Evolving Constitutional Rights: The Roberts Court and Criminal Justice

Illuminating continuity and change in Supreme Court decisions

Evolving Constitutional Rights: The Roberts Court and Criminal Justice offers a compelling and in-depth analysis of how the U.S. Supreme Court has reshaped constitutional protections under Chief Justice John Roberts. Authors Christopher E. Smith, Michael A. McCall, and Madhavi M. McCall examine the Court’s significant decisions from 2005 to Justice Breyer’s retirement in 2022, revealing a complex judicial landscape where traditional doctrines are revised and fundamental rights are redefined.

The Roberts Court played a decisive role in some of the most contentious issues in American law. Due to several justices’ application of originalist interpretations, its rulings have reconfigured key constitutional protections--often in ways that expand the authority of law enforcement while constraining legislative power over criminal statutes. The trajectory of the Court’s conservative supermajority raises pressing questions about the future of constitutional rights.

Taking a rigorous yet accessible approach, Evolving Constitutional Rights breaks down the Court’s influence across the full spectrum of criminal justice issues, from sentencing and trial rights to search-and-seizure protections, Miranda warnings, and corrections policies. Using both legal and empirical analysis, the authors track patterns in judicial ideology, uncovering how the Roberts Court has not only reinforced conservative principles but also unexpectedly broadened rights in areas such as digital privacy and defense counsel obligations.

This timely and insightful book goes beyond historical rulings to offer a forward-looking perspective on the Supreme Court’s role in shaping public safety, legal precedent, and the balance of power in American government. Essential reading for legal scholars, policymakers, and anyone concerned with the future of constitutional rights, this new volume provides a clear and authoritative examination of the Roberts Court’s lasting impact on American law.

Christopher E. Smith, professor of criminal justice at Michigan State University, is the author, coauthor, or editor of twenty-four books, including John Paul Stevens: Defender of Rights in Criminal Justice, The Supreme Court and the Development of Law: Through the Prism of Prisoners’ Rights, and Constitutional Rights: Myths and Realities. He has published more than 120 scholarly articles. Michael A. McCall, associate professor of sociology at San Diego State University, is coeditor of The Rehnquist Court and Criminal Justice. He has published more than twenty book chapters and journal articles, including in such outlets as the American Journal of Criminal Justice and Pace Law Review. Madhavi M. McCall is a professor of political science and associate vice president for curriculum, assessment, and accreditation at San Diego State University. She is coauthor of Law and Criminal Justice: Emerging Issues in the Twenty-First Century and has published more than thirty articles in such journals as Judicature and Social Science Journal.