Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court SET

by David G Savage

Overview

This brand new edition of Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court reflects the substantial changes in the makeup of the High Court and landmark rulings from recent Court terms. No other reference on the Court offers so much detail and insight in such a readable format. Updated through the 2008–2009 term, this classic resource explains everything readers need to know about the Supreme Court, from its origins and how it functions to the people who have shaped it and the impact of its decisions on American life and the path of U.S. constitutional law.

Updates include:

• The appointments of Chief Justice John G. Roberts, as well as Associate Justices Samuel Alito and Sonia Sotomayor—featuring biographies and background information
• A new chapter on the emergence of Second Amendment protections for the Right to Bear Arms
• New content on individual rights
• New information and detail on how cases currently get to the Court, and how the process has changed over time
• Expanded content on selecting justices and the confirmation politics of judicial appointments

Landmark decisions and key cases:

• District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)—gun rights and the Second Amendment
• Boumediene v. Bush (2008)—Guantánamo and habeas corpus
• Roper v. Simmons (2005)—on death penalty and juveniles

Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court covers the Court’s entire history; its operations; its power in relation to other branches of government; major decisions affecting the other branches, the states, individual rights and liberties; and biographies of the justices.

Appendixes provide additional information on the Court such as the Judiciary Acts of 1789 and 1925 and a list of Acts of Congress found by the Court to be unconstitutional. A general name and subject index speeds research, and a case index quickly guides readers to all decisions discussed in the Guide.

Key Features

• Covers three new Supreme Court justices and the confirmation process
• Demonstrates how cases get to the Court
• New content on individual rights
• New chapter on the Second Amendment

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780872894235
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	06/23/2010
Series:	Congressional Quarterly's Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court , #5
Edition description:	Fifth Edition
Pages:	1544
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 11.10(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

David Savage is the Supreme Court Reporter for the Los Angeles Times.

Editorial Reviews

Savage, a Supreme Court reporter for the Los Angeles Times and author of two recent books on the Court, also prepared CQ's fourth edition in 2004. The first edition dates from 1979; the topical arrangement—e.g., "Origins," "Federal System," "Bill of Rights Protections," and "Court Interactions"—remains the same. The "Court at Work" section is exceptionally valuable for its insight into and excellent description of Court operations, including costs. Other useful chapters cover the Court and the media, a chronology of major decisions, quotes, and an excellent bibliography. The only competition to these thorough volumes would be an alphabetical arrangement such as that found in The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States (2005), CQ's own Supreme Court Compendium (2007), Encyclopedia of the U.S. Supreme Court (Salem Pr., 2001), or the many substantial monographs. BOTTOM LINE This remains the standard one-stop source for answers to Supreme Court questions. Current through the confirmation of Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, it will work for your library either in paper or online and will engender and support hundreds of term papers at the college or high school level. Buy it.—Janice Dunham, John Jay Coll. of Criminal Justice Lib., CUNY

Library Journal