Constitutional Law Stories

Rating:
Summary: We Live by Stories
Review: This is a splendid collection of 15 narratives concerning historically significant cases. "Constitutional Law Stories" brings the Constitution out of the graveyards in its telling of seminal Supreme Court cases, old and new, related to structural principles, egalitarian principles, and liberty principles. The narrative approach, combined with clear and skillful analysis, goes a long way in providing students with a fuller and richer portrait of American law as lived and litigated. Some of the stories involve the "chestnut" cases, e.g., Marbury, Dred Scott, Lochner, and Roe v. Wade. Others are important but typically receive far less narrative attention - e.g., Whitney, Employment Div. v. Smith and City of Boerne v. Flores (re the "inter-connection of structure and rights"). As with any such selection, one can quibble about why this or that case is missing - e.g., Brown v. Board, Nixon v. U.S., Adamson. v. California, Craig v. Boren, NYT v. Sullivan, Everson v. Board of Education, Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, Flast v. Cohen, and Bush v. Gore, among other cases. Some of these cases are, of course, examined in related cases discussed by the contributors (who are an impressive lot). Editor Michael Dorf, of Columbia University Law School, makes a good case in his thoughtful introduction why certain cases are "in" and others "out." Moreover Professor Dorf adds a welcome touch of realism when he writes: "By including a fair number of poorly reasoned or morally obtuse decisions in this book I aim to combat a common impulse among both students and scholars of constitutional law - the tendency to treat the story of American constitutionalism as the unfolding of manifest destiny of the ideals announced in the Declaration of Independence and inscribed in the Constitution." Finally, "Constitutional Law Stories" ably demonstrates that the history of the law - its logic, humanity, and impact - cannot be confined to dead-letter judicial opinions. It is a story in the real lives of real people. Three cheers for context! The book makes for a valuable supplement to any casebook. In that respect, Dorf and colleagues have given new life to our knowledge of American constitutional law.

Rating:
Summary: We Live by Stories
Review: This is a splendid collection of 15 narratives concerning historically significant cases. "Constitutional Law Stories" brings the Constitution out of the graveyards in its telling of seminal Supreme Court cases, old and new, related to structural principles, egalitarian principles, and liberty principles. The narrative approach, combined with clear and skillful analysis, goes a long way in providing students with a fuller and richer portrait of American law as lived and litigated. Some of the stories involve the "chestnut" cases, e.g., Marbury, Dred Scott, Lochner, and Roe v. Wade. Others are important but typically receive far less narrative attention - e.g., Whitney, Employment Div. v. Smith and City of Boerne v. Flores (re the "inter-connection of structure and rights"). As with any such selection, one can quibble about why this or that case is missing - e.g., Brown v. Board, Nixon v. U.S., Adamson. v. California, Craig v. Boren, NYT v. Sullivan, Everson v. Board of Education, Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, Flast v. Cohen, and Bush v. Gore, among other cases. Some of these cases are, of course, examined in related cases discussed by the contributors (who are an impressive lot). Editor Michael Dorf, of Columbia University Law School, makes a good case in his thoughtful introduction why certain cases are "in" and others "out." Moreover Professor Dorf adds a welcome touch of realism when he writes: "By including a fair number of poorly reasoned or morally obtuse decisions in this book I aim to combat a common impulse among both students and scholars of constitutional law - the tendency to treat the story of American constitutionalism as the unfolding of manifest destiny of the ideals announced in the Declaration of Independence and inscribed in the Constitution." Finally, "Constitutional Law Stories" ably demonstrates that the history of the law - its logic, humanity, and impact - cannot be confined to dead-letter judicial opinions. It is a story in the real lives of real people. Three cheers for context! The book makes for a valuable supplement to any casebook. In that respect, Dorf and colleagues have given new life to our knowledge of American constitutional law.