This book is a collection of comprehensive background essays coupled with carefully edited Supreme Court case excerpts designed to explore constitutional law and the role of the Supreme Court in its development and interpretation. Well-grounded in both theory and politics, the book endeavors to heighten students’ understanding of this critical part of the American political system. NEW TO THE 19th EDITION • An account of the recent Supreme Court transitions, including the Biden Court commission, the appointment of Ketanji Brown Jackson, and the heightened political and ethical difficulties facing the Court. • Five new cases carefully edited and excerpted, including Minor v. Happersett (1875) on gender and voting rights, Trump v. Anderson (2024) on access to the ballot, Carson v. Makin (2022) on religious freedom, New York Rifle & Pistol Assn. v. Bruen (2023) on Second Amendment rights, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2023) on abortion rights, and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, together with Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina on affirmative action. • Twenty-one new cases discussed in chapter essays. • Tips on reading a Supreme Court decision remains as a box in Chapter One.

Originally published in 1984, State Apparatus contributes to the debate on the theory of the state through posing questions regarding the state’s form, function, and apparatus. The book begins by setting out the theoretical and methodological problems and reviewing the various Conservative, Liberal and Marxist theories in light of these. It discusses state activity, using specific case studies to clearly illustrate key points, such as the development of welfare systems in North America and Western Europe. It also explores the use of language under the state, the role of the legal apparatus within a capitalist system, and the "local state". The book concludes with a discussion of democracy and the crisis of legitimacy, and the issue of justice and the state. State Apparatus is a detailed and comprehensive text, ideal for those with an interest in the history, theory, form, and function of the state.

The study of legal history has a broad application that extends well beyond the interests of legal historians. An attorney arguing a case today may need to cite cases that are decades or even centuries old, and historians studying political or cultural history often encounter legal issues that affect their main subjects. Both groups need to understand the laws and legal practices of past eras. This essential reference is intended for the many nonspecialists who need to enter this arcane and often tricky area of research.