Product Description

The Supreme Court has continued to write constitutional history over the thirteen years since publication of the highly acclaimed first edition of The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court. Two new justices have joined the high court, more than 800 cases have been decided, and a good deal of new scholarship has appeared on many of the topics treated in the Companion. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist presided over the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton, and the Court as a whole played a decisive and controversial role in the outcome of the 2000 presidential election. Under Rehnquists's leadership, a bare majority of the justices have rewritten significant areas of the law dealing with federalism, sovereign immunity, and the commerce power. This new edition includes new entries on key cases and fully updated treatment of crucial areas of constitutional law, such as abortion, freedom of religion, school desegregation, freedom of speech, voting rights, military tribunals, and the rights of the accused. These developments make the second edition of this accessible and authoritative guide essential for judges, lawyers, academics, journalists, and anyone interested in the impact of the Court's decisions on American society.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #333572 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 1272 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 10 Up-- An extremely thorough treatment of the subject, composed of brief defining entries and lengthy essays by almost 300 contributors, including lawyers, judges, scholars, and journalists, who were charged with the responsibility of making their presentations accessible to a general readership. Entries, arranged alphabetically, cover the internal operations and history of the Court; biographical information on all of the justices plus other relevant historical figures; definitions of basic legal and constitutional terminology; and the process of selecting, nominating, and confirming justices. More than 400 entries examine the Court's most significant decisions. All are signed; those of any length are followed by selective bibliographies of further reading. Every effort has been made to provide adequate cross referencing within the text and at the end of entries. Cases (with proper citation), persons, places, and institutions are indexed. This work will be of value not only to students of the Court and constitutional law, but also to those needing information (interpretive and/or historical) about the major socioeconomic issues of our day. Illustrations, primarily portraits and photographs of the justices, are of good quality and appropriately placed. This is a landmark publication, representing the highest standard of American scholarship. It is strongly recommended for reference collections serving high school students.
- Tess McKellen, Packer Collegiate Institute, Brooklyn
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
This obviously impressive and highly needed collection of over 1000 entries on the Supreme Court is sure to become the standard in the field. Succeeding in their appointed task "to humanize the high court," the editors have assembled an excellent cast of contributors--scholars and legal professionals--who have covered virtually every aspect of the Court's work and its all-important, often controversial role in American law and politics. Entries feature biographies of all the justices and other figures connected with the Court's histories. Other entries discuss the Court's most significant decisions, and chronological essays explore the Court's history and related topics like slavery and the civil rights movement. This fine volume is essential for any serious student of the Court; it belongs in every academic library in the country. Its organization is first-rate and its scope is all-encompassing. Highly recommended.
- Stephen K. Shaw, Northwest Nazarene Coll., Nampa, Id.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Oxford has published a second edition of this accessible and authoritative reference to Supreme Court cases, justices, legal issues, and terminology. With 86 new articles that include biographies of Clinton appointees Ginsberg and Breyer and commentaries on Boy Scouts v. Dale, Bush v. Gore, McConnell v. Federal Election Commission, and other important cases, Oxford has brought the companion into the twenty-first century. The extra 200 pages make the book a little difficult to pull from a high shelf, but librarians and readers will find it worth the effort. New essays on the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Detainee cases, and Hate speech remind us of the continuing influence of the Supreme Court in U.S. politics and in the everyday lives of its citizens. Almost 100 articles have been revised and updated, including entries on current justices, Abortion, Impeachment, Religion, and the Second Amendment.

The features that made the first edition so convenient and easy for the layperson to use remain. Each case entry includes a U.S. Reports citation, date argued, date decided, and authors of majority, concurring, and dissenting opinions. Longer entries have brief bibliographies made up predominantly of citations to books and law review articles. See and see also references are abundant but not overwhelming.

There are several appendixes, including a useful chart of Supreme Court justices and their years of service, a chronology of the justices' succession, and a list of "Trivia and Traditions of the Court." The volume concludes with case-name and topical indexes.

The companion will likely find its way to most of the 2,800-plus libraries that have the first edition. Its value as a quick reference source on the Supreme Court has not diminished with the passage of time. It still belongs in every library, high school and up. Jan Lewis
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

A great resource for those interested in the Supreme Court
The _Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States_ is a reference book. The topics are arranged alphabetically, like entries in an encyclopedia. They include biographies of all justices to sit in the Supreme Court up to Clarence Thomas' confirmation, and other nominees or people associated to the Court, important decisions (with dates argued, dates decided, what the vote was, who wrote the opinions, etc), basic terms associated with the Court (such as 'writ of certiorari'), constitutional doctrines (such as 'substantive due process') and other topics, such as a very complete History of the Court. The appendices include the U.S. Constitution, two lists of Justices, one simply arranged chronologically, and one more graphical noting who the President who nominated each justice was, who the Chief Justice was, etc. There is also a short appendix with a number of firsts, trivia, and traditions associated to the Court.

I should say that I am not a lawyer and not a Law Student. I am an interested lay observer only. Yet the book is written at a level which is accessible (even if you sometimes have to go check the cross-references), and very, very informative. Just reading a couple of entries a day will greatly enhance your understanding of the Supreme Court and its role, or how the Justices work.

As a reference, I doubt it has a match. The justices' biogrphies are very interesting, including major decisions or philosophical contributions. The summaries of cases include not only information on the case and the decision, but also any lasting constitutional effects, and whether or not they were later overturned (whether by other decisions, or by constitutional amendments). The historical essays alone would be worth the price of admission, as would the thorough coverage of Constitutional Schools (constructivism, First Amendment absolutism, etc), or important precedents and tests. Just what is the "clear and present danger" test, where did it originate, and how has it been modified since then? Turn to 'clear and present danger' and read the entry. You'll learn all that and more.

I've read the book cover to cover, and emerged with a much greater, clearer understanding of the Supreme Court and the Constitution than I could have obtained from reading any other single book. It is not easy reading (imagine trying to read your way through an encyclopedia...) but even if you pick and choose the entries you read, you'll come out wiser than you came in.

I recommend the book heartily to those interested in the Supreme Court, whether professionally or not. It is well worth the price.

A companion readers can't do without
Since its initial publication in 1992, The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States has served as a valuable resource on the history of the Court. With articles on the justices, their key decisions, legal philosophies, and even aspects of Court life, the Companion has been an indispensable addition for anyone interested in American law or the history of the Court.

With the passage of time, though, the need for an update taking into account subsequent cases and topics has only grown. This need has now been met with the second edition, which includes new articles on a variety of topics, and revision of many of the earlier ones. While a few mistakes were missed (the entry on Supreme Court clerks, for example, was not updated to include Stephen Breyer among the names of the justices who previously served as clerks) and while the bibliographies at the end of each article have only been indifferently updated (while the entry on William O. Douglas includes Bruce Allen Murphy's recent biography, the one on Benjamin Cardozo includes neither of the important books written about him over the past decade), the overall result is a work of continuing utility for readers and scholars alike.

The ultimate guide to the Court - can't recommend it enough
_The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States_ ranks among the top five reference works I have perused. Actually, I read this one all the way through, from A to Z. It is the ultimate one-volume guide to American jurisprudence. There are multi-paragraph summaries of just about every High Court case of lasting significance, excellent and detailed biographies and photographs/illustrations of all the Justices through Clarence Thomas, detailed explanations of all the legal, political and historical principles and terms needed to understand the Court and its workings, and, as an added bonus, excellent biographies of figures (such as Judge Learned Hand and defeated nominees such as Haynsworth and Bork) who never served on the Court but had an influence on it in one way or another.

In short, this is the only book on the Supreme Court that a layman should ever need. I can't recommend it enough - it should be in every home.