The Changing Constitution
The Changing Constitution
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USDIn The Changing Constitution, Richard H. Fallon Jr. explores the constitutional law of the United States as reflected in decisions of the Supreme Court, including recent blockbusters. The author analyses controversial rulings addressing topics such as freedom of speech and religion, the Second Amendment right to bear arms, abortion, affirmative action, gay rights, and the powers and prerogatives of the President. Examining modern controversies from a historical perspective he argues that it's impossible to understand U.S. constitutional law without recognizing the political and institutional forces that always have brought, and will continue to bring, innovations and occasional reversals in constitutional doctrine. Fallon also highlights distinctive aspects of the current era, including the judicial philosophies of the sitting Justices. This intellectually sophisticated overview of constitutional law and Supreme Court practice additionally discusses anxieties about whether and how the Justices, who can overrule their own precedents, are meaningfully constrained by law.
- Explains how the Constitution has historically worked in practice through shifting interpretations by a Supreme Court that is shaped and constrained by political actors
- Provides a historical and political scientific perspective from which to understand the making and revision of constitutional law by the Supreme Court
- Paints a portrait of the current Court and its 6-3 supermajority of conservative Justices, describing current constitutional doctrine in key areas including the freedoms of speech and religion, the Second Amendment right to bear arms, and the powers and prerogatives of Congress and the President
- Addresses deep questions about how the Constitution can be law binding on the Supreme Court yet also be subject to dramatically varied interpretations
Reviews & endorsements
‘On American constitutional law, Richard Fallon is the best in the business. This is a masterful guide not only to the current situation, but also to the arc of constitutional history. Essential reading.’ Cass R. Sunstein, Robert Walmsley University Professor, Harvard University, and author of How to Interpret the Constitution
‘A fascinating and timely assessment of the current state of American constitutional law, how we got here, and where we might be going.’ Keith E. Whittington, David Boies Professor, Yale Law School
‘Richard Fallon is one of America's premier constitutional scholars. The Changing Constitution is his magnum opus. Its accessible narrative poses challenges to originalists (like me) and nonoriginalists alike. The Changing Constitution is a must-read for anyone who cares about how the constitutional law that the Supreme Court has developed to implement the US Constitution has changed over the years.’ Randy E. Barnett,, Patrick Hotung Professor of Constitutional Law at Georgetown Law, and author of A Life for Liberty: The Making of an American Originalist
‘Professor Fallon has brilliantly but accessibly demonstrated how the current Supreme Court may well determine if we are, in Ben Franklin’s words, ‘to keep’ our Republic.’ Russell Feingold, former US Senator
‘Richard Fallon demonstrates that the Constitution, as interpreted by the Supreme Court, is always a necessarily changing ‘work in progress.’ Yet he demonstrates also how the contemporary conservative - or, perhaps more accurately labeled, ‘radical’ - majority of the Court is testing the limits of such changes. He therefore concludes with a thoughtful meditation on what explains viewing Supreme Court decisions as legitimate statements of ‘law’ rather than imposed political decisions. Written in graceful prose, the book should be especially helpful for general readers trying to understand the contemporary Court.’ Sanford Levinson, University of Texas Law School, author of Constitutional Faith
‘Any scholar, student, or general reader seeking a clear-headed, accessible, and comprehensive account of constitutional law in the Trump era - where we are, how we got there, and where we might be headed - will find no better book. Fallon is unmatched in his ability concisely to articulate the competing understandings of our constitutional commitments, to demonstrate the place and selectivity of originalism in our constitutional practice, and to combine interpretive charity with incisive criticism.’ James E. Fleming, The Honorable Paul J. Liacos Professor of Law, Boston University School of Law
Product details
September 2025Hardback
9781009533980
330 pages
229 × 152 mm
Not yet published - available from September 2025
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Table of Contents
- Introduction
- 1. The written constitution and the emergence of judicial supremacy
- 2. Historical overview of constitutional adjudication by the Supreme Court
- 3. The Supreme Court today
- 4. Freedom of religion: the crumbling 'wall of separation' between church and state
- 5. The freedom of speech: the ascent of 'the persuasion principle'
- 6. The expanding and contested 'right to keep and bear arms'
- 7. The equal protection of the laws: what it once meant and now means
- 8. Substantive due process and unenumerated fundamental rights after the overruling of Roe v. Wade
- 9. The shrinking yet still formidable powers of congress
- 10. The powers of the president and the executive branch in a period of ferment
- 11. Law and change in the Supreme Court.
