Understanding Supreme Court Opinions

In my mind, there is no competitor to the van Geel book. The text is both concise and informative. It conveys a lot of essential information that is not presented in most books, and I have found it to be invaluable in teaching the classes.

Chris W. Bonneau, University of Pittsburgh

I hope this book will see many more editions. It is an extremely valuable text to any teacher of constitutional law for undergradutes, and also should have a very prominent place in any course on judicial process or introductory American government.

Philip Dynia, Loyola University

Understanding Supreme Court Opinions
Sixth Edition

T. R. van Geel

Going beyond the standard interpretation of Supreme Court opinions, this practical text delves into the legal reasoning behind the written opinionsthe modes of persuasion and justification used by Supreme Court justicesto give students a deeper understanding of how to read and interpret the decisions of our highest court. An indispensable supplement to any constitutional law casebook, the Sixth Edition has been thoroughly updated to incorporate material on recent opinions issued by the Supreme Court.

New to the Sixth Edition

• A new Chapter 9 has been added to illustrate, with commentary, the briefing of a case, Seattle School District No. 1, and the mounting of a critical-analytical assessment of the case.
• Commentary and analysis of material on presidential power has been updated for this edition.
• Chapters 4 and 6 have been reorganized to provide a clear introduction to the task of writing a constitutional opinion.
• Several practical pointers have been expanded to guide students in how to use constitutional materials to make stronger legal arguments.

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