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

Eleventh Edition

Lee Epstein - Washington University St. Louis, USA
Kevin T. McGuire - The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
Thomas G. Walker - Emory University, USA

Courses:
Constitutional Law | Introduction to American Government

August 2021 | 752 pages | CQ Press

Political factors influence judicial decisions. Arguments and input from lawyers and interest groups, shifting public opinion, and the ideological and behavioral inclinations of the justices collectively influence the development of constitutional doctrine. In Constitutional Law for a Changing America, bestselling authors Lee Epstein, Kevin T. McGuire, and Thomas G. Walker draw on both political science and legal studies to analyze and excerpt cases, accounting for recent landmark court decisions, including key opinions handed down through the 2020 term.

Updated with additional material such as recent court rulings, more than 500 supplemental cases, and greater coverage of freedom of expression, this Eleventh Edition will develop students’ understanding of how the U.S. Constitution protects civil rights and liberties.

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The online resources for your text are available via the password-protected Instructor Resource Site. Learn more.

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Chronological Table of Cases

Tables, Figures, and Boxes

Preface

PART I. THE SUPREME COURT AND THE CONSTITUTION

An Introduction to Rights and Liberties

The Road to the Bill of Rights

The Amendment Process

Constitutional Change and the Supreme Court

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

ANNOTATED READINGS

CHAPTER 2. The Judiciary: Institutional Powers and Constraints

Judicial Review

Constraints On Judicial Power

ANNOTATED READINGS

CHAPTER 3. Incorporation of the Bill of Rights

Must States Abide by the Bill of Rights? Initial Responses

Incorporation through the Fourteenth Amendment: Early Interpretations

Tests Emerge

Incorporation in the Aftermath of Palko

ANNOTATED READINGS

PART II. CIVIL LIBERTIES

Approaching Civil Liberties

CHAPTER 4. Religion: Exercise and Establishment

Defining Religion

Free Exercise of Religion

Religious Establishment

ANNOTATED READINGS

CHAPTER 5. Foundations of Freedom of Expression

Free Expression in the Constitution

Justifications for Protecting Expression

Setting the Stage for Free Expression in the Supreme Court

Free Expression and the Incitement of Lawless Action

ANNOTATED READINGS

CHAPTER 6. Modern-Day Approaches to Free Expression

An Overview of Modern-Day Free Speech Doctrine

What Is Expression?

Does the Expression Fall Into an Unprotected Category?

Who Is Speaking?

Is The Regulation Content Neutral Or Content Based?

ANNOTATED READINGS

CHAPTER 7. Freedom of the Press

Prior Restraint

Government Control of Press Content

News Gathering and Special Rights

ANNOTATED READINGS

CHAPTER 8. The Boundaries of Free Expression: Libel, Obscenity, and Emerging Areas of Government Regulation

Libel

Obscenity

ANNOTATED READINGS

CHAPTER 9. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms

Initial Interpretations

The Second Amendment Revisited

Heller and the States

In the Aftermath of Heller and McDonald

ANNOTATED READINGS

CHAPTER 10. Privacy and Personal Liberty

The Right to Privacy: Foundations

Reproductive Freedom and the Right to Privacy: Abortion

The Aftermath of Roe: Attempts to Limit the Decision

Attempts to Overturn Roe

Personal Liberty and Privacy Beyond Reproductive Freedom

ANNOTATED READINGS

PART III. THE RIGHTS OF THE CRIMINALLY ACCUSED

The Criminal Justice System and Constitutional Rights

Overview of the Criminal Justice System

Trends in Court Decision Making

CHAPTER 11. Investigations and Evidence

Searches and Seizures

The Fifth Amendment and Self-Incrimination

ANNOTATED READINGS

CHAPTER 12. Attorneys, Trials, and Punishments

The Right to Counsel

The Pretrial Period and the Right to Bail

The Sixth Amendment and Fair Trials

Trial Proceedings

Final Trial Stage: An Overview of Sentencing

The Eighth Amendment

Posttrial Protections and the Double Jeopardy Clause

Postrelease Protections

ANNOTATED READINGS

PART IV. CIVIL RIGHTS

CIVIL RIGHTS AND THE CONSTITUTION

The Fourteenth Amendment

The Fifteenth Amendment

CHAPTER 13. Race Discrimination and the Foundations of Equal Protection

Initial Approaches to the Fourteenth Amendment

State Action Requirement

ANNOTATED READINGS

CHAPTER 14. Contemporary Approaches to Equal Protection

Rational Basis Scrutiny

Strict Scrutiny and Claims of Race Discrimination

Heightened Scrutiny and Claims of Gender Discrimination

Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation

Discrimination Based on Economic Status

Discrimination against Aliens

The Future of Discrimination Law

ANNOTATED READINGS

CHAPTER 15. Voting and Representation

Voting Rights

Political Representation

Election Campaign Regulation

The Court and Presidential Elections

ANNOTATED READINGS

Reference Material

Appendix 1. Constitution of the United States

Appendix 2. The Justices

Appendix 3. Glossary

Appendix 4. Online Case Archive Index

Case Index

Subject Index

About the Authors

Supplements

Instructor Resource Site
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/epsteinrights11e

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.

For additional information, custom options, or to request a personalized walkthrough of these resources, please contact your sales representative.

TEXT LOOKS SOLID AND WELL SUITED FOR THE SUBJECT OF THIS COURSE.

Brad Bartlett

Administration of Justice, Palomar College

November 1, 2023

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I really like the format of the textbook and the fact that it has up-to-date cases.

Teri Smith

Political Science/Public Administration, Jacksonville State University

March 8, 2024

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I adopted the eighth edition but was sent a hard copy of the eleventh edition. Sara, my Sage rep, has offered to zoom with me to advise me of the differences between the two. I am still waiting for the teaching resources that go with the eighth edition. My review of the eighth edition that my predecessor used is more than acceptable to me for this class.

Autumn Walden

Social Behavioral Science Div, Elmira College

January 1, 2022

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Key features

NEW TO THIS EDITION:

Each chapter is thoroughly updated for currency and scholarship and reflects the most recent court rulings.
Two chapters now cover freedom of speech: In order to highlight some of the foundational issues and contrast them with contemporary disputes over expression, coverage of speech has separated into two chapters — Chapter 5 offers an overview of the enduring topics of free expression, and Chapter 6 reorganizes cases around modern legal questions about speech.
Fourth Amendment and Tech: Chapter 11 includes a closer examination of one of the problems at the intersection of the Fourth Amendment and modern technology.
Coverage of Religion - Our coverage of religion in Chapter 4 has expanded, revisiting some previous cases (such as Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah) and incorporating some new ones (such as American Legion v. American Humanist Association).

KEY FEATURES:

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.
"Facts” and "Arguments" sections before every case help students understand key rulings.
Tables and figures on Court trends bring out the rich legal, social, historical, economic, and political contexts in which the Court reaches its decisions.