With this comprehensive study, written in lay language, David Fellman provides an up-to-date analysis of the rights of the accused, certain to be welcomed by political scientists, students of public law, and all with an interest in due process of law. Since Fellman's 1958 book, The Defendant's Rights, substantial changes in the criminal justice system have occured. The past few decades before the publication of The Defendant's Rights Today have been witness to a striking expansion of the central concept of due process of law as it relates to criminal justice. The subject of defendants' rights is broad and complex. Fellman here explores its underlying concepts, bringing together a comprehensive discussion of the effects of the criminal justice system on the accused from arrest, through trial, to post-conviction remedies.

First Published in 2001. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This is the most comprehensive and readable one-volume reference book in print, accessible to lay readers and specialists alike, on the meaning of the American Constitution as the Supreme Court has interpreted it. It is an indispensable tool for students and lay persons who want to understand today's constitutional controversies and their background in our history. It is equally useful to lawyers and other specialists who seek quick reviews of constitutional issues with immediate reference to cases for further research. Unlike conventional treatises that discuss the Constitution clause by clause or under a few broad concepts, this book uniquely treats every aspect of the Constitution and every constitutional topic in alphabetical order, in more than 1,000 short essays. It is extensively cross-referenced and exhaustively indexed, so that even a reader with only a minimal notion of the Constitution or constitutional law can quickly find clear answers to questions about pressing issues of the day. Among the other unique features: a set of introductory essays on the background of the Constitution and the many difficulties of interpreting it; a concordance to each word and phrase in the Constitution; a year-by-year chronology of justices who have served on the Supreme Court; and a table of the more than 2,650 Supreme Court cases from 1792 to the present referred to in the book, listing the vote, the author of the majority opinion, the concurring and dissenting justices, and the length of the opinions.

Provides a quantitative history of the development of constitutional law in the United States during the past 150 years.