Constitutional Law For Dummies

Glenn C. Smith is a professor of constitutional law at California Western School of Law in San Diego, CA, and creator of a nationally recognized seminar in which law students learn about the Supreme Court by role-playing as current justices and lawyers arguing before them. Patricia Fusco is a government attorney and a criminal prosecutor working in the California Attorney General's Office, Special Crimes Unit. As a trial attorney, she deals with issues of constitutional law on a daily basis.

• Introduction 1 Part I: Studying Constitutional Law: The Foundations 9Chapter 1: Understanding the Constitution 11Chapter 2: Constitutional Law: A View from 30,000 Feet 33Chapter 3: Mapping Out Key Concepts and Distinctions in Constitutional Law 49Part II: Allocating Governmental Roles 59Chapter 4: “Constituting” a New Federal Government 61Chapter 5: Charting the Reach of National Government Powers 83Chapter 6: Sorting Out National Powers: Inter-Branch Conflict and Cooperation 105Chapter 7: The Constitution and Federalism 125Part III: Protecting Property Rights and Avoiding Arbitrary Action141Chapter 8: Avoiding Arbitrary Government Action: Due Process of Law 143Chapter 9: Protecting Property: Land, Contracts, and Guns 161Chapter 10: Preventing Government from Discriminating 177Part IV: Rights to Self-Expression and Political Participation 199Chapter 11: "Express Yourself!" Freedom of Speech 201Chapter 12: The Constitution and Religion 225Chapter 13: Getting Involved: Voting and Becoming or Supporting a Candidate 247Part V: Understanding Privacy Rights 263Chapter 14: Implied Privacy Rights — Fundamental and Otherwise 265Chapter 15: Preventing Unreasonable Searches and Seizures 289Chapter 16: The Right against Self-Incrimination 311Part VI: The Part of Tens 331Chapter 17: Ten Landmark Court Decisions about Governmental Structure 333Chapter 18: Ten (Plus Three) Top Individual-Rights Cases 341