A Practical Companion to the Constitution: How the Supreme Court Has Ruled on Issues from Abortion to Zoning
University of California Press, 1999, 800pp. Paperback.
In more than 1,000 essays, alphabetically arranged, this book provides readers, lay and specialist alike, a comprehensive survey of the problems, issues, theories, and catch phrases that have occupied the Supreme Court since 1789. General principles and specific holdings are linked to a unique table of cases, digesting the votes, concurrences, and dissents of the justices in more than 2,500 constitutional cases. Also features a comprehensive index, a unique concordance to the Constitution, and a timeline of the justices.
The first edition of this book, The Evolving Constitution (Random House, 1992), was selected by the American Library Association as one of the 28 "Outstanding Reference Books" for 1993. In that same year it was also selected by the New York Public Library as one of the 30 "Outstanding Reference Books of the Past Year." It was awarded a Gavel Certificate of Merit by the American Bar Association in 1993. This edition contains dozens of new entries.
Supplements discussing later cases
A comprehensive supplement of issues heard in the Supreme Court from 1999 through 2008, The Decennial Supplement, is available from Dialogue Press, as is its successor volume, The Cumulative Supplement, second series, 2008-2017. Supplement publication ceased after The 2018 Supplement. To order one or more, send me an email through the Contact tab above. Altogether, the main volume and the supplements reference more than 3,000 Supreme Court cases.
From the reviewers
"A really monumental achievement for a sole scholar . . . excellent subject entries, extremely useful time chart."
"Clear, useful, and accurate entries. . . . In short, there is a great deal here. . . . Lieberman's writing generally combines spice and clarity. . . . The overall impression is one of solidity and reliability."
"Although a reference book in which every entry is written by one author raises the potential of subjectivity, Lieberman appears largely to have avoided this pitfall. . . . He is both fair and accurate, his conclusions measured, and when needed is critical of both sides."