Civil Rights and Liberties in the 21st Century

by Domino, John C.

• ISBN13: 9780321089700
• ISBN10: 0321089707
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-01-01
• Publisher: Longman

Summary

This up-to-date analysis of the Supreme Court's landmark rulings on civil rights and liberties is a discussion of the facts, legal issues, and constitutional questions surrounding those rulings. Domino's text serves as either a core text in courses on civil liberties and civil rights, or as a supplementary text in courses on constitutional law and the judiciary. Written in the belief that the key to understanding constitutional law is not having the right answers but asking the right questions, the book encourages students to be active and critical thinkers and provides a historical context so that students can better understand competing social, legal, and political interests affecting the Supreme Court's decisions today. It also includes numerous short excerpts from some of the more influential, eloquent, and controversial Supreme Court opinions to illustrate the handiwork of the powerful legal minds who have helped to shape our society, and to remind us that "the Court" is not some abstract legal mechanism, but a group of human beings with divergent points of view.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction.

2. Freedom of Expression.

3. Obscenity: The Limits of Sexually Oriented Expression.

4. Freedom of Religion and Freedom from Religion.

5. Due Process Rights and Criminal Justice.

6. Privacy: “The Right to be Let Alone” or “The Right to Choose” .

7. Equal Protection of the Laws.

8. The Rehnquist Court: Revolution or Respect for Precedent?

Selected Further Readings.

The Constitution of the United States.

Index of Cases.

Index.