Customer Reviews

Constitutional Law: National Power and Federalism (Examples & Explanations)

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Another reader suggests the Chemerinsky treatise rather than this book. I couldn't agree more. It's true, Con law doesn't lend itself to the E&E format. You are much better off writing a kick-ass outline based on the Chemerinsky book. Be careful though, Erwin Chemerinsky has at least two Con Law books published by Aspen- one is a casebook called "Constitutional Law" (in red cloth binding) and the other is the hornbook called "Constitutional Law: Principles and Policies" in a black paperback. That's the one you want.

Aside from this one bump, the E&E series is excellent, and extremely useful for Civ Pro, Contracts, Torts, Property and Crim Pro. The older editions of Torts are missing product liability and even the new Civ Pro ones are missing class actions, so be aware of that.

This book provides a good overview of national power and federalism. For my particular professor and final it was very helpful. The sections on the methods of constitutional interpretation, the Commerce Power and Dormant Commerce Power, and judicial review are all excellent, and that was pretty much our final. There is no doubt that Chemerinsky is "better" in that it provides more complete information on almost any given subject, but this book is extremely concise, and the examples are extremely helpful.

This E & E is almost useless. It is useful only for a broad (read: extremely general) overview of the material in Con Law I. The examples are ok, but the answers are generally the author's opinions (as are many answers to questions in Con Law I). The book simply does not get to the heart of the topics covered (with the exception of the Dormant CC). You are much better off with Emmanual's--considered the best of the Con Law Commercial Outlines.

If you're in law school using the Sullivan and Gunther Con Law casebook, I HIGHLY recommend this study aid! That casebook is huge, intimidating, and not very clear in bringing out the black letter law. Combined with a strict Socratic professor, the law can be very puzzling. Using this E and E, along with Emanuel's outline, makes the entire subject a LOT clearer. If you're planning on going to law school, I recommend checking out the Examples and Explanations books before classes begin, if you have the time and the motivation. They give an overview of the subject that cases help to clarify, and they help clarify the cases that aren't all that clear. In any case, get this book if you're having Con Law trouble with Sullivan.

I've been doing the E&E books in preparation for law school, and they've all been accessible and comprehensible. This one, however, is the exception. Maybe it's the ethereal nature of the subject, but this book is killing me. I feel like I am wasting my time reading it, since I can't seem to make out the forest, nor the trees, through the fog. If you're just starting out, I can't recommend this book for preparation. Maybe in the future it will make more sense, but for this beginner, it's very confusing.

In Con law, more so than in other 1L course, the professors just teach whatever they want. They call it con law but they never discuss the constitution. This book would have been helpful if my professor actually covered national power and federalism but alas those topics were not in my con law class. I guess the lesson is that a good book only helps if it is geared toward your professor.

The E&E series is very helpful in prepping for exams. The summaries and charts make great aids in outlining. Debating the hypos on my own and with my study group really helped. Most exams are essay responses to hypotheticals, so the book prepares you well. (This one was not quite as useful as the others. Though this may be a reflection of my class coverage rather than the book itself.)

This book was a great compliment to my con law book by Shanor. All of the major cases were included. The case index in the back makes it very easy to find the cases.