constitution.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538164761
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	02/03/2022
Edition description:	Eighteenth Edition
Pages:	662
Sales rank:	439,885
Product dimensions:	6.07(w) x 9.02(h) x 1.56(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

John R. Vile is professor of political science at Middle Tennessee State University. He is the author or editor of numerous books on political science and constitutional law, including Encyclopedia of the First Amendment, The Encyclopedia of Constitutional Amendments, and A Companion to the U.S. Constitution and Its Amendments.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Eighteenth Edition

Acknowledgments

This Is Our Supreme Court

1 Article I: The Legislative Branch

Powers

Commerce

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

Brown v. Maryland (1827)

Cooley v. the Board of Wardens of the Port of Philadelphia (1851)

United States v. E. C. Knight Co. (1895)

In re Debs (1895)

Champion v. Ames (1903)

The Shreveport Case (1914)

Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918)

Stafford v. Wallace (1922)

Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority (1936)

West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish (1937)

[United States v. Carolene Products Company (1938)]* [United States v. F. W. Darby Lumber Co. (1941)] Wickard v. Filburn (1942)

United States v. Southeastern Underwriters Association (1944)

Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States (1964)

United States v. Lopez (1995)

Jones v. United States (2000)

[United States v. Morrison (2000)] Gonzales v. Raich (2005)

[National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebilius (2012)]

Taylor v. United States (2016)

Delegation of Powers

J. W. Hampton, Jr. & Co. v. United States (1928)

Panama Refining Co. v. Ryan (1935)

Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States (1935)

United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp. (1936)

Mistretta v. United States (1989)

Implied Powers

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

McGrain v. Daugherty (1927)

Watkins v. United States (1957)

Barenblatt v. United States (1959)

Taxing/Spending and Regulatory Powers

Hylton v. United States (1796)

Collector v. Day (1871)

Legal Tender Cases (1871)

Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan and Trust Co. (1895)

McCray v. United States (1904)

Swift and Co. v. United States (1905)

Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States (1910)

Bailey v. Drexel Furniture Co. (1922)

United States v. Butler (1936)

Steward Machine Co. v. Davis (1937)

National Labor Relations Board v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation (1937)

Graves v. New York ex rel. O’Keefe (1939)

Mulford v. Smith (1939)

South Dakota v. Dole (1987)

National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012)

National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning (2014)

King v. Burwell (2015)

Michigan v. EPA (2015)

Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (2020)

Privileges and Terms of Members

Powell v. McCormack (1969)

Gravel v. United States (1972)

U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton (1995)

2Article II: The Executive Branch

Powers

Martin v. Mott (1827)

Ex parte Merryman (1861)

Mississippi v. Johnson (1867)

In re Neagle (1890)

Myers v. United States (1926)

Ex parte Grossman (1925)

Rathbun, Humphrey’s Executor v. United States (1935)

Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952)

Dames and Moore v. Regan (1981)

Haig v. Agee (1981)

Trump v. Hawaii (2018)

Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California (2020)

Privileges and Limitations

United States v. Nixon (1974)

Nixon v. Fitzgerald (1982)

Clinton v. Jones (1997)

Trump v. Vance (2020)

3 Articles I and II: Distinct Yet Overlapping Powers

Separation of Powers Issues

United States v. Lovett (1946)

Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha (1983)

Bowsher v. Snyar (1986)

Morrison v. Olson (1988)

Clinton v. City of New York (1998)

Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (2010)

Treaties and Executive Agreements

Missouri v. Holland (1920)

United States v. Belmont (1937)

Goldwater v. Carter (1979)

Zivotofsky v. Kerry (2015)

War-Making Powers

The Prize Cases (1863)

Ex parte Milligan (1866)

Selective Draft Law Cases (1918)

Hamilton v. Kentucky Distilleries & Warehouse Co. (1919)

Ex parte Quirin (1942)

Korematsu v. United States (1944)

Woods v. Cloyd W. Miller Co. (1948)

Johnson v. Eisentrager (1950)

[Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952)]

Rostker v. Goldberg (1981)

Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004)

Rasul v. Bush (2004)

Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2006)

Boudmediene v. Bush (2008)

4 Article III: The Judicial Branch

Judicial Jurisdiction and Standing

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee (1816)

Cohens v. Virginia (1821)

Eakin v. Raub (1825)

Ableman v. Booth (1859)

Ex parte McCardle (1869)

Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Mellon (Frothingham v. Mellon) (1923)

Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins (1938)

Cooper v. Aaron (1958)

Flast v. Cohen (1968)

Stone v. Powell (1976)

Elk Grove v. Newdow (2004)

Uzuegbunun v. Preczewski (2021)

Political Questions Doctrine

Luther v. Borden (1849)

Muskrat v. United States (1911) [Coleman v. Miller (1939)]

Baker v. Carr (1962)

[Powell v. McCormack (1969)]

Nixon v. United States (1993)

Rucho v. Common Cause (2019)

5 Articles IV and VI: Federalism

Eleventh Amendment and Sovereign Immunity of States

Hans v. Louisiana (1890)

Monaco v. Mississippi (1934)

Alden v. Maine (1999)

Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents (2000)

University of Alabama Board of Trustees v. Garrett (2001)

Lapides v. Board of Regents of University of Georgia (2002)

Federal Maritime Commission v. South Carolina State Ports Authority (2002)

Penneast Pipeline Co. v. New Jersey (2021)

Federal Preemption

Southern Pacific Co. v. Arizona (1945)

Pennsylvania v. Nelson (1956)

Sprietsman v. Mercury Marine (2002)

Judicial Jurisdiction over States

Chisholm v. Georgia (1793) [Cohens v. Virginia (1821)]

Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831)

Worcester v. Georgia (1832)

Puerto Rico v. Branstad (1987)

Limits on the States

[McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)]

Leisy v. Hardin (1890)

Edwards v. California (1941)

Camps Newfound/Owatonna v. Town of Harrison (1997)

Crosby v. National Foreign Trade Council (2000)

Cook v. Gralike (2001)

Smith v. Doe (2003) [Gonzales v. Raich (2005)]

Limits on Federal Regulation of States

New York v. United States (1992) [United States v. Lopez (1995)]

Printz v. United States, Mack v. United States (1997)

United States v. Morrison (2000)

Status of the States

Texas v. White (1869)

[Slaughterhouse Cases (1873)] Coyle v. Smith (1911)

Tenth Amendment and State Police Powers

United States v. F. W. Darby Lumber Co. (1941)

National League of Cities v. Usery (1976)

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Wyoming (1983)

Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority (1985)

Arizona v. United States (2012)

6 Articles V and VII: Constitutional Amending Process and Ratification of the Constitution

The Amending Process

Hollingsworth v. Virginia (1798)

National Prohibition Cases (1920)

Hawke v. Smith (1920)

Dillon v. Gloss (1921)

Coleman v. Miller (1939)

7 Property Rights

Contract Clause (Article 1, Section 10)

Calder v. Bull (1798)

Fletcher v. Peck (1810)

Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819)

Charles River Bridge Co. v. Warren River Bridge (1837)

Stone v. Mississippi (1880)

Home Building and Loan Association v. Blaisdell (1934)

United States Trust Co. v. New Jersey (1977)

Due Process (Economic) and Freedom of Contract (Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments)

Slaughterhouse Cases (1873)

Munn v. Illinois (1877)

Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company (1886)

Holden v. Hardy (1898)

Lochner v. New York (1905)

Muller v. Oregon (1908)

Bunting v. Oregon (1917)

Adkins v. Children’s Hospital (1923)

Nebbia v. New York (1934)

[West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish (1937)]

Lincoln Federal Labor Union No. 19129, et al., v. Northwestern Iron and Metal

Co., et al. (1949)

BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore (1996)

State Farm Mutual Auto Insurance Company v. Campbell (2003)

Takings Clause (Fifth Amendment)

Village of Euclid, Ohio, v. Ambler Realty Co. (1926)

Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff (1984)

Dolan v. City of Tigard (1994)

Kelo v. City of New London (2005)

Horne v. Department of Agriculture (2015)

Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid (2021)

8 The Bill of Rights and Its Application to the States

Incorporation

Barron v. Baltimore (1833)

Gitlow v. New York (1925)

Palko v. Connecticut (1937)

United States v. Carolene Products Co. (1938)

Adamson v. California (1947)

Rochin v. California (1952)

[Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)] [Duncan v. Louisiana (1968)] [McDonald v.

Chicago (2010)]

[Ramos v. Louisiana (2020)]

9 First Amendment: Religious Rights

Establishment Clause

School-Related Cases

Everson v. Board of Education of Ewing Township (1947)

Zorach v. Clauson (1952)

Engel et al. v. Vitale et al. (1962)

Abington School District v. Schempp (1963)

Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

Stone v. Graham (1980)

Widmar v. Vincent (1981)

Wallace v. Jaffree (1985)

Edwards v. Aguillard (1987)

Lee v. Weisman (1992)

Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School District (1993)

Agostini v. Felton (1997)

Santa Fe School District v. Doe (2000)

Good News Club v. Milford Central School (2001)

Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002)[Elk Grove v. Newdow (2004)]

Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC (2012)

Religious Displays

[Stone v. Graham (1980)]

Lynch v. Donnelly (1984)

Van Orden v. Perry (2005)

Salazar v. Buono (2010)

American Legon v. American Humanist Association (2019)

Prayers at Governmental Meetings

Marsh v. Chambers (1983)

Free Exercise Clause

Reynolds v. United States (1879)

Cantwell v. Connecticut (1940)

Marsh v. Alabama (1946)

Welsh v. United States (1970)

Goldman v. Weinberger (1986)

Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of Oregon v.

Smith (1990)

Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah (1993)

Rosenberger v. University of Virginia (1995) [City of Boerne v. Flores (1997)]

Gonzales v. Centro Espirita (2006)

Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. (2014)

Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer (2017)

Masterpiece Cakeshop, LTD v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018)

Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo (2020)

Fulton v. City Philadelphia (2021)

[Uzuegbunun v. Preczewski (2021)]

10 First Amendment: Political Rights

Association [Implied], Assembly, and Petition

DeJonge v. Oregon (1937)

Hague v. Congress of Industrial Organizations (1939)

NAACP v. Alabama (1958)

Branti v. Finkel (1980)

Board of Directors of Rotary International v. Rotary Club of Duarte (1987)

Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Group of Boston (1995)

Rumsfeld v. Forum (2006)

Press

Abrams v. United States (1919)

Near v. Minnesota ex rel. Olson (1931)

New York Times Company v. Sullivan (1964)

New York Times Company v. United States (1971)

Branzburg v. Hayes (1972)

Nebraska Press Association v. Stuart (1976)

Gannett Co. v. DePasquale (1979)

Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Commonwealth of Virginia (1980)

Chandler and Granger v. Florida (1981)

Hustler Magazine v. Falwell (1988)

Speech

Campaign-Related

Buckley v. Valeo (1976)

Elrod v. Burns (1976)

Republican Party of Minnesota v. White (2002)

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)

Arizona Free Enterprise v. Bennett (2011)

McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission (2014)

Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redictricting

Commission (2015)

Commercial Speech

Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens

Consumer Council, Inc. (1976)

First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti (1978)

44 Liquormart, Inc. v. Rhode Island (1996)

Matal v. Tam (2017)

Iancu v. Brunetti (2019)

Miscellaneous

Elonis v. United States (2015)

Walker v. Texas Div., Sons of Confederate Veterans, INC (2015)

Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (2018)

Obscenity

Burstyn v. Wilson (1952)

Roth v. United States (1957)

Miller v. California (1973)

New York v. Ferber (1982)

Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (1997)

National Endowment for the Arts v. Finley (1998)

Subversive Speech

Schenck v. United States (1919) [Gitlow v. New York 1925)]

American Communications Association v. Douds (1950)

Dennis v. United States (1951)

Keyishian v. Board of Regents (1967)

Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)

Symbolic Speech or Speech and Conduct

West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943)

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

Texas v. Johnson (1989)

Erie v. Pap’s A.M. (2000)

Virginia v. Black (2003)

Student Speech

[West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943)]

[Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)]

Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser (1986)

Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988)

Mahanoy Area School Dist. v. B. L. (2021)

Time, Place, and Manner and Other Restrictions on Speech

Kovacs v. Cooper (1949)

Feiner v. New York (1951)

Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation (1978)

Garcetti v. Ceballos (2006)

United States v. Stevens (2010)

Snyder v. Phelps (2011)

Brown v. Entertainment (2011)

United States v. Alvarez (2012)

Reed v. Town of Gilbert (2015)

11 Second, Third, and Fourth Amendments

The Right to Bear Arms

District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

Electronic Surveillance

Olmstead v. United States (1928)

Katz v. United States (1967)

United States v. United States District Court (1972)

United States v. Jones (2012)

Riley v. California (2014)

Other Search and Seizure

Weeks v. United States (1914)

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

Terry v. Ohio (1968)

Chimel v. California (1969)

Zurcher v. the Stanford Daily (1978)

Marshall v. Barlow’s, Inc. (1978)

United States v. Ross (1982)

United States v. Leon (1984)

Nix v. Williams (1984)

New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985)

California v. Ciraolo (1986)

California v. Greenwood (1988)

Board of Education of Independent School District No. 92 of Pottawatomie

County v. Earls (2002)357 [Lawrence v. Texas (2003)]

Thornton v. United States (2004)

Safford Unified School District #1 v. Redding (2009)

Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders of City of Burlington (2012)

Bailey v. United States (2013)

Florida v. Harris (2013)

Maryland v. King (2013)

Carpenter v. United States (2018)

12 Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Amendments

Double Jeopardy and Right to Confrontation

United States v. Lanza (1922)[Palko v. Connecticut (1937)]

Coy v. Iowa (1988)

Sattazahn v. Pennsylvania (2003)

Due Process

[Adkins v. Children’s Hospital (1923)]

Tumey v. Ohio (1927)

Bolling v. Sharpe (1954)

O’Connor v. Donaldson (1975)

Bordenkircher v. Hayes (1978)

DeShaney v. Winnebago Social Services (1989)

Caperton v. A. T. Massey Coal Co., Inc. (2009)

FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. (2012)

United States v. Windsor (2013)

Juries

Hurtado v. California (1884)

Norris v. Alabama (1935)

Duncan v. Louisiana (1968)

Burch v. Louisiana (1979)

Duren v. Missouri (1979)

Batson v. Kentucky (1986)

Ramos v. Louisiana (2020)

Right to Counsel

Powell v. Alabama (1932)

Chambers v. Florida (1940)

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

Argersinger v. Hamlin (1972)

Dickerson v. United States (2000)

Garza v. Idaho (2019)

Self-Incrimination and Immunity

[Adamson v. California (1947)]

Ullmann v. United States (1956)

Malloy v. Hogan (1964)

Schmerber v. California (1966)

Marchetti v. United States (1968)

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

State of Louisiana ex rel. Francis v. Resweber (1947)

Gregg v. Georgia (1976)

McCleskey v. Kemp (1987)

Thompson v. Oklahoma (1988)

Payne v. Tennessee (1991)

Atkins v. Virginia (2002)

Ewing v. California (2003)

Baze v. Rees (2008)

Miller v. Alabama (2012)

Glossip v. Gross (2015)

13 Ninth Amendment: Right to Privacy, and Other Unenumerated Rights

Parental and Marital Rights

Meyer v. Nebraska (1923)

Pierce v. Society of Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary (1925)

Buck v. Bell (1927)

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

Right to Travel

Shapiro v. Thompson (1969)

Right to Die

Zablocki v. Redhail (1978)

Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health (1990)

Vacco v. Quill, Washington v. Glucksberg (1997)

Abortion Rights

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Harris v. McRae (1980)

Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey (1992)

Gonzales v. Carhart (2007)

Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt (2016)

LGBTQ Rights

Bowers v. Hardwick (1986)

Lawrence v. Texas (2003)

Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

[Masterpiece Cakeshop, LTD. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018)]

Bosdock v. Clayton County, Georgia (2020)

[Fulton v. City of Philadelphia (2021)]

14 Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments

Fourteenth and Fifteenth Enforcement Powers

Enforcement Powers

Katzenbach v. Morgan (1966)

City of Boerne v. Flores (1997)

Equal Protection and Privileges and Immunities

African Americans and Racial Classifications

Scott v. Sandford (1857) [Slaughterhouse Cases 1873)]

The Civil Rights Cases (1883)

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada (1938)

Shelley v. Kraemer (1948)

Sweatt v. Painter (1950)

McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents (1950) [Bolling v. Sharpe (1954)]

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)

Brown v. Board of Education II (1955)

Loving v. Virginia (1967)

Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co. (1968)

Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education (1971)

Moose Lodge No. 107 v. Irvis (1972)

Milliken v. Bradley (1974)

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)

United Steel Workers of America v. Weber, Kaiser Aluminum v. Weber, United States

v. Weber (1979)

Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena (1995)

Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)

Ricci v. DeStefano (2009)

Fisher v. University of Texas (2016)

Protection, Privileges, and Immunities

Aliens

United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898)

Oyama v. California (1948)

Foley v. Connelie (1978)

Plyler v. Doe (1982)

Sessions v. Morales-Santana (2017)

Sexual Classifications

Reed v. Reed (1971)

Frontiero v. Richardson (1973)

Michael M. v. Superior Court of Sonoma County (1981)

Hishon v. King & Spalding (1984)

United States v. Virginia (1996)

[Bosdock v. Clayton County, Georgia (2020)]

Various Other Classifications

San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez (1973)

Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center (1985)

Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson (1986)

Gregory v. Ashcroft (1991)

Romer v. Evans (1996)

Connecticut Department of Public Safety v. John Doe (2003)

[Lawrence v. Texas (2003)]

[Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)]

15 Voting Rights

Voting Rights

Ex parte Yarbrough (1884)

Guinn v. United States (1915)

United States v. Classic (1941)

Smith v. Allwright (1944)

Gomillion v. Lightfoot (1960)

Wesberry v. Sanders (1964)

Reynolds v. Sims (1964)

Oregon v. Mitchell (1970)

Dunn v. Blumstein (1972)

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

Bush v. Gore (2000)

Crawford v. Marion County (2008)

Shelby County v. Holder (2013)

Cooper v. Harris (2017)

[Rucho v. Common Cause (2019)]

Chialafo v. Washington (2020)

Members of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1789–2013

The Constitution of the United States

Glossary of Legal Terms

Alphabetical List of Cases Briefed

Chronological List of Cases by Chief Justice

Index

Editorial Reviews

Essential Supreme Court Decisions remains the most comprehensive single collection of the Court's decisions. As with earlier editions, it is indispensable for the study of the work of the Supreme Court. Decisions are organized by constitutional articles, the Bill of Rights, and amendments. Essential.

Choice

Essential Supreme Court Decisions remains the most comprehensive single collection of the Court's decisions. As with earlier editions, it is indispensable for the study of the work of the Supreme Court. Decisions are organized by constitutional articles, the Bill of Rights, and amendments. Essential.

From the Publisher

The beauty of Essential Supreme Court Decisions is in how easy it is to read, how comprehensive the coverage, and how scholarly and balanced the treatment of the decisions are.

David Schultz

Having worn well for more than half-a-century, Essential Supreme Court Decisions continues to bring a much needed, comprehensive, no nonsense, no frills, format for studying basic elements of constitutional law. No wonder that it has been so popular with students and faculty alike.

Henry J. Abraham

The longevity of Professor Vile’s book attests to both its quality and utility. It is an excellent compilation organized in a uniquely valuable manner. Succinctly summarizing each of the seminal cases in terms of the facts, question, decision and reasoning is very useful as both a teaching tool and for quick reference. It is easy to understand its popularity.

Marcus D. Pohlmann

The 15th edition of Essential Supreme Court Decisions remains the most comprehensive single collection of the Court's decisions. As with earlier editions, it is indispensable for the study of the work of the Supreme Court. Decisions are organized by constitutional articles, the Bill of Rights, and amendments. For example, chapter 8 includes decisions ranging from Barron v. Baltimore (1833) to Duncan v. Louisiana (1968), all of which address the application of provisions of the Bill of Rights to the various states. Each chapter includes an analysis of the relevant decisions and the context in which the Court acted. Appendixes provide the text of the Constitution, a glossary of legal terms, an alphabetical listing of cases, and a chronological listing of cases by chief justice. The ratified amendments to the Constitution are listed as 'articles,' reflecting the drafting terminology of 'articles of amendment.' Thus readers find in the constitutional text 'Article I,' ratified in 1791, which includes the Bill of Rights provisions commonly known as the First Amendment. Though this may be misleading for some readers, it does not represent a textual flaw in this excellent collection. Summing Up: Essential.

Choice Reviews

The 15th edition of Essential Supreme Court Decisions remains the most comprehensive single collection of the Court's decisions. As with earlier editions, it is indispensable for the study of the work of the Supreme Court. Decisions are organized by constitutional articles, the Bill of Rights, and amendments. For example, chapter 8 includes decisions ranging from Barron v. Baltimore (1833) to Duncan v. Louisiana (1968), all of which address the application of provisions of the Bill of Rights to the various states. Each chapter includes an analysis of the relevant decisions and the context in which the Court acted. Appendixes provide the text of the Constitution, a glossary of legal terms, an alphabetical listing of cases, and a chronological listing of cases by chief justice. The ratified amendments to the Constitution are listed as 'articles,' reflecting the drafting terminology of 'articles of amendment.' Thus readers find in the constitutional text 'Article I,' ratified in 1791, which includes the Bill of Rights provisions commonly known as the First Amendment. Though this may be misleading for some readers, it does not represent a textual flaw in this excellent collection. Summing Up: Essential.

CHOICE