The Bill of Rights Today: Constitutional Limits on the Powers of Government

by Joseph Dillon Davey

Overview

The proper role of the government operating in a free society and regulating an individual's behavior is a subject that can provoke heated political debate. There is an ongoing discussion among the nine Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court about the fundamental values that are reflected in the words of the Bill of Rights. If we contrast the interpretation of the Bill of Rights presented by the Earl Warren Court four decades ago with the more recent decisions handed down by the Rehnquist and Roberts Court, we cannot avoid the conclusion that there has been a substantial change in the rights enjoyed by Americans. In referring to these changes, Justice Stephen Breyer recently wrote: "It is not often in the law that so few have so quickly changed so much."

In The Bill of Rights Today, attorney and political scientist Joseph Dillon Davey examines the most controversial cases handed down by the Supreme Court and shows how the issues involved in these cases have profound implications for American society. Davey emphasizes the most controversial issues being faced by the High Court today and challenges our perspective on the role the Supreme Court Justice plays in determining the extent society will continue to enjoy the freedoms outlined in the U.S. Constitution.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761840756
Publisher:	University Press of America
Publication date:	06/10/2008
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	300
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Joseph Dillon Davey, J.D. and Ph.D., is professor in the Department of Law and Justice at Rowan University of New Jersey.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Case Law
Chapter 2 Foreword
Chapter 3 Preface
Part 4 Part I: Political History of Human Rights
Chapter 5 Chapter 1: Historical Development of the Idea of Human Rights
Chapter 6 Chapter 2: The Role of Courts
Chapter 7 Vernonia School District v. Wayne Action (1995)
Chapter 8 Lockyer, Attorney General v. Andrade (2003)
Chapter 9 Part II: The Right to Fundamental Fairness
Chapter 10 Chapter 3: Due Process of Law: A Shrinking Concept
Chapter 11 Goss v. Lopez (1975)
Chapter 12 Bennis v. Michigan (1996)
Chapter 13 Chapter 4: Cruel and Unusual Punishment
Chapter 14 Gregg v. Georgia (1976)
Chapter 15 Roper v. Simmons (2005)
Part 16 Part III: Equal Justice Under Law
Chapter 17 Chapter 5: The Rights of Minorities
Chapter 18 Plessey v. Ferguson (1986)
Chapter 19 Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Chapter 20 Loving v. Virginia (1967)
Chapter 21 San Antonio School Distrcit v. Rodriguez (1973)
Chapter 22 Johnson v. California (2005)
Part 23 Chapter 6: The Rights of Women
Chapter 24 Bradwell v. Illinois (1989)
Chapter 25 United States v. Virginia Military Institution (1996)
Chapter 26 Chapter 7: Affirmative Action or Reverse Discrimination
Chapter 27 Richmond v. Croson (1989)
Chapter 28 McCleskey v. Kemp (1987)
Chapter 29 Grutter v. Bollinger et al. (2003)
Chapter 30 Part IV: Basic Rights of a Free Society
Chapter 31 Chapter 8: The Rights to Freedom of Expression
Chapter 32 Texas v. Johnson (1989)
Chapter 33 Wisconsin v. Mitchell (1993)
Chapter 34 Chapter 9: The Right to Separate Government from Religion
Chapter 35 Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah (1993)
Chapter 36 Engle v. Vitale (1962)
Chapter 37 Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)
Chapter 38 Lynch v. Donnelly (1984)
Chapter 39 Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002)
Chapter 40 Chapter 10: The Rights to Be Let Alone by Government
Chapter 41 Roe v. Wade
Chapter 42 Gonzales v. Carhart et al. (2007)
Chapter 43 Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)
Chapter 44 Bowers v. Hardwick (1986)
Chapter 45 Lawrence v. Texas (2003)
Chapter 46 Cruzan v. Missouri Department of Health (1990)
Chapter 47 Gonzales v. Oregon (2006)
Chapter 48 Kelo et al. v. City of New London (2005)
Chapter 49 Chapter 11: Privacy, Searches, and Seizures
Chapter 50 Board of Education v. Earls (2002)
Part 51 Part V: Conclusion
Chapter 52 Chapter 12: The Dream of Global Justice
Chapter 53 Appendix 1: The United States Constitution
Chapter 54 Appendix II: The Bill of Rights
Chapter 55 Appendix III: The Fourteenth Amendment
Chapter 56 Appendix IV: The Declaration of Independence
Chapter 57 Index
Chapter 58 About the Author