The constitutional law dictionary : volume 1 : individual rights : supplement 2

The Constitutional Law Dictionary: Individual Rights focused on concepts of constitutionalism, words and phrases common to American constitutional law, and leading case decisions rendered by the United States Supreme Court. Several techniques have been utilized to help the reader locate entries with ease. Precise language is a basic requeriment of every intellectual discipline. This is particularly true in the field of law. We undertook to write this dictionary in pursuit of clear and precise legal language. Students of constitutional law know the extent to which the law is ever changing. With each new term of the Supreme Court the justices revierw their previous decisions and those of their predecessors in light of current legal and social circumstances. The changes that are made are frequently incremental: a nuance here and an adjustment there. The Court may simply wish to apply an established doctrine or more clearly define a standard in a particular case as it weighs real-world situations on the scales of justice. The system is constantly in flux. It is evolutionary, developmental, and responsive to human need.