2003 supplement to modern constitutional law cases and notes

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isbn号码:9780314149541

This supplement to Modern Constitutional Law includes only the

more significant United States Supreme Court cases since October, 2002

--the cutoff date for the main volume--through June 26, 2003. As in the

main volume, I have sought to keep the number of excerpted cases to a

minimum rather than merely chronicle the work of the Court. The

teacher who has additional hours may, of course, always expand the focu~

and coverage by adding his or her supplemental materials. Future cum~-

lative supplements will also include only those new developments of p~tr-

ticular importance.

It is no simple task to read and edit promptly, each term, the most

recent cases of the U.S. Supreme Court, and then prepare the final prod-

uct for speedy publication. More recently, the use of computers, network

links, Westlaw, and high speed modems have made that task a lot easier. I

can download a case about an hour after the Supreme Court releases it.

The entire process is amazing and, in the not too distance past, would be

considered akin to magic. Not too long ago, I used to lump computers

together with telephones as the devil s invention. Now, they are becoming

more f~iendly. Of course, the modern technology means that old dogs like

me have to learn new tricks. Computers do not always work; they seem to

sense fear and I have learned that I must approach them with both brava-

do and braggadocio.

I need more than computers to assist me, so I wish to express mY sin-

cere thanks to Ms. Jane Barton, my secretary and to Nathan Wildermann,

GMU class of 2004 for their assistance in preparing the manuscript. I also

thank the law school and Dean Mark Grady for their research support.

At this moment, as I sit in the office, looking out my window at the

Washington Monument, I recall that Bismarck is supposed to have said

that laws are like sausages--one should not see how they are made. As

tastes change and less filler is added to the making of sausage, some peo-

ple fear that more is being added to the making of laws. Well, I have seen

sausage being made (for two summers, when I worked my way through

college by working the graveyard shift at a meat packing plant), and I have

seen the Court make law. It is not like making sausage. Instead, our sys-

tem of Constitutional liberties, protected by our state and federal courts,

have made us the envy of the world. The newly emerging democracies seek

to emulate our legal system, and our greatest export has become our Bill

of Rights.