Autorentext

Melissa Mandel is an award-winning prosecutor who has represented the State of California before the United States Supreme Court. Glenn Smith is an emeritus professor and has taught constitutional law for four decades. He remains active as a visiting lecturer at UCSD and is an expert in statutory interpretation, privacy, free speech, and voter initiatives.

Klappentext

An up-to-date and easy-to-read walkthrough of how America's Constitution actually works under the hood

Looking for an easy-to-read and crystal-clear guide to the document that shapes nearly everything about your relationship with the United States and its government? This brand-new, completely reimagined edition of the U.S. Constitution For Dummies explains the ins and outs of Congress, the executive branch, the presidency, and the Supreme Court. It provides legalese-free walkthroughs of how all those pieces fit together and how they affect your rights and responsibilities as an American.

You'll explore everything from voting rights to the limits of executive power and how American states challenge laws passed by the federal government (and vice versa). You'll discover how the Constitution influences the political process in the United States and how the nature of your constitutional guarantees and rights as a person are changing.

Inside the book:

• Brand-new discussions of how the First Amendment interacts with social media and emerging technology
• Up-to-the-minute explanations of how presidential power and accountability are affected by the Supreme Court's recent decision on presidential criminal immunity
• Explorations of recent changes in the constitutional treatment of reproductive and maternal healthcare
• In depth explanations of how the Constitution safeguards you, from Miranda warnings, search and seizure rules, legal representation, and trial rights
  Perfect for students, citizens, activists, professors, and anyone else with an interest in American governance, politics, law, and society, the U.S. Constitution For Dummies is a straightforward resource that skips the jargon and misinformation and offers accurate, up-to-date, and accessible info.

Inhalt

Introduction 1

Part 1: Getting Started with the U.S Constitution 5

Chapter 1: Viewing the U.S Constitution from a Broader Perspective 7

Chapter 2: Getting the Basics of the U.S Constitution 19

Chapter 3: Resolving Key Dilemmas with the U.S Constitution 37

Chapter 4: Interpreting the Constitution 49

Part 2: Setting Up (and Limiting) National Government Powers 61

Chapter 5: Constituting the Legislative Branch 63

Chapter 6: Constituting the Executive Branch 75

Chapter 7: Constituting the Judicial Branch 89

Chapter 8: Seeing How the Government Branches Interact 105

Chapter 9: Dividing Power between National and State Officials 117

Part 3: Broadly Protecting Civil Liberties 129

Chapter 10: Assuring Freedom of Speech 131

Chapter 11: Protecting Freedom from and of Religion 149

Chapter 12: Ensuring Equality When Government Makes Distinctions 165

Chapter 13: Preventing Arbitrary Loss of Liberty and Property 181

Chapter 14: Navigating Intimate Liberty and Privacy Issues 197

Part 4: Protecting Property, Gun Ownership, and Voting Rights 213

Chapter 15: Promoting Stability by Safeguarding Specific Interests 215

Chapter 16: Assuring the Right to Keep and Bear Arms 227

Chapter 17: Guaranteeing Rights for Election Participants 239

Part 5: Creating a Fair Criminal Justice System 259

Chapter 18: Protecting Criminal Suspects and Defendants 261

Chapter 19: Checking Government Power to Investigate, Arrest, and Indict 277

Chapter 20: Guaranteeing Fair Trials 303

Chapter 21: Safeguarding Rights after Judgment 315

Part 6: The Part of Tens 329

Chapter 22: Ten Key Dimensions of the Constitution 331

Chapter 23: Highlighting Ten (or So) Landmark Cases 335

Index 339