Guides: Constitutional Law and History Research Guide: Treatises and Other Secondary Sources

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Introduction

When researching an issue or area of law for the first time, we suggest you begin with a secondary source such as a legal encyclopedia, legal treatise, or ALR. Though not comprehensive, on this page you will find a selective list of print and electronic treatises, books, study aids, and other secondary sources on constitutional law.

Consult our Constitutional Law Treatise Finder for additional texts & study aids. Also consult our research guides for secondary sources on other specific areas of law related to constitutional law, such as our Supreme Court Research Guide and American Legal History Guide.

Study Aids

Constitutional Law in a Nutshell (10th ed.)
The allocation of powers and individual rights and liberties is the emphasis of this study aid on constitutional law which includes case notes throughout.
Constitutional Analysis in a Nutshell (3rd ed.)
Study aid focusing on how the Constitution defines and protects individual liberties. A case outline of constitutional liberty is almost a third of the volume.
Principles of Constitutional Law by Ronald D. Rotunda & John E. Nowak
Concise overview of the fundamental principles of constitutional law, designed for law students. Topics covered include the origins of judicial review, federal jurisdiction, commerce clause, due process, equal protection and freedom of speech and religion.

Texts & Treatises

The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation
Popularly known as the "Constitution Annotated," this free online source, prepared by the Congressional Research Service, contains historical notes and legal analysis and interpretation of the United States Constitution based primarily on Supreme Court case law.
Encyclopedia of the American Constitution by Levy et al.
This six-volume work contains essays by leading constitutional scholars, law school professors, judges, historians, and political scientists on practical and theoretical topics dealing with every aspect of constitutional law in the U.S., from the Constitutional Convention in 1787 to the Clinton impeachment.
Modern Constitutional Law
Legal treatise providing analysis of modern constitutional law. Issues covered include religion; the first amendment; privacy; private property, freedom of enterprise; freedom of contract; equal protection; civil and criminal justice; states and the federal government; federalism; separation of powers; and constitutional litigation.
Rotunda and Nowak's Treatise on Constitutional Law
Legal treatise providing up-to-date analysis of every area of federal constitutional law. Focus is primarily on the Supreme Court. Coverage includes: origins of judicial review; sources of national authority; federal fiscal powers; procedural due process; and equal protection.
American Constitutional Law by Laurence H. Tribe
Legal treatise providing analysis of constitutional law and policy. Provides references to treatises, law review articles, the U.S. Code, and Supreme Court cases. Coverage includes: separation and division of powers; federal judicial, executive and legislative power; congressional authority and the implications of state sovereignty; union-preserving aspects of federalism.
Constitutional Interpretation: The Basic Questions by Barber et al.
Provides an overview of the various approaches for constitutional interpretation.
Constitutional Law: Principles & Policies by Erwin Chemerinsky
Relied on by students, professors, and practitioners, Erwin Chemerinsky’s popular treatise clearly states the law and identifies the underlying policy issues in each area of constitutional law.
Constitutional Law Deskbook
Constitutional Law Deskbook includes coverage of First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendment cases, as well as Equal Protection, privacy and general principles and terms.
Constitutional Law for a Changing America: Rights, Liberties, and Justice by Epstein et al.
Examines the Supreme Court's interpretation of the basic liberties guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and subsequent amendments to the Constitution. Assesses recent rulings on affirmative action, privacy, and regulation of the Internet, war and terrorism, and the government's authority to restrict civil rights.
The First Amendment: Freedom of Speech
Provides a review of the evolution of free speech rights in the United States. Contains chapters on the various categories of unprotected speech, the special rules related to commercial speech, pornographic speech, public employee speech and student speech, as well as a chapter on how the First Amendment impacts tort law in the United States
The Jurisprudence of United States Constitutional Interpretation : An Annotated Bibliography by Shelley L. Dowling
his comprehensive bibliography provides annotations to more than 900 document collections, treatises, textbooks, articles and electronic resources on the topic of constitutional interpretation.
Series: Reference Guides to the United States Constitution
Launched in 2002, this series of books focuses on major topics of constitutional law, such as federalism, privileges and immunities, due process, freedom of the press, presidential powers, and state sovereign immunity, to mention just a few. Every volume is comprised of a brief history of the topic, a lengthy analysis of the current state of law on that topic and a bibliographic essay with annotated references to additional readings. Click the link to browse the volumes in the library catalog.
Smolla & Nimmer on Freedom of Speech
Provides in-depth coverage and expert analysis of free speech and free press First Amendment issues, including history, theory, doctrine, and insights into cases and decisions. Includes cross-references within the text and in footnotes, which contain full citations and parallel citations to other materials.

Finding Additional Sources (Databases)

The following resources are useful places to look for additional secondary sources on Constitutional Law topics:

Avalon Project at Yale Law School
The Avalon Project mounts digital documents and includes the Federalist Papers and documents from the Continental Congress, as well as much more.
Gun Regulation and Legislation in America (HeinOnline)
Brings together more than 500 titles dealing with this topic. Included are periodicals, key compiled federal legislative histories, relevant congressional hearings, CRS Reports, Supreme Court briefs, and more. Links to nearly 500 scholarly articles, an extensive bibliography, and a selection of external resources to further research this subject are also provided.
Lexis: Constitutional Law
Search all secondary materials related to constitutional law, including treatises, jurisprudence, guides, law reviews, and journals.
Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources I, 1620-1926
Contains a virtual goldmine of information for researchers of American legal history, including a fully searchable digital archive of the published records of the American colonies, documents published by state constitutional conventions, law dictionaries, digests, and more.
Oxford Constitutional Law: US Constitutional Law
US Constitutional Law provides a comprehensive research resource on the law, politics, and history of constitutionalism in the United States at the federal and state levels. Combining extensive primary materials with expert commentary, the service provides researchers with unparalleled access to the historical development of federal and state constitutionalism.
Westlaw: Constitutional Law Texts & Treatises
A collection of Constitutional Law treatises available on Westlaw. Contains titles pertaining to these areas and more: Anti-SLAPP Litigation, Education Law, Religious Organizations, Search And Seizure, and Freedom of Speech.
World Constitutions Illustrated (HeinOnline)
This database enables legal scholars to research the constitutional and political development of every country in the world. It includes the current constitution for every country in its original language format and an English translation, as well as substantial constitutional histories for all countries.

Finding Additional Sources (Catalog)

Expand your search by using subject headings in the law library's catalog to locate more sources. Relevant subject headings from our catalog include:

Constitutions -- United States
Constitutional law -- United States
Constitutional law -- United States -- Amendments
Constitutional law -- United States -- Amendments -- Ratification
Constitutional law -- United States -- Interpretation and construction
Constitutional law -- United States -- Philosophy
Law -- United States -- Interpretation and construction
Law -- United States -- Interpretation and construction -- History
United States. Constitution - 1st-10th Amendments
United States. Constitution 1st-10th Amendments -- History
Hamilton, Alexander, 1757-1804
Jay, John, 1745-1829
Madison, James, 1751-1836

Finding Books: Catalog Searching Tips

To search materials in the catalog by subject, use our Advanced Search. Select "subject" in the first drop-down box, then enter a subject heading (such as one of the ones suggested on this page) in the corresponding search box. You can run the search alone or include additional terms in additional search boxes below. To find books, it may help to first narrow your search to "Law Library Catalog" or "Georgetown Univ. + Local Academic Libraries" using one of the radio buttons at the top of the page. After running a search, you can sort by "Date-newest first" on the left to put the most recent materials at the top. You can also narrow your results to books only on the left under "Resource Type."

Journals & Newspapers

The Articles for Legal and Non-Legal Research research guide explains the differences between searching journal indexes and searching full-text databases. It also suggests legal and non-legal indexes and full-text databases. Searching Lexis and Westlaw is not comprehensive in its coverage so you will need to broaden your journal search beyond these two resources.

There are several law reviews and journals dedicated to constitutional law; however, note that scholarly articles on constitutional law issues may appear in all types of law journal.

To identify and locate constitutional law-specific journals in our the library's collections, search the catalog by subject for "Constitutional Law -- United States -- Periodicals."

Advocacy Organizations / Websites

Interactive Constitution - The National Constitution Center
Learn about the text, history, and meaning of the U.S. Constitution from leading scholars of diverse legal and philosophical perspectives.

Constitutional Law and History Research Guide

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