The Supreme Court and Individual Rights

Covers significant Court rulings on expressive freedoms, political participation, the right to bear arms, due process, and equal rights.

Tracing the Court’s emergence as a defender of individual rights and liberties and current through the 2007-2008 term, this updated edition provides full coverage of the freedoms enumerated in the Bill of Rights. Topics discussed include:

• Guantanamo Bay detainees’ rights
• Right to keep and bear arms
• Gay rights
• And other civil liberties

The Supreme Court and Individual Rights begins with an overview of individual rights and covers six main themes in subsequent chapters:

• Freedom for Ideas
• The Rights of Political Participation
• The Second Amendment and the Right to Bear Arms
• Crime and Punishment
• Equal Rights and Equal Protection
• Liberty and Privacy

Appendixes include a glossary of legal terms, an explanation of how to read a legal citation, and biographical data on all current and former justices. This reference will be of interest to all researchers, and in particular, students and teachers of history and political science courses addressing civil liberties.