Table of Contents

Chronological Table of Cases
Tables, Figures, and Boxes
Preface
About the Authors
PART I. THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
The Road to the U.S. Constitution
Underlying Principles of the Constitution
CHAPTER 1. 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
PART II. INSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY
Origins of the Separation of Powers/Checks and Balances System
Separation of Powers and the Constitution
Contemporary Thinking on the Constitutional Scheme
CHAPTER 2. The Judiciary
Establishment of the Federal Judiciary
Judicial Review
Constraints on Judicial Power: Article III
Constraints on Judicial Power and the Separation of Powers System
CHAPTER 3. The Legislature
Article I: Historical Overview
Congressional Authority over Internal Affairs: Institutional Independence and Integrity
Legislative Powers: Sources and Scope
Federal Legislature: Constitutional Interpretations
CHAPTER 4. The Executive
The Structure of the Presidency
The President’s Constitutional Authority and Tools for Executing It
The Faithful Execution of the Laws: Defining the Contours of Presidential Power
Domestic Powers of the President
The Role of the President in External Relations
CHAPTER 5. Interbranch Interactions
Debates over Interbranch Interactions
Domestic Powers
Powers over Foreign Affairs
PART III. NATION–STATE RELATIONS
The Framers and Federalism
The Tenth and Eleventh Amendments
CHAPTER 6. Federalism
The Doctrinal Cycle of Nation–State Relations
The Eleventh Amendment and Sovereign Immunity
National Preemption of State Laws
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
Commerce Power of the States
CHAPTER 8. The Power to Tax and Spend
The Constitutional Power to Tax and Spend
Direct Taxes and the Power to Tax Income
Taxation of Exports
Intergovernmental Tax Immunity
Taxation as a Regulatory Power
Taxing and Spending for the General Welfare
Restrictions on the Revenue Powers of the States
PART IV. ECONOMIC LIBERTIES
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
CHAPTER 10. Economic Substantive Due Process
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
CHAPTER 11. The Takings Clause
Protecting Private Property from Government Seizure
What Is a Taking?
What Constitutes a Public Use?
Reference Material
Constitution of the United States
The Justices
Glossary
Online Case Archive Index
Case Index
Subject Index

About the Author

Lee Epstein (PhD, Emory University) is the University Professor of Law & Political Science and the Hilliard Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Southern California. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Political and Social Science. A recipient of 12 grants from the National Science Foundation, Epstein has authored or co-authored more than 100 articles and essays and 18 books. She is currently co-editing The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Judicial Behaviour. Professor Epstein’s empirical research is frequently cited in the New York Times, among other news media.

Thomas G. Walker (PhD, University of Kentucky) is the Goodrich C. White Professor Emeritus at Emory University, where he won several teaching awards for his courses on constitutional law and the judicial process. His book A Court Divided, written with Deborah J. Barrow, won the prestigious V. O. Key Award for the best book on Southern politics. He is the author of Eligible for Execution and coauthor of The Supreme Court Compendium: Data, Decisions, and Developments, 7th Edition, with Lee Epstein, Jeffrey A. Segal, and Harold J. Spaeth.

Reviews

"This is the best undergraduate text I’ve found for teaching the evolution of the Supreme Court’s decision-making on constitutional rights and liberties.  The authors strike an excellent balance between providing essential contextual material and offering well edited opinions of the Court on key topics. Students consistently respond positively to the textbook because it so engaging and accessible, in terms of both writing style and layout/design."
*Linda J. Wharton*

"If you are teaching a course on Constitutional Law, you should use Epstein and Walker’s book. They have provided the gold standard. This book is chalked full of cases, concepts, analysis, and useful tables and charts. I think they present the political discussion in an ideologically neutral manner and stick to the facts when it comes to covering the main material. Epstein and Walker provide all of the tools that are needed for an instructor to properly present the material and for students to easily grasp the concepts in a course involving constitutional principles, institutional powers, and the checks on the exercise of power."
*Sean D. Foreman, Ph.D.*

This textbook is a thorough and thought-provoking textbook that provides historical context to assist students in understanding the complex, political, and evolutionary nature of the Supreme Court.
*Christi Lee Gramling*