On June 26, 2008, the Supreme Court announced its decision in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller. By a vote of 5 to 4, the court struck down a ban on guns as a violation of the Second Amendment. Still, the debate rages on. Does a private citizen still have the right to own a gun for self-defense of the home? Did the government have the right to restrict an entire class of weapons, either by levying taxes or banning them altogether? Tom Streissguth...

Should the death penalty be considered cruel and unusual punishment? This was the question brought before the United States Supreme Court in 1972. Author D. J. Herda examines the ideas and arguments behind this landmark case. Presented in a lively, thought-provoking overview, Herda brings to life the people and events of this controversial decision and sheds light on the current controversy still raging across the country today.

The US Supreme Court is the head of the judicial branch of the federal government. It is the highest court in the land, with thousands of cases appealed to it every year. One of those history-making cases was Korematsu v. The United States, which addressed the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Readers will follow this case from beginning to end, including the social and political climates that led up to it and the effects it...