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Casebooks And Constitutional Competency, David E. Engdahl
Casebooks And Constitutional Competency, David E. Engdahl
Seattle University Law Review
Today's casebooks are far better adapted for fostering constitutional competency among lawyers than were their earlier counterparts. Part 1 of this Article traces the evolution of the constitutional law casebook from James Bradley Thayer's massive compilation of raw data in the Dean Langdell tradition, to the modern style of extensively edited cases with comments and questions to help students identify, anticipate, and assess potential avenues of analysis and development. Part 2 examines some basic concepts of federalism law still afforded too little attention by casebook editors. The classic analysis of enumerated powers (including Congress's power under the necessary and proper …
Cases Versus Theory, Richard B. Collins
Cases Versus Theory, Richard B. Collins
Seattle University Law Review
Past reviewers have noted that the large modern market for American constitutional law casebooks was not served by much diversity in approaches to the subject. More recently there has been some divergence, and teachers have more choices. Cohen & Varat’s <em>Constitutional Law: Cases and Materials</em> has changed least in the intervening years and continues to serve its part of the market very well. Case editing is excellent, and selection is good. So if you liked the former standard, it remains a sound choice, and if you did not, you will have moved on. Notable differences among constitutional law casebooks fall …
Combining The Best Of Gunther And Sullivan, James Weinstein
Combining The Best Of Gunther And Sullivan, James Weinstein
Seattle University Law Review
In the field of casebooks, there are few classics, but Gerald Gunther's Constitutional Law has long been viewed as one of them. More than twenty years ago it was heralded in the Harvard Law Review as "the Hart and Wechsler of constitutional law." After decades of solo authorship, Gunther is joined on the 13th edition by Kathleen Sullivan, who was primarily responsible for revising (among other sections) the chapters on freedom of expression. This partnership has succeeded in improving what was already perhaps the strongest section of the book. This Review examines the organization of the free expression materials, considers …
Stone, Seidman, Sunstein & Tushnet's Constitutional Law: An Inclusive, Scholarly, And Comprehensive Constitutional Law Casebook, Sharon E. Rush
Stone, Seidman, Sunstein & Tushnet's Constitutional Law: An Inclusive, Scholarly, And Comprehensive Constitutional Law Casebook, Sharon E. Rush
Seattle University Law Review
In reviewing Stone, Seidman, Sunstein, & Tushnet's <em>Constitutional Law</em>, the author focuses on the casebook’s exploration of race to illustrate why she uses the book, and why she finds it valuable. The outstanding qualities of the book, however, are not limited to race. It provides excellent material on just about every possible area of discrimination law, as well as on the basics of separation of powers, federalism, and First Amendment issues. Inevitably, any textbook will be of limited use to a professor who has had time to reflect on the area of the law and who has perhaps written in …
Mastering Modern Constitutional Law, Thomas E. Baker
Mastering Modern Constitutional Law, Thomas E. Baker
Seattle University Law Review
Constitutional Law is “tough law.” It is tough to master – tough to teach and tough to learn. There are several reasons for this thorough difficulty. First, it is not an exaggeration to say that the fate of the nation is often at stake in constitutional cases and controversies, and constitutional decisions have shaped our history as a people. Second, we Americans can lay claim to inventing the field, and we have been continuously preoccupied with reinventing it for more than two centuries of applied political philosophy. Third, the Supreme Court is one of the most fascinating institutions inside or …
A Constitutional Law Casebook For The 21st Century: A Critical Essay On Cohen And Varat, Bryan K. Fair
A Constitutional Law Casebook For The 21st Century: A Critical Essay On Cohen And Varat, Bryan K. Fair
Seattle University Law Review
The purpose of this essay is to review the strengths and weaknesses of the latest edition of Cohen and Varat’s Constitutional Law: Cases and Materials. After teaching from it for seven years, the author of this review states unequivocally that it is a first-rate teaching tool – unquestionably one of the leading, traditional casebooks, enabling thousands of law students throughout the country to gain some insight on a vast array of constitutional questions. Below, rather than simply describe the casebook's broad contents, the author illustrates how he uses it in a class of 65 to 100 students, meeting for …
Problem Solving And Storytelling In Constitutional Law Courses, William A. Kaplin
Problem Solving And Storytelling In Constitutional Law Courses, William A. Kaplin
Seattle University Law Review
The author’s primary methods to teach Constitutional Law are problem solving and storytelling. He selected Farber, Eskridge, and Frickey’s Constitutional Law: Themes for the Constitution's Third Century and continues to use it in part because it includes both stories and problems. The author also selected this particular casebook because it places the individual rights materials before the materials on federal powers. He wanted to experiment with this reversed order and thus far has been satisfied – largely because the rights materials engage student interest better than the powers materials. They also set a more contemporary and practical tone for the …