The Supreme Court In The Intimate Lives Of Americans

Personal rights, such as the right to procreate - or not -and the right to die generate endless debate. This book maps out the legal, political, and ethical issues swirling around personal rights.

An illustrated A-Z reference containing over 500 entries related to the history, important individuals, structure, and proceedings of the United States Supreme Court.

This work is a comprehensive survey of one of the oldest—and hottest—debates in American history: the role of religion in the public discourse. The relationship between church and state was contentious long before the framers of the Constitution undertook the bold experiment of separating the two, sparking a debate that would rage for centuries: What is the role of religion in government—and vice versa? Religion and the Law in America explores the many facets of this question, from prayer in public schools to the addition of the phrase "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance, from government investigation of religious fringe groups to federal grants for faith-based providers of social services. In more than 250 A–Z entries, along with a series of broad, thematic essays, it examines the groups, laws, and court cases that have framed this ongoing debate. Through its careful, balanced exploration of the interaction between government and religion throughout the history of the United States, the work provides all Americans—students, scholars, and lay readers alike—with a deep understanding of one of the central, enduring issues in our history.

The USA Patriot Act: A Reference Handbook is an in-depth examination of the difficult wartime task of balancing civil liberties against national security. Within weeks of the September 11 terrorist attacks, overwhelming majorities in both houses of Congress passed the USA Patriot Act. The act immediately aroused bitter controversy. Some claim it impermissibly infringes on constitutional rights; others argue it is a necessary tool to ensure the security of the American homeland. Distinguished scholar and prolific author Howard Ball provides the background necessary for a reasoned, historical examination of both positions. He details the threats to America in the last 60 years, emphasizing terrorist acts; examines the temporary surrender of civil rights during past American wars; and uses that history to analyze the USA Patriot Act, both as it exists and as arguments rage over whether to strengthen or weaken the law.

Recounts the landmark 1965 Supreme Court case that declared a new and previously unarticulated "right of privacy" and paved the way for the Roe v. Wade decision. Decades later, Griswold v. Connecticut remains extremely controversial as an example of an activist judiciary making new law rather than merely interpreting existing law.

This book examines how the Constitution and its amendments not only grant the national and state governments sufficient power to control the governed but also oblige these governments to control themselves. It considers the distribution of power in the national government.

A legal history of euthanasia in America offers a state-by-state comparison of legislation in support of and in opposition to physician-assisted death, following battles to legalize the practice in such states as Oregon and Vermont.