Customer Reviews

Constitutional Law (Hornbook Series) (Hornbook Series Student Edition)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

If you are aiming for a B, or a B+ in your Con Law Class, I recommend that you stick to your class notes, and supplement your classnotes with a Nutshell.

This hornbook is a meandering exposition of Con Law. You would be better off sticking with a close analysis of actual cases and your class notes.

Finally: as noted by reviewer below, this hornbook is marred by ridiculously large number of typographical errors. Did anyone proof read the galleys? Shame on West Group. Copy editing errors include: typos (treaties v. treaties), missing words (too many to mention), line-spacing problems. Go to the back of the book and look for page numbers for "injunction"--check out how injunction is spelled.

Gentle Reviewer

Having relied on this book to take the author's Constitutional Law final, I can vouch for its usefulness for any student of Rotunda. The book is a clear and concise account of the current state of constitutional law. Rotunda is perceived by many as a right-winger with a grudge, but his treatment of this issues is evenhanded to a fault.

The most glaring flaws of this book can be found on virtually every page in the form of egregious typos that even a novice editor should have detected.

This Hornbook provides a wonderful overview of constitutional law. It strikes the balance between an indepth study and a superficial review. It imparts a sense of the history of constitutional law, while still providing an indepth analysis of the most important cases. It is well written and easy to follow.

I used this study aid to much success in my constitutional law class.

This book was very helpful for outlining and quick reference of holdings and definitions. This book teaches you the material in clear and succinct fashion. I recommend it highly.

This hornbook does an excellent job of covering the many complex issues of constitutional law in a well organized and surprisingly deep manner. I was tempted to write that this book is second best only to Laurence Tribe's American Constitutional Law, but after using both to study for my Con Law final, I find that both do an excellent job, and have their strengths and weaknesses.

As such I would strongly recommend either, however, if you do not mind investing heavily in Con Law books, I would recommend you purchase both.

Currently being an LL.M. Student in a US Law School and a perspective Ph.D. in Comparative Con. Law in my country, I needed a very good book which would address Constitutional issues in a detailed and systematic way, in order to help me a and give me a broader view not just in my Con. Law class, but also in my First Amdt - Freedom of expression, Comparative Constitutional Law and Constitutional Law of religion classes. With its in-depth analysis of all these issues and many more, and also a high number of references to paramount cases, this is definitely the book I needed, and that I recommend to all those who have to deal with Con. Law and related classes in Law School. A+ Very well written.

A good overview of the subject, but for a more comprehensive text with relevant arguments that would help a one L in class, get Tribe's American Constitutional history.