Because political factors influence judicial decisions, Constitutional Law for a Changing America draws on political science as well as legal studies to excerpt and analyze cases. With meticulous revising and a sharp new interior design, the authors streamline material while accounting for recent landmark cases and new scholarship. Ideal for a one semester course, the Short Course offers all of the hallmarks of the Rights and Powers volumes in a more condensed format. Updates to the fifth edition include: expanded treatment of both legal and social-scientific approaches to the Court's decision-making; a new section on student rights with an excerpt from Morse v. Frederick; increased coverage of hateful and offensive speech with an excerpt from Snyder v. Phelps; a new section on voter identification with an excerpt from Crawford v. Marion County Election Board; updated discussion of campaign reform legislation with an excerpt from the controversial Citizens United v. FEC decision. Publisher's note.