Recent, historically significant cases UPDATED - Cases issued in the 2019-2020 term of the US Supreme Courtare new to this edition, including President Trump''s financial records decisions in Trump v. Mazars and Trump v. Vance; the tribal lands jurisdiction case McGirt v. Oklahoma; and the faithless electors decision in Chiafalo v. Washington. UPDATED - The "liberties" half of the text includes new Supreme Court rulings, including Bostock v. Clayton County (2020) addressing employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and identity, and Trump v. Hawaii (2018) on the president''s authority to restrict immigration via the use of travel bans.
UPDATED - A variety of new cases and updates in the area of criminal procedure include an expanded section on the constitutionality of police using deadly force, and the Court''s opinions in Carpenter v. United States (2018) regarding the warrantless search of a person''s cell phone records. Your Constitutional Values feature in each chapter raises awareness that constitutional law occurs in all areas of government and includes excerpts of constitutional law cases that didn''t make it to the Supreme Court. This feature also helps students apply relevant principles and terms to constitutional disputes. Contemporary issues raising constitutional questions NEW - Constitutional issues resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have been added, including the most significant Supreme Court precedents and questions of liberty and authority raised by state and federal responses. NEW - Several issues that surfaced during the latter years of the Obama administration and the first three years of the Trump administration are now addressed, including Obama''s nomination of Judge Garland to SCOTUS, the appointment of Justice Kavanaugh, and the Emoluments Clause controversy. Modern Challenges feature within each chapter predicts the constitutional questions courts might face in the next few years, stimulating creative and analytical thinking among students. Active-learning features and resources Constitutional Law in Action feature at the end of each chapter challenges students to complete real legal assignments -- such as outlining an argument for an appellate brief, preparing a legal memo, or identifying the courtroom rules for a given jurisdiction -- drawing on the constitutional principles in the chapter.
UPDATED - New figures, photographs, and illustrations have been added to illustrate the material, helping students conceptualize challenging topics, while breaking up dense sections. Important documents are included in the appendices, including the US Constitution, selected statutes, select Federalist papers, the history of US Supreme Court justices by seat, a special feature on how to brief a case, and select Executive Orders. A companion website illustrates and explores today''s core practices of constitutional law and civil liberties through a series of video and audio recordings of appellate oral arguments.