Constitutional Law: Principles and Policies

I ordered 5 law books to get prepared for law school and this one was the best. It scared me at first because it is so big but it is easy to read and understand. It contains all the interesting cases that was decided by the Supreme Court. I was able to read through the entire book in a month because I couldn't put it down. I start law school in August and I am looking forward to it.

This book is the best law book that I have ever read. The cases are interesting and well abbreviated. The best part though - the notes before and after the cases. Chemerinsky does a great job of explaining what is going on. Instead of giving you ambiguous answers and rhetorical questions, this book actually explains the law. I will buy the next edition when it comes out, even though I will be out of law school. That's how good it is. This book should be standard at all schools, and should be the model for legal education text.

Mr. Chemerinsky is surely one of the leaders in the education of constitutional law, and his casebook is well tailored for the beginning law school student. Instead of trying to impress other lawyers, or simply reprinting case text as-is with no synthesis (a criminally unpunished activity by many casebook creators), Chemerinsky states early on that this book is structured for the student. There is certainly plenty of supplemental information here, with Chemerinsky doing a fine job of synthesizing and categorizing the myriad dimensions of constitutional law, and usefully facilitating the student's learning experience through more than just reprinted cases. The only real problem with this book is its sheer size, which cannot be blamed only on the nature of the subject matter. In my three-credit, one-semester course we only got through about a quarter of the book. When creating a casebook that truly presents constitutional law for the student, which is Chemerinsky's goal, the editor should figure out a way to emphasize the bare fundamentals that should be mastered by the average student who has a limited amount of time available for doing so. [~doomsdayer520~]

A central problem with teaching law by the casebook method is that most students also need a clear, expert roadmap of how the cases fit together, and how a particular doctrine that emerges from a line of cases -- sometimes over a century or more -- has evolved, changed, and operates today. Outlines of the black letter law (e.g. Gilberts) aren't as useful for something doctrinal like con law. You want clear exposition in prose. You want concise descriptions of all the important cases and what they stand for. You want Chemerinsky.All con law students should be grateful that one of the nation's leading Constitutional practitioners and professors has written this book. Its size is intimidating, but that's because it covers far more territory than the typical intro con law class. It's so well-done, though, that it's something serious students and lawyers will want on their bookshelves long after the first year -- as a supplement for advanced-topics classes, and as an essential reference work. The book is well-organized in an outline format with headings and subheads, so you can easily follow the thread of complex doctrine over time, like the Commerce Clause, or across its varied applications, like Equal Protection. Chapters are thorough but well divided. The organization allows you to find exactly what you need and to zero in on a particular narrow point or case, or to read more expansively about a doctrine's development, change, and varied application. Chemerinsky's prose is neutral, straightforward, always clear. He's analytical but doesn't make arguments. You couldn't say his writing has personality, but it is quite readable. This book is the con law supplement of choice at my school (Michigan). No one I know has regretted buying it.

I am a law student and used Mr. Chemerinsky's book during my studies in Constitutional law and for some time now after my classes in this field. This is better than any text book and was recommended by EVERY professor of Constitutional law at my school. It is an awesome book on almost everything you wanted to know about Constitutional law.