Supreme Court Drama - About | Reader's Guide

U.S. citizens take comfort and pride in living under the rule of law. Our elected representatives write and enforce the laws that cover everything from family relationships to the dealings of multi-billion-dollar corporations, from the quality of the air to the content of the programs broadcast through it. But it is the judicial system that interprets the meaning of the law and makes it real for the average citizen through the drama of trials and the force of court orders and judicial opinions.

The four volumes of Supreme Court Drama: Cases that Changed America profile approximately 150 cases that influenced the development of key aspects of law in the United States. The case profiles are grouped according to the legal principle on which they are based, with each volume covering one or two broad areas of the law as follows:

• Volume : Individual Liberties includes cases that have influenced such First Amendment issues as freedom of the press, religion, speech, and assembly. It also covers the right to privacy.
• Volume 2: Criminal Justice and Family Law covers many different areas of criminal law, such as capital punishment, crimnal procedure, family law, and juvenile law.
• Volume 3: Equal Protection and Civil Rights includes cases in the areas of affirmative action, reproductive rights segregation, and voting rights, as well as areas of special concern such as immigrants, the disabled, and gay and lesbian citizens. Sexual harassment and the right to die are also represented in this volume.
• Volume 4: Business and Government Law also encompasses two major spheres of the law. Monopolies, antitrust, and labor-related cases supplement the business fundamentals of corporate law. The government cases document the legal evolution of the branches of the federal government as well as the federal government's relation to state power. Separate topics address military issues, taxation, and legal history behind some Native American issues.
• Appendixes to all volumes also present the full text of the U.S. Constitution and its amendments and a chronological table of Supreme Court justices.

Coverage

Issue overviews, averaging 2,000 words in length provide the context for the case profiles that follow. Case discussions range from 750 to 2,000 words according, to their complexity and importance. Each provides the background of the case and issues involved, the main arguments presented by each side, and an explanation of the Supreme Court's decision, as well as the legal, political, and social impact of the decision. Excerpts from the Court's opinions are often included. Within each issue section, the cases are arranged from earliest to most recent.

When a single case could be covered under several different areas—the landmark reproductive rights decision in Roe v. Wade, for example, is also based upon an assertion of privacy rights—the case is placed with the issue with which it is most often associated. Users should consult the cumulative index that appears in each volume to find cases throughout the set that apply to a particular topic.

Additional Features

• The issues and proceedings featured in Supreme Court Drama are presented in language accessible to middle school users. Legal terms must sometimes be used for precision, however, so a Words to Know section of more than 300 words and phrases appears in each volume.
• A general essay providing a broad overview of the Supreme Court of the United States and the structure of the American legal system.
• Bolded cross-references within overview and case entries that point to cases that appear elsewhere in the set.
• Tables of contents to locate a particular case by name or in chronological order.
• A cumulative index at the end of each volume that includes the cases, people, events and subjects that appear throughout Supreme Court Drama.

Suggestions Are Welcome

We welcome your comments on Supreme Court Drama: Cases That Changed America. Please write, Editors, Supreme Court Drama, U•X•L, 27500 Drake Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48331-3535; call toll-free: 1-800-877-4253; fax to 248-414-5043; or send e-mail via http://www.galegroup.com.