Constitutional courts in comparison : the U.S. Supreme Court and the German Federal Constitutional Court

"Constitutional litigation in general attracts two distinct types of conflict: disputes of a highly politicized or culturally controversial nature and requests from citizens claiming a violation of a fundamental constitutional right. The side-by-side comparison between the U.S. Supreme Court and the German Federal Constitutional Court provides a novel socio-legal approach in studying constitutional litigation, focusing on conditions of mobilisation, decision-making and implementation. This updated and revised second edition includes a number of new contributions on the political status of the courts in their democratic political cultures." --publisher's description Constitutional litigation in the United States / Robert A. Kagan and Gregory Elinson -- Access to the German Federal Constitutional Court / Werner Heun -- Mobilization of the German Federal Constitutional Court / Erhard Blankenburg -- The U.S. Supreme Court's strategic decision making process / Timothy Johnson and Maron Sorenson -- Decision making at the German Federal Constitutional Court / Uwe Kranenpohl -- Junior varsity judges? : law clerks in the decisional process of the U.S. Supreme Court / Artemus Ward -- The legal assistants at the German Federal Constitutional Court : a "black box" of research? / Otwin Massing -- The implementation of U.S. Supreme Court decisions / Lawrence Baum -- Implementation of German Federal Constitutional Court decisions : judicial orders and the federal legislature / Thomas Gawron and Ralf Rogowski -- The U.S. Supreme Court and the German Federal Constitutional Court : selection, nomination and election of justices / Klaus Stewe -- The impact of the German Federal Constitutional Court on consolidation and quality of democracy / Sascha Kneip -- Constitutional courts in changing political systems / Hans J. Lietzmann