First Editions of Two New Constitutional Law Textbooks Just Published by Fowler Law Professor Ronald Rotunda

Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law Professor Ronald Rotunda recently authored two new first edition textbooks, Rotunda’s American Constitutional Law: The Supreme Court in American History Volume 1 – Institutional Powers (West Academic Publishing 2016) and Rotunda’s American Constitutional Law: The Supreme Court in American History Volume 2 – Liberties (West Academic Publishing 2016).

Both books are accessible constitutional law books suitable for undergraduate courses. As explained on the publisher’s website: “Chapters begin with explanatory info, and feature shorter cases, interactive questions throughout chapters and the historical context of founding legal principles and theories of constitutional interpretation. Both the Bill of Rights and other Constitutional Amendments are presented with thorough explanations and reference to historical legal issues, with a focus on the structural and institutional powers of the constitution. Volume I includes: development of judicial review; doctrine of implied powers; Congress; the Presidency; Foreign-Affairs Powers; the Commerce Clause; Taxing and Spending Powers; and the Protection of Rights Guaranteed in the Body of the Constitution.”

Ronald D. Rotunda is the Doy and Dee Henley Chair and Distinguished Professor of Jurisprudence at Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law and a nationally recognized expert in constitutional law. Among his numerous publications, he is the author of a leading course book on constitutional law, Modern Constitutional Law: Cases and Notes (West Thomson Reuters), a co-author (with John E. Nowak) of the seven-volume Treatise on Constitutional Law: Substance and Procedure (Thomson West), a co-author (with John E. Nowak) of Principles of Constitutional Law (West Thomson Reuters), and a co-author (with John E. Nowak) of the one-volume treatise Constitutional Law (Thomson West).

He has also co-authored the most widely used course book on legal ethics, Problems and Materials on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press), and is the co-author of Legal Ethics: The Lawyer’s Deskbook on Professional Responsibility (ABA-West Group). He has written several other books and more than 350 articles in various law reviews, journals, newspapers, and books in this country and in Europe. His works have been translated into French, German, Romanian, Czech, Russian, Japanese, and Korean.

These books and articles have been cited more than 1,000 times by state and federal courts at every level, from trial courts to the U.S. Supreme Court. He has served as Commissioner of the Fair Political Practices Commission and has been a Distinguished International Research Fellow at the World Engagement Institute.

Prior to joining Chapman in 2008, he was a University Professor and Professor of Law at George Mason University School of Law and the Albert E. Jenner, Jr. Professor of Law at the University of Illinois, where he served for 28 years. He clerked for Judge Walter R. Mansfield of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and practiced law in Washington, D.C., where he served as assistant majority counsel for the Watergate Committee. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University and a JD from Harvard Law School, where he was a member of the Harvard Law Review.

See more of Professor Rotunda’s writings.