Includes bibliographical references (pages 271-282) and index.

Rights : the concept rights defined : Evolution of the concept ; The practice of rights ; Forms of rights ; Rights as a political resource . The history of rights: the constitutional basis : Constitutional law ; Rights and liberties . The context social and political institutions : Legal culture and lawyers ; Structures and courts ; Constitutional interpretation and the Supreme Court. The ideology conventions of rights and law : Three views of interpretation ; The discourse of the law -- Freedom : Freedom of expression : A right emerges ; Test and standards. Limits on speech and assembly : Subversion ; Threats to public order ; Institutional threats. Unprotected expression : Obscenity ; The law and limits. Freedom of expression : Context and the Constitution ; The traditional and the professional. Freedom of Religion : Free exercise ; Non-establishment -- Due Process : Twin functions : Criminal Procedure : Plea bargains in the shadow ; Pre-Trial ; Trial ; Post-Trial. Civil Procedure : Imperialism of the due process model ; Prisons: due process issues ; Schools: three models ; Sexual harassment: Due process issues. Legitimation --

Liberty : The tradition : Substantive due process. Privacy : A right to be let alone ; Constitutional development ; Reproductive privacy ; Lifestyle privacy ; Autonomy and due process . Property : The concept of property : a system of authority ; Constitutional protection. The tradition: settled expectations : Debts and offices ; Contracts and grants ; Status and franchises. Regulation and expropriation : The police power ; Taking by eminent domain ; Just compensation. Statutory entitlements : Rights and power ; Compensation. Conclusion -- Equality : Constitutional equality : Race and equal protection : The Civil War amendments ; State action doctrine ; Separate but equal ; Colorblindness. The pursuit of equality : Colorblindness v. implementation ; The paradox of affirmative action. Classification and equality : The logic of equal protection ; The problem of wealth ; Sex discrimination ; Casualties of pure equality -- Democracy : A constitutional polity : Judging and democracy ; Rights in society. The democratic prospect : The rule of law ; Threats to constitutional democracy ; The conditions for constitutional democracy -- Rights and liberties in the Constitution of the United States of America .