The material has been condensed from 108 pages to 31 pages.
The Fifth Edition of the Barnett/Blackman casebook is planned for release around December 2026, with the aim of adopting it for the Spring 2027 term. We have arranged with our publisher to finalize several chapters immediately after the current term ends.
To begin with, Hemani and Wolford will be integrated into the Second Amendment chapter. We have already shortened Heller, and the Bruen excerpt is expected to be trimmed further. It’s unfortunate that the Supreme Court won’t issue its decision on the AR-15 case before the book goes to press.
The section on sex discrimination is awaiting incorporation of B.P.J. v. West Virginia. That case follows naturally from Skrmetti and Mahmoud. In fact, Frontiero and Craig v. Boren now strike one as rather quaint and a touch outdated.
We are still determining the best way to handle the birthright citizenship ruling. It doesn’t slot neatly into any of the existing chapters. Perhaps we will append it to the conclusion of the Reconstruction Amendments chapter?
Finally, Trump v. Slaughter is expected to bring substantial changes to the chapter on the separation of powers. We did not include Meyers or Humphrey’s Executor, and I’m not convinced there’s a compelling reason to add either at this stage. Our excerpt from Seila Law will probably be dropped entirely; it served, at best, as a waypoint in the Chief Justice’s broader strategy. The excerpt from Morrison v. Olson will shrink, with most of the reductions drawn from Rehnquist’s majority opinion. The Scalia dissent will remain.
For those interested, I’ve finished editing Slaughter. You can download the file here. The 108-page opinion has been reduced to roughly 31 pages. Such cuts are always challenging, and results may vary. Next up, B.P.J., and then Barbara.
