Processes of Constitutional Decision Making: Cases And Materials

Paul Brest

This popular casebook is highly regarded for its ability to provide a solid introduction to the practical realities of constitutional decision-making by taking a distinctive historical approach. In its revised and updated Fifth Edition, Processes of Constitutional Decisionmaking is an invaluable tool for teaching students the origins and development of constitutional doctrine.

Proven effective through years of successful classroom use, the casebook traces the historical, political, and social development of constitutional law, then considers constitutional questions in a broad historical context, presents cutting-edge contributions from important contemporary legal scholars, discusses seminal cases from the annals of history that show the relevance of historical materials to modern constitutional analysis, provides full treatment of the important issues of civil rights, federalism, and separation of powers, draws on the combined expertise of an outstanding author team, contains particularly strong chapters on the constitutional treatment of sex equality and race.

Longtime users will find much new information in the Fifth Edition, including: timely coverage of civil liberties during wartime, revised and expanded treatment of constitutional rights of sexual orientation minorities, more material on rights of the poor and constitutional rights in the welfare state, and full analysis of new doctrines on federalism and civil rights powers.