Vol. 2 No. 10 (October, 1992) pp. 121-133
Editor's Note and Special Editor's Introduction
With this transmission, THE LAW AND POLITICS BOOK REVIEW
inaugurates a series of reviews of constitutional law case books.
A list of the books that will be reviewed follows. These reviews
have been edited by Susan Mezey of Loyola University Chicago. My
particular thanks go to Professor Mezey and the reviewers for
performing this valuable task for all of us.
I would also like to inaugurate with this series a new feature of
THE REVIEW, a Letters to the Editor section. Your comments on
these and other reviews are welcome. Send them to me at
mzltov@nwu.edu. -- Herbert Jacob, Editor
List of Case Books to be Reviewed
Lucius J. Barker and Twiley W. Barker, Jr. CIVIL LIBERTIES AND
THE CONSTITUTION, 6th Ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall
1990. 689 pp. Paper $51.00. Reviewed by Lawrence Baum, Department
of Political Science, Ohio State University.
Paul Brest and Sanford Levinson. PROCESSES OF CONSTITUTIONAL
DECISIONMAKING: CASES AND MATERIALS,3d Ed. Boston: Little, Brown
& Company 1992. lx, 1576 pp. Cloth $50.00. Reviewed by Lief
Carter, Department of Political Science, University of Georgia.
Craig R. Ducat and Harold W. Chase. CONSTITUTIONAL
INTERPRETATION, 5th Ed. St. Paul: West Publishing Company 1992.
1700 pp. Cloth $58.25. Paper: Volume I (700 pp.) $28.25; Volume
II (1050 pp.) $38.25. Reviewed by Beth M. Henschen, Department of
Political Science, Loyola University Chicago.
Lee Epstein and Thomas G. Walker. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW FOR A
CHANGING AMERICA Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press
1992. Paper: Volume I (550 pp.); Volume II (691 pp.) $26.95 each.
Reviewed by Edward V. Heck, Department of Political Science, San
Diego State University.
Louis Fisher. AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW New York: McGraw Hill
1990. 1440 pp. Cloth $54.86. Paper: Volume I (640 pp.); Volume II
(896 pp.) $27.96 each. Reviewed by Susan Burgess, Department of
Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Sheldon Goldman. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: CASES AND ESSAYS, 2d Ed. New
York: HarperCollins 1991. 916 pp. Cloth $45.00. Reviewed by Mark
A. Graber, Department of Government, University of Texas at
Austin.
Gerald Gunther. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, 12th Ed. Westbury, New York:
Foundation Press 1991 1675 pp. Cloth $46.00. Reviewed by Joseph
F. Kobylka, Department of Political Science, Southern Methodist
University.
Susan M. Leeson and James C. Foster. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: CASES IN
CONTEXT. New York: St. Martin's Press 1992. 856 pp. Cloth $38.00.
Reviewed by Liane Kosaki, Department of Political Science,
Washington University.
William B. Lockhart, Yale Kamisar, Jesse H. Choper, and Steven H.
Shriffin. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: CASES-COMMENTS-QUESTIONS St. Paul:
West Publishing Company 1991. 1643 pp. Cloth $49.95. Reviewed by
David Schultz, Department of Political Science, Trinity
University.
David M. O'Brien. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW AND POLITICS New York: W.W.
Norton & Company 1991. Paper: Volume I (778 pp.); Volume II
(1538 pp.) $25.95 each. Reviewed by Judith A. Baer, Department of
Political Science, Texas A&M University.
Ralph A. Rossum and G. Alan Tarr.AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW:
CASES AND INTERPRETATION, 3d Ed. New York: St. Martin's Press
1991. 760 pp. Cloth $46.25. Reviewed by Patricia Pauly,
Department of Political Science, University of Kentucky.
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Robert J. Steamer and Richard J. Maiman. AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL
LAW New York: McGraw Hill 1992. 562 pp. Paper $38.50. Reviewed by
John Gilliom, Department of Political Science, Ohio
University.Geoffrey R. Stone, Louis M. Seidman, Cass R. Sunstein,
and Mark V. Tushnet. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, 2d Ed. Boston: Little,
Brown & Company 1991. 1716 pp. Cloth $49.00. Reviewed by
David Barnum, Department of Political Science, DePaul University.
Introduction
Susan Gluck Mezey, Department of Political Science, Loyola
University Chicago
Thirteen constitutional law casebooks were reviewed for this
project. Surprisingly, based on Jerry Goldman's discussion of the
"canon" of constitutional law, there is far less
overlap among the tables of contents of these books than one
would have imagined.
The implications of Goldman's intriguing analysis are twofold:
first, the subfield, as represented by the textbook authors, does
not "share a set of common principles, rules and norms"
that determine which cases are significant enough to merit
inclusion in a constitutional law casebook. Although, perhaps we
do to some extent, for no one would express incredulity at the
cases included in the "big ten" common to all texts.
Another implication arising from Goldman's essay is that our
choice of a constitutional law casebook is not simply motivated
by whim. And if the selection of a casebook is more than mere
happenstance (as I believe it is), then it is legitimate to ask
upon what basis are our decisions made? I believe Goldman's
analysis suggests that we probably evaluate the books, in part,
to determine if they are compatible with our political and
pedagogical predilections. Faculty who rely on casebooks -- and
as the reviewers illustrate, not all faculty are comfortable
doing so -- are more likely to choose those that have a suffi-
cient number of cases that they a) like to teach, b) like to have
their students learn, or c) like the outcome of the opinions.
That many of the reviewers cited cases they would have wanted to
see included in the texts they were reviewing reflects the
individualistic nature of the constitutional law enterprise and
supports Goldman's view of the absence of a common set of beliefs
in the subfield.
Aside from the selection of cases, the reviews indicate that the
books also differ in the order or arrangement of cases. Although
most books present cases in chronological, that is, historical,
order, the reviewers discuss some authors' attempts to arrange
the cases topically or conceptually. Similarly, while all the
books contain introductory essays, supplementary analyses of
varying lengths, and ancillary material about the justices, the
courts, and the judicial process, the books differ in the extent
to which the authors allocate space between the case and non-case
material. Moreover, while most of the "important" cases
are probably mentioned in most books, the reviewers suggest that
the authors' decisions to excerpt a case or simply note its
existence can lead to significant distinctions among the books.
Finally, authors may or may not include probing questions to
stimulate students' interest and provoke class discussion.
Obviously, some of these succeed more than others.
In sum, space is a scarce resource and the reviews indicate that
decisions about which cases to include, how much of the case to
include, and how much to explain about the cases are critical in
the creation of a textbook on constitutional law. Some may
disagree with the choices made by these authors but perhaps the
nature of choice means that some will be displeased with the
results.
Yet, despite these differences and the lack of unanimity on the
cases within, some generalizations about the books may be made.
While cases may differ, topics generally do not; with one
exception, all the books are essentially divided into civil
liberties and non-civil liberties material. In the civil liber-
ties category, the reviews indicate that the topics covered in
greatest depth are free expression, racial discrimination, and
privacy. Topics covered less extensively include religion
(establishment and free exercise) and sex discrimination.
Apparently, also, there is widespread tacit agreement among most
authors to exclude criminal procedure cases; a decision
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most of us would probably agree with -- as these cases are
usually taught in other courses, if taught at all.
The reviews underscore the fact that there are two approach- es
to teaching undergraduates about constitutional law, using law
school texts or undergraduate political science texts. If one can
generalize from these reviews, it appears that most teachers of
political science prefer the latter for their classes.
Differences between these types of books are largely related to
the extent to which the textbook authors portray courts as
political actors and cases as political outcomes. Not surpris-
ingly, the books consciously written for political science
classes pay more attention to the political and social context of
the decisions, to the role politics plays in judicial
decisionmaking, and to the interaction between the courts and the
other political institutions.
A new approach adopted by some text authors and publishers is to
divide the material into two sections, with one book for civil
liberties/civil rights courses and another for powers of
government courses. This innovation appears to meet with approv-
al from most of the reviewers. From a student's perspective, it
is advantageous because it yields a lighter and cheaper book for
the course. From the instructor's perspective, it promises a more
coherent format and greater coverage of material than would be
possible in a single text.
This introduction would not be complete without allowing me the
opportunity to thank all those who participated in this project.
The task of editing is greatly facilitated when the contributors
are all as conscientious and prompt as these were. Speaking on
behalf of the reviewers, I hope that our efforts have eased the
process of choosing a constitutional law casebook by shedding
some light on the distinctive features of the various books
available for our classrooms.
Copyright 1992