The Pedagogical Considerations of Using a Constitutional Law Textbook in Political Science

This Review first describes the importance of each consideration by analyzing how a two-volume constitutional law casebook, written by Professor David M. O'Brien of the Woodrow Wilson Department of Government and Foreign Affairs at the University of Virginia, can be admirably employed to teach the principle that constitutional law is, in fact, politics. Overall, the volumes are excellent undergraduate political science constitutional law texts. However, the casebook volumes have two flaws. First, they do not address the vital question of "what is political science?," a query that ought to be routinely asked by anyone teaching public law courses.

Second, they omit sufficient explanation of the fundamentals of conducting legal research and writing, including citation style. These criticisms are explored in more detail in the Review's concluding section.