The Volokh Conspiracy
Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent
An Introduction to Constitutional Law: 100 Supreme Court Cases Everyone Should Know
This book and video series teaches the narrative of constitutional law as it has developed over the past two centuries.
Randy Barnett and I are proud to announce An Introduction to Constitutional Law: 100 Supreme Court Cases Everyone Should Know. All students even those unfamiliar with American history will learn the essential background information to grasp how this body of law has come to be what it is today. Our online library of sixty-three videos brings the Supreme Court's one hundred most important decisions to life. These videos are enriched by photographs, maps, and even audio from the Supreme Court. I will blog previews of our entire video catalogue in the intermediary days between Constitution Day and the first Monday in October.
The book and videos are accessible for all levels: law school, college, high school, home school, and independent study. Students can read and watch these materials before class to prepare for lectures or study after class to fill in any gaps in their notes. And, come exam time, students can watch the entire canon of constitutional law in about twelve hours.
100 Cases has been favorably reviewed by the authors of leading constitutional law casebooks, including Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, who wrote our Foreword.
Erwin Chemerinsky, University of California, Berkeley School of Law
"The descriptions by Professors Barnett and Blackman emphasize what students need to know in order to master this material for their exams and for their careers. Professors Barnett and Blackman present the material with great clarity. The videos provide the students another way of learning the material and wonderfully complement the textual descriptions. Although many of the cases are controversial, Professors Barnett and Blackman present them in an unbiased and ideologically neutral manner."
Sanford V. Levinson, University of Texas at Austin School of Law
"Randy Barnett and Josh Blackman have created a remarkable guide to what they label the 100 most important Supreme Court cases in our history. Students (and their teachers) should especially profit from the multimedia blend of information and analysis. Inevitably there will be quibbles about some few cases included and, therefore, others left out, but if I am typical, most legal academics will agree with at least 90% of their choices, which is impressive indeed. This may prove to be a true event in legal education—and not only for law students."
Jack M. Balkin, Yale Law School
"Barnett and Blackman have made learning the basics of American constitutional law as painless and as fun as possible. The case discussions are concise; the videos are full of fascinating pictures and historical details. If you think you might be interested in Constitutional Law, this is a great way to get started."
Michael Dorf, Cornell Law School
"The pithy, lively, and occasionally opinionated, but always fair-minded chapters and videos provide all of the essentials of the key cases of the constitutional canon, clarifying and summarizing without ever dumbing down."
Mark Graber, University of Maryland School of Law
"A very accessible guide by two outstanding constitutional scholars to many cases that are taught in almost every class in constitutional law and a few cases that should be taught in almost every class in constitutional law."
Keith E. Whittington, Princeton University
"A useful, impressive, and innovative introduction to the history of American constitutional law. Accessible to the beginning student and still helpful to the advanced student. A new approach for a new generation of students. Raises the bar on how to make these complex cases understandable."
Michael Stokes Paulsen, University of St. Thomas School of Law
"Randy Barnett and Josh Blackman have done it again! Two of our nation's most brilliant scholars and teachers of the Constitution have teamed up to create a magnificent set of new teaching materials. 100 Supreme Court Cases Everybody Should Know is an endlessly rich and deeply rewarding resource for understanding the U.S. Constitution. Novices and experts alike will ben- efit from the Barnett-Blackman treasure trove."
William Baude, University of Chicago Law School
"A strong supplement that provides the legal and political context for the most significant Supreme Court cases. It provides important background for all constitutional law students."
The book is currently backordered on Amazon. Please order the paperback, and send a signal to our publisher to print more copies! Or, if you are in a hurry, you can download the E-Book or stream the videos.
Several professors have already adopted this short, accessible $30 paperback as a supplement. If would like a review copy of the book and videos, please contact me.
