...the Law Collection at the CT State Library
Constitution, Courts, and Individual Liberties, row six

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The Oxford Guide to United States Supreme Court Decisions, edited by Kermit L. Hall

KF4548 .O97 1999
"This book offers lively and insightful accounts of over four hundred of the most important cases ever argued before the Court, from Marbury v. Madison and Scott v. Sandford (the Dred Scott decision) to Brown v. Board of Education and Roe v. Wade. Here are the landmark decisions that have shaped American life, described by some of our most eminent legal scholars. Arranged alphabetically, each entry provides an up-to-date official citation, the date the case was argued and decided, the vote of the Justices, who wrote the opinion for the Court, who concurred, and who dissented. More importantly, the entries feature an informative account of the particulars of the case, the legal and social background, the reasoning behind the Court's decision, and the case's impact on American society."

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Rainbow Rights: The Role of Lawyers and Courts in the Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights Movement, by Patricia A. Cain (Westview Press, 2000)

KF4754.5 .C35 2000
"This book describes the substantive state of the law with regard to lesbian and gay rights. It begins with some background information to put the modern fight for lesbian and gay rights in its proper historical context, then categorizes lesbian and gay rights claims into three areas - individual rights in private contexts, individual rights in public contexts, and couple or family rights thought of as private but pushing into the public sphere - that add up to a single principle: the right to be human in a modern society. By exploring the background, key cases, and important issues yet to be resolved, this book translates the legal claims and arguments into accessible language and concepts that will be of interest not only to lawyers and law students, but also to persons not trained in the law."

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State Constitutions of the United States, by Robert L. Maddex (Congressional Quarterly, 1998)

KF4530 .M33 1998
"Far from being simply mirror images of the U.S. Constitution on a smaller scale, all of our state constitutions have become experiments - as they should be in a federal democracy - in human rights and systems of government. State constitutions are [currently] playing a key role in forging new individual rights and developing innovative ways of governing. This book documents the new revolution that is taking place under the banner of state constitutions. This single-volume survey draws together the constitutions of the fifty states and the three U.S. territories that have constitutions. All are presented in an easy to follow format combining state history with an outline of major constitutional provisions and excerpts of significant sections. From basic rights to amendment procedures, this book serves as a blueprint for understanding how state governments are supposed to work."

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Supreme Court Drama: Cases That Changed America. by Daniel Brannen and Dr. Richard Clay Holmes

KF4550.Z9 B73 2001
"The four volumes of this set profile approximately 150 cases that influenced the development of key aspects of law in the United States. The case profiles are grouped according to the legal principal on which they are based, with each volume covering one or two broad areas of the law as follows:
Volume 1: Individual Liberties
Volume 2: Criminal Justice and Family Law
Volume 3: Equal Protection and Civil Rights
Volume 4: Business and Government Law

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The Supreme Court and Individual Rights, by David G. Savage (CQ Press, 2004)

KF4748 .W53 2004
"To people unfamiliar with U.S.-style democracy - and perhaps to many who are knowledgeable - it is remarkable that so much power rests in the hands of nine unelected, and often bitterly divided judges. It may be a paradox, but it is not an accident. Americans place great faith in the rule of law and in a Constitution that stands above the everyday frays of life. If the Constitution is to indeed stand as the highest law - the law that governs the lawmakers - some person or persons must determine what the Constitution means in a particular dispute. The justices who sit atop the federal court system are those persons. This book focuses on the Court's modern role in shaping the rights of individuals in such areas as freedom of speech, the press, and religion; elections and voting; crime and punishment; and civil rights and personal liberties. If there is a surprise in these chapters, it is that these rights are of rather recent vintage. Though the Bill of Rights dates to 1791, its impact on American life was minimal until the 1930's. Then, and slowly at first, the Court began to enforce these fundamental rights - the freedoms of speech, the press, and religion; fair trials; and due process and equal treatment under law - as limits not just on the federal government, but on state agencies, police, school officials, and municipal authorities as well."