A Citizen's Guide to the Constitution and the Supreme Court

"In A Citizens Guide to the Constitution and the Supreme Court, Morgan Marietta presents a creative and insightful analysis of the process of constitutional interpretation. He communicates that analysis with impressive clarity, and this book will be a valuable resource for those who seek to gain a better understanding of the Supreme Court and the Constitution." Lawrence Baum, Ohio State University "Marietta has drafted an engaging, comprehensive, and accessible guide to how the Constitution has been and could be read. In thoughtful and often humorous prose, this book provides insight on the key constitutional questions that have animated many of our historical and contemporary conflicts about what our Constitution should mean and how it might guide us to answers for some of our most politically-charged conflicts. Indeed, the book calls us all to accountlearn how to read and understand your Constitution if you want to indeed be a full citizen in this republic. If Ben Franklin once said that the constitutional Framers offered this country A Republic, if you can keep it, then Marietta offers a guide as to how that Republic might be kept." Stephen M. Engel, Bates College A Citizens Guide to the Constitution and the Supreme Court is a superbly written, scholarly analysis of the major points of disagreement and schools of interpretation that inform the robust constitutional conflict that permeates contemporary American politics. The book is balanced and nuanced and is an important contribution for scholars, students, and the informed public. It demonstrates the authors mature understanding of constitutional law, theory, and the Supreme Court. Ronald Kahn, Oberlin College

Morgan Marietta is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at University of Massachusetts Lowell. He is the author of A Citizen's Guide to American Ideology and The Politics of Sacred Rhetoric.

Introduction: The Constitution and Bong Hits for Jesus; 1. The Core Disagreement: How Should We Read the Constitution?; Part I: Points of Conflict. 2. Judicial Review: Is it Legitimate and Expansive, or Questionable and Limited?; 3. Rights: Are They Individual or Collective?; 4. Federalism: Must We Have One National Standard?; 5. Liberty: Does the Constitution Invoke Ordered Liberty or Pure Liberty?; 6. Religion: Is the Constitution a Religious or Secular Document?; 7. Transcendence: Do Transcendent Principles Exist in the Constitution?; 8. Social Facts: Should the Court Move Ahead of Society or Wait for Social Change?; 9. Precedent: Should We Follow or Break From the History of the Court?; 10. Completeness: What Else Do We Need to Read?; Part II: Schools of Interpretation. 11. Textualism; 12. Common Law Constitutionalism; 13. Originalism; 14. Living Constitutionalism; 15. Comparing Schools of Interpretation; 16. Points of Conflict & Schools of Thought in a Landmark Case: Roe v. Wade; 17. Contemporary Landmark Cases: From Phelps to Obamacare; Conclusion: Reading the Constitution for Ourselves.