This authoritative text provides a framework for understanding individual liberty and governmental power and the institutional role played by the Supreme Court of the United States. The comprehensive coverage in this new and improved edition includes all the major topics: judicial review; commerce clause and state powers; federalism; separation of powers; congressional and executive powers; and individual civil rights and civil liberties. It includes diagrams that aid understanding of the fundamentals of our system of government. A chapter samples all the academic literature on the subject in condensed form. An appendix summarizes the case law found in all the casebooks in a straightforward manner to provide an overview and to aid in review for the final examination. Extremely accessible and comprehensive — this is a paperback course in American Constitutional Law — your own personal tutor.