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Constitutional Law for a Changing America
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Constitutional Law for a Changing America
A Short Course

Tenth Edition
September 2026 | 792 pages | CQ Press
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Political factors influence judicial decisions. Arguments and input from lawyers and interest groups, the ebb and flow of public opinion, and especially the ideological and behavioral inclinations of the justices all combine to shape the development of constitutional doctrine. Drawing on political science as much as legal studies, Constitutional Law for a Changing America: A Short Course helps students realize that Supreme Court cases are more than just legal names and citations. With meticulous revising, the authors streamline material while accounting for recent landmark cases and new scholarship.

Ideal for a one-semester course, the Tenth Edition of A Short Course offers all the hallmarks of the bestselling Rights and Powers volumes in a more condensed format.
 
Chronological Table of Cases
 
Tables, Figures, and Boxes
 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
Part 1 The U.S. Constitution
An Introduction to the U.S. Constitution

 
 
Chapter 1 The Living Constitution
The Amendment Process

 
Constitutional Change and the Supreme Court

 
Annotated Readings

 
 
Chapter 2 Understanding the U.S. Supreme Court
Processing Supreme Court Cases

 
Supreme Court Decision Making: Legalism

 
Supreme Court Decision Making: Realism

 
Conducting Research on the Supreme Court

 
Annotated Readings

 
 
Part 2 Institutional Authority
Structuring the Federal System

 
 
Chapter 3 The Judiciary
Establishment of the Federal Judiciary

 
Judicial Review

 
Constraints on Judicial Power

 
Constraints on Judicial Power: Judicial Self-Restraint and the Separation-of-Powers System

 
Annotated Readings

 
 
Chapter 4 The Legislature
Article I: Historical Overview

 
Members of Congress: Qualifications, Immunity, and Discipline

 
Introduction to Legislative Powers

 
Congress and the Separation of Powers

 
Annotated Readings

 
 
Chapter 5 The Executive
The Structure of the Presidency

 
Constitutional Authority of the President

 
The Domestic Powers of the President

 
Powers over Foreign Affairs

 
Mr. Justice Black Delivered the Opinion of the Court

 
MR. Justice Jackson, Concurring in the Judgment and Opinion of the Court

 
MR. Chief Justice Vinson, with Whom MR. Justice Reed and MR. Justice Minton Join, Dissenting.

 
Annotated Readings

 
 
Part 3 Nation-State Relations
Allocating Government Power

 
The Framers and Federalism

 
The Tenth and Eleventh Amendments

 
 
Chapter 6 Federalism
Federal Power, State Sovereignty, and the Tenth Amendment

 
The Post–Civil War Era and the Return of Dual Federalism

 
The (Re)Emergence of National Supremacy: Cooperative Federalism

 
Return of (a Milder Form of) Dual Federalism

 
The Eleventh Amendment

 
Annotated Readings

 
 
Chapter 7 The Commerce Power
Foundations of the Commerce Power

 
Attempts to Define the Commerce Power in the Wake of the Industrial Revolution

 
The Supreme Court and the New Deal

 
The Era of Expansive Commerce Clause Jurisprudence

 
Limits on the Commerce Power: The Republican Court Era

 
Annotated Readings

 
 
Chapter 8 The Power to Tax and Spend
The Framers and Defining the Financial Powers

 
Direct Taxes and the Power to Tax Income

 
Intergovernmental Tax Immunity

 
Taxing and Spending for the General Welfare

 
Annotated Readings

 
 
Part 4 Economic Liberties
Economic Liberties and Individual Rights

 
 
Chapter 9 The Contract Clause
The Framers and the Contract Clause

 
John Marshall and the Contract Clause

 
Decline of the Contract Clause: From the Taney Court to the New Deal

 
Modern Applications of the Contract Clause

 
Annotated Readings

 
 
Chapter 10 Economic Substantive Due Process
The Development of Substantive Due Process

 
The Roller-Coaster Ride of Substantive Due Process: 1898–1923

 
The Heyday of Substantive Due Process: 1923–1936

 
The Depression, the New Deal, and the Decline of Economic Substantive Due Process

 
Substantive Due Process: Contemporary Relevance

 
Annotated Readings

 
 
Chapter 11 The Takings Clause
Protecting Private Property from Government Seizure

 
What Is a Taking?

 
What Is a Public Use?

 
What Is Just Compensation?

 
Annotated Readings

 
 
Part 5 Civil Liberties
Approaching Civil Liberties

 
 
Chapter 12 Religion: Exercise and Establishment
Free Exercise of Religion

 
Religious Establishment

 
Annotated Readings

 
 
Chapter 13 Foundations of Freedom of Expression
Free Expression in the Constitution

 
Justifications for Protecting Expression

 
Setting the Stage for Expression in the Supreme Court

 
Free Expression and the Incitement of Lawless Action

 
Annotated Readings

 
 
Chapter 14 Modern-Day Approaches to Free Expression
An Overview of Modern-Day Free Speech Doctrine

 
What Is Expression?

 
Does the Expression Fall into an Unprotected Category?

 
Who Is Speaking? Student Speech

 
Is the Regulation Content Neutral or Content Based?

 
Annotated Readings

 
 
Chapter 15 Freedom of the Press
Prior Restraint

 
News Gathering and Reporter’s Privilege

 
The Boundaries of Free Press: Libel, Obscenity, and Emerging Areas of Government Concern

 
Regulating the Internet

 
Annotated Readings

 
 
Chapter 16 The Right to Keep and Bear Arms
Initial Interpretations

 
The Second Amendment Revisited

 
Heller and the States

 
Annotated Readings

 
 
Chapter 17 The Right to Privacy
The Right to Privacy: Foundations

 
Reproductive Freedom and the Right to Privacy: Abortion

 
Private Activities and the Application of Griswold

 
Annotated Readings

 
 
Part 6 The Rights of the Criminally Accused
The Criminal Justice System and Constitutional Rights

 
 
Chapter 18 Investigations and Evidence
Searches and Seizures

 
The Fifth Amendment and Self-Incrimination

 
Annotated Readings

 
 
Chapter 19 Attorneys, Trials, and Punishments
The Right to Counsel

 
Fair Trials

 
Trial Proceedings

 
Sentencing and the Eighth Amendment

 
Posttrial Stages

 
Annotated Readings

 
 
Part 7 Civil Rights
 
Chapter 20 Discrimination
Race Discrimination and the Foundations of Equal Protection

 
Modern-Day Treatment of Equal Protection Claims

 
Strict Scrutiny and Claims of Race Discrimination

 
Heightened Scrutiny and Claims of Gender Discrimination

 
Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation

 
Discrimination Based on Gender Identity

 
Discrimination Based on Economic Status

 
Annotated Readings

 
 
Chapter 21 Voting and Representation
Voting Rights

 
Contemporary Restrictions on the Right to Vote

 
Political Representation

 
Election Campaign Regulation

 
The Court and Presidential Elections

 
Annotated Readings

 
 
Appendices
 
Constitution of the United States
 
The Justices
 
Glossary
 
Online Case Archive List
Key features
NEW TO THIS EDITION:
  • The new edition has been updated to include key opinions handed down through the 2022 term, including significant decisions on presidential power, free speech rights, federal candidate eligibility, and religious activity in public schools. 
  • New case opinion language: In order to retain fresh eyes, reconsidering all existing case excerpts and existing material, occasionally, new opinion language has also been inserted that, over time, has taken on greater relevance.
  • Each chapter has been thoroughly updated to include important opinions handed down during the Roberts Court era. Since Chief Justice John Roberts took office in 2005, the Court has taken up many pressing issues of the day, including, health care, same-sex marriage, affirmative action, voting rights, and more.
  • Refreshed Aftermath boxes provide students with updates of historically crucial cases. In addition to providing human interest material, they lead to interesting discussions about the Court’s impact on the lives of ordinary Americans—demonstrating to students that Supreme Court cases are more than merely legal names and citations; they involve real people involved in real disputes.
KEY FEATURES:
  • Carefully condensed from the Rights and Powers volumes, A Short Course fits the needs of those who teach institutional powers, civil liberties, rights, and justice in a single academic term and those who prefer a shorter core text.
  • The authors approach constitutional law from a social science perspective, demonstrating how many forces—not just legal factors—influence the development of the law.
  • Throughout A Short Course, the authors highlight how relevant political, historical, economic, and social events; personnel changes on the Court; interest groups; and even public opinion may have affected the justices’ decisions, in addition to traditional legal considerations, such as precedent, text, and history.
  • Inclusion of the latest scholarship in the fields of both political science and legal studies helps this book to remain the best political science Constitutional Law textbook on the market.
  • The authors are known for fastidious revising and streamlining of decisions. A recipient of 12 grants from the National Science Foundation for her work on law and legal institutions, Epstein has authored or co-authored over 100 articles and essays, as well as 15 books, and received the Teaching and Mentoring Award from the Law and Courts Section of the American Political Science Association. Additionally, Thomas G. Walker is the Goodrich C. White Professor of Political Science at Emory University and co-author of A Court Divided, which won the V. O. Key, Jr. Award for the best book on southern politics.

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