The two-hundredth anniversary of the U.S. Constitution and the intense debates surrounding the recent nominees to the Supreme Court have refocused attention on one of the most fundamental documents in U.S. history-and on the judges who settle disputed over its interpretation.

Liberty under Law is a concise and readable history of the U.S. Supreme Court, from its antecedents in colonial and British legal tradition to the present, William M. Wiecek surveys the impact of the Court's power of judicial review on important aspects of the national's political, economic, and social life. The author highlights important decisions on issues that range from the scope and legitimacy of judicial review itself to civil rights, censorship, the rights of privacy, seperation of church and state, and the powers of the President and Congress to conduct foreign affairs.