Constitutional Law (Hornbook Series Student Edition) [Hardcover]

John E. Nowak (Author), Ronald D. Rotunda (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1995 | Series: Hornbook Series Student Edition

In this text the authors provide analysis of the constitutional issues that are most studied and litigated today. As in earlier editions of this single volume book, little attention is given to issues that are not commonly studied in law school courses on constitutional law, such as court jurisdiction, conflict of laws, and criminal procedure. Within each Chapter the reader will find subsections that differ in length and depth of treatment of particular issues, varying from summations of the Supreme Court's work to lengthy, analytical evaluations of the judicial process. The authors hope that each major section, when reviewed as a unit, will give an accurate picture of what the Court has done and an evaluation of that work in terms of accepted scholarly critiques and their own analyses.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

George Washington University --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1428 pages
• Publisher: West Group; 5th edition (September 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0314061754
• ISBN-13: 978-0314061751
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.7 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,184,981 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A staple of Constitutional Law, September 14, 2005

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Constitutional Law Hornbook (Hornbooks) (Hardcover)

Hornbooks have long been a staple resource for law students and legal researchers. This text by Nowak et al. is a good text for Constitutional Law - it is not comprehensive, in that it has intentionally excluded other areas (conflict of laws, criminal procedure, etc.) that are likely covered in other law classes. This text deliberately looks at the areas of Constitutional Law that are most frequently used and discussed in classes, in courts and in the media.

The authors present a very case-law based presentation. They do occasionally add extra elements (for example, they reference Corwin as a substantial predecessor; in addition to his case-law work, he is known for essays and lectures on the philosophical underpinnings of constitutional law, particularly the 'higher law' aspect of American regard for the Constitution).

The three primary sections of the text are I - Judicial Review, II - Federal System and Federal Powers, and III - Individual Rights and Liberties. Within the first section, the idea of judicial review, jurisdiction, and Supreme Court review are introduced; somewhat ironically, the idea of judicial review for Constitutionality by the Supreme Court and other courts is not itself a part of the Constitution. Within the second section, issues of federal authority, fiscal powers, commerce and regulation, Congressional and Presidential powers, and international affairs are addressed. In the final section, after an overview of individual liberties contained in the Bill of Rights and other amendments, discussions include substantive due process and procedural due process, equal protection, civil rights and citizenship.

The text includes appendices which include the list of justices of the Supreme Court, an interesting section of proposed amendments to the Constitution that were not ratified, and (not surprisingly) the text of the Constitution itself.

I take off one star for the editing that this volume needed to get but did not. While not detrimental to the content, the number of mistakes is occasionally distracting. This book really is intended for lawyers and future lawyers, so the language is often 'legal-ese', but for a thorough grounding in the area of constitutional law as done by the lawyers and judges, this is a good text to study.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Helpful, but not as extensive as others, December 11, 2006

By 

Stepone (TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Black Letter Outline on Constitutional Law (Black Letter Outlines) (Paperback)

I used this and the Emanuel's con law outlines. This one is no where near as thorough as Emanuel's, and it doesn't go as deep into the opinions (especially dissents, concurrences) but it has its own advantages. Mainly, this is great for having a very clear statement of the black letter law. It's not elementary, not any any means, and I really appreciated it when I was putting together my own outline, especially since my professor emphasized theory/interpretation in his lectures: this was great for putting everything into perspective.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Quick Review of Constitutionaol law, December 15, 2007

By 

Wrench (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Letter Outline on Constitutional Law (Black Letter Outlines) (Paperback)

While not particually in depth (most concurrences/dissents are omitted), this text will give you the bread and butter of constitutional law. If you are a student who uses Barron's Con law textbook published by Lexisnexis, then this book will greatly help you as it will follow your text pretty closely.

For a more detailed understanding of the field, I would defintatley recommend a different supplement such as Emanuel or Chermensky.