Introduction
what2use
ConstitutionalLaw
ConstitutionalLawdealswiththeinterpretationandimplementationoftheUnitedStatesConstitution.Asthe
ConstitutionisthefoundationoftheUnitedStates,ConstitutionalLawdealswithsomeofthefundamental
relationshipswithinoursociety.Thisincludesrelationshipsamongthestates,thestatesandthefederal
government,thethreebranches(executive,legislative,judicial)ofthefederalgovernment,andtherightsofthe
individualinrelationtobothfederalandstategovernment.Theareaofjudicialreviewisanimportantsubject
withinConstitutionalLaw.TheSupremeCourthasplayedacrucialroleininterpretingtheConstitution.
Consequently,studyofConstitutionalLawfocusesheavilyonSupremeCourtrulings.
De initions
[SummaryfromConstitutionalLaw,LegalInformationInstitute,http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/
constitutional_law(lastvisitedOct.14,2013).]
AppellateReview—Examinationofalowercourt'sdecisionbyahighercourt,whichcanaf irm,reverse,modify,
orvacatethedecision.
ExecutiveBranch—Thebranchofgovernmentchargedwithadministeringandcarryingoutthelaw.
Federalism—Thelegalrelationshipanddistributionofpowerbetweenthenationalandregionalgovernments
withinafederalsystemofgovernment.
JudicialBranch—Thebranchofgovernmentconsistingofthecourts,whosefunctionistoensurejusticeby
interpreting,applying,andgenerallyadministeringthelaws.
JudicialReview—Acourt'spowertoreviewtheactionsofotherbranchesorlevelsofgovernment;especially
thecourts'powertoinvalidatelegislativeandexecutiveactionsasbeingunconstitutional.
LegislativeBranch—Thebranchofgovernmentresponsibleforenactinglaws.
SeparationofPowers—Thedivisionofgovernmentalauthorityintothreebranchesofgovernment—
legislative,executive,andjudicial—eachwithspeci ieddutiesonwhichneitheroftheotherbranchescan
encroach;aconstitutionaldoctrineofchecksandbalancesdesignedtoprotectthepeopleagainsttyranny.
StareDecisis—Thedoctrineofprecedent,underwhichacourtmustfollowearlierjudicialdecisionswhenthe
samepointsariseagaininlitigation.
†
All definitions come from Black’s Law Dictionary
StudyAides
ConstitutionalLawinaNutshell—JeromeA.BarronandC.ThomasDienes—Thisbookprovidesaconcise
topic‐by‐topicoverviewofConstitutionalLaw.KF4550.Z9B3520131stFloorReserves&OASP.
ConstitutionalLaw:PrinciplesandPolicies—ErwinChemerinsky—Thisbookoffersa“thoroughtreatment
ofallareasofconstitutionallawcoveredinbothbeginningandadvancedcourseswithadirect,unambiguous
identi icationoftheissues”(summaryfromAspenPublishing).KF4549.C4420111stFloorReserves&OASP.
TheGlannonGuidetoConstitutionalLaw:IndividualRightsandLiberties—BrannonPadgettDenning—
Thisbookprovidesatopic‐by‐topicoverviewofindividual‐focusedareaslikedueprocess,equalprotection,
andtheFirstAmendment,withmultiplechoicequestionsattheendofeachsubsectionandchapter.
KF4750.D4620121stFloorReserves&OASP.
TheGlannonGuidetoConstitutionalLaw:GovernmentalStructureandPowers—BrannonPadgett
Denning—Thisbookprovidesatopic‐by‐topicoverviewofgovernment‐focusedareaslikefederalism,inter‐
statecommerce,andseparationofpowers,withmultiplechoicequestionsattheendofeachsubsectionand
chapter.KF4550.Z9D4520131stFloorReserves. Ifyouhaveanyquestionsabouttheseorotherresources,orwouldlikemoreassistancewithresearchinga
particulartopic,pleasestopbytheReferenceDeskorcontactoneoftheReferenceLibrarians.
Statutes
UnitedStatesCodeAnnotated(USCA)—TheUSCA“containsallthelaws,asclassi iedtotheUnitedStatesCode,ofa
generalandpermanentnatureenactedbyCongress(Titles1‐50andtheConstitution),plustheirjudicialconstructions.”It
provideshistoricalnotesandothercommentaryaboutareasoflawandusestheWest’sKeyNumbertopicsystem
(summaryfromThomson/West).
OtherBooksofInterest
UnitedStatesCodeService(USCS)—Thisannotationcontainsfederallaw(includingtheU.S.Code,U.S.Constitution,and
selectedrepresentationsfromtheCodeofFederalRegulations,treaties,andcaselaw),alongwithexplanationswrittenby
attorneys.
TheConstitutionoftheUnitedStatesofAmerica:AnalysisandInterpretation—Thisbookincludesananalysisofcases
decidedbytheSupremeCourtoftheUnitedStates.Thispublicationisupdatedperiodicallywithpocketparts.
KF4527.U5420041stFloorReference.
AmericanConstitutionalLaw—LaurenceH.Tribe—Thisbook“analyzesspeci icconstitutionalissues,referencingother
secondarysources,SupremeCourtcases,andtheU.S.Code”(summaryfromTouroLawLibrary).KF4550,T7852000
1stFloorReserves.
ModernConstitutionalLaw—ChesterJamesAntieau—ThisbookdetailshowtheConstitutionmaintainsthedelicate
balancebetweenprotectingtheinterestsofsocietyandprovidingindividualrightsandliberties,aswellasthebalancingof
stateandfederalgovernmentalinterestsandthefederalgovernment’sseparationofpowers.KF4550.A751997
2ndFloor.
Websites
TreatiseonConstitutionalLaw:SubstanceandProcedure—RonaldD.RotundaandJohnE.Nowak—Thistreatise
analyzesconstitutionalissueswithafocusonAmericanpoliticalandeconomichistory,sothereadercanunderstandthe
purposeandreasoningbehindtheConstitution,itsAmendmentsandSupremeCourtdecisions.KF4550.R632007
2ndFloor.
FindLaw’sUSSupremeCourtCenter:http://supreme.lp. indlaw.com/—Thiswebsitecontainsinformationabout
SupremeCourtcases(includingbriefs,orders,rules,decisionsandthecourtdocket)andbiographiesofthejustices,aswell
ascommentaryandanalysisregardingcurrentSupremeCourtissues.
FDsys(FederalDigitalSystem):http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectiontab.action—FDsysprovidestheCon‐
stitutionoftheUnitedStatesofAmerica:AnalysisandInterpretation.Seethelinkontherightside,under“Browse.”
LibraryofCongress:http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/federal/usconst.php—Thiswebsitehasanumberof
versionsoftheConstitutionwithtextandcommentaries,aswellasmanyhistoricaltexts,SupremeCourtdecisions,and
legalguides.
U.S.SupremeCourtMedia:http://www.oyez.org/—ThissitefromIITChicago‐KentCollegeofLawincludesthelatest
storiesfromtheSupremeCourt,informationabouttheJustices,andevenavirtualtouroftheCourtitself.
SelectedConstitutionalDecisions:http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/cases/conlaw.htm—Thiswebsite,providedby
Cornell’sLegalInformationInstitute,includesalistofhistoricConstitutionallawdecisions,linkstorecentdecisions,and
thetextoftheConstitution.
SubscriptionDatabases
SupremeCourtoftheUnitedStates:http://www.supremecourt.gov/—Thisistheof icialwebsitefortheSupreme
Court.ItcontainsinformationabouttheSupremeCourt,theCourt’srules,andcasehandlingguides.TheCourt’sdocket,as
wellasbriefs,opinions,andorders,canbefullysearched.
BloombergLaw:IntheSearch&Browsetab,chooseAllLegalContent.IntheSelectSourcesbox,type“constitution”and
select“AllConstitutions”or“AllBloombergLawReports–ConstitutionalLaw”fromthelistthatautopopulates.
BloombergLawcontainsthethreeversionsofaConstitutionalLawreport:ConstitutionalLaw,ConstitutionalLaw(Daily),
andConstitutionalLaw(Quarterly).
LexisAdvance:BrowseTopics—ConstitutionalLaw
BrowseSources—USCS‐ConstitutionoftheUnitedStates
WestlawNext:UnderBrowse—SecondarySources—Texts&Treatises—ConstitutionalLaw,varioussourcesareprovided,
includingSmolla&NimmeronFreedomofSpeech,ModernConstitutionalLaw,andTreatiseonConstitutionalLaw:
SubstanceandProcedure.
UnderTools—WestKeyNumberSystem,92:ConstitutionalLawprovidesadditionaltopicallimitssuchasVaguenessin
General,RighttoPrivacy,andPrivilegesorImmunities.