Publisher's Synopsis
This volume reflects the spirit of the 200th anniversary of the drafting of the constitution, with an added twist. The authors look at the constitution and the constitutional system through the lenses of a particular community. The study emphasizes the two-way flow that exists between local situations and constitutional decision making at the national level. Along with studies examining the community impact of court rulings, other essays explore local events that have turned into constitutional issues for the nation, in particular The Herold School-prayer case, the Shreveport Rate case, the post-traumatic stress disorder case, and the Grosjean freedom of press decision. While Part III deals with such cases and policies, Part II looks at the judges who combine national and local perspectives and who serve the connectors in this two-way system. Part I and IV, in turn, provide a variety of articles that are aimed at fleshing out the constitutional connection along both specific and general lines. This framework could be applied, with value, to any number of the communities. In each case, this view from the grassroots offers the opportunity to develop fresh insights into old subjects and to provide a closer sense of community involvement with the constitutional system that the nation justly celebrates.
