Whenever we ask the question whether something is constitutional, we look to decisions of the courts particularly the United States Supreme Court. This body of case law provides us with an understanding of the Equal Protection Clause, the notion of implied fundamental rights, the First Amendment Freedom of Speech and Religion and finally the Supreme Court's treatment of State Action and Private Power. It is fair to say that judicial review is the foundation of constitutional law. This case book limits the excerpts to focus primarily on the seminal decisions of the Supreme Court. Although the casebook provides substantial excerpts from the key cases, the excerpts are heavily abbreviated to allow the reader to focus on the essence of the court's decision. This case book is suited to an advanced course on Constitutional Law.
Ziyad Motala is a Professor of law at Howard University School of Law. He served as an Honorary Professor of Law at the University Of Western Cape School Of Law in South Africa. Prior to his teaching at Howard, he also taught at Northwestern Law School as an adjunct law professor and a visiting assistant professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law. Motala is a native of Durban, South Africa, and was active in the struggle for liberation in South Africa. He received his B.A. and LL.B. degrees from the University of Natal (South Africa). He has an LL.M. and an SJ.D degree from Northwestern University in Chicago. He is an authority on international law, constitutional law, and comparative law. He served for eight years as the Director of the Graduate Studies Program at Howard University School of Law and currently serves as the Director of the Howard South Africa Summer Abroad Program, which he initiated. Motala is the co-author of Constitutional Law Analysis and Cases with Cyril Ramaphosa the current President of the Republic of South Africa. He has also authored Constitutional Options For a Democratic South Africa: a Comparative Perspective and a casebook Constitutional Law Cases: The Structure of Government. He has co-edited, The Protection of Human Rights in African Criminal Proceedings with M.C. Bassiouni. He is the author of over seventy law reviews/journals, op-ed pieces or books. He has worked on projects pertaining to legal reform and administration of justice in various parts of the world.
Copyright held by Ziyad Motala. All rights reserved. 2020