Mauro presents 108 significant Supreme Court decisions in sections on affirmative action, capital punishment, civil and gay rights, commerce power, copyright, environmental law, religion, freedom of association and speech, freedom of the press, powers of the president, privacy, property and voting rights, racial discrimination, right to counsel, search and seizure, separation of powers, sex discrimination, and war powers. Each topic begins with a brief introduction, followed by the cases, which contain the decision and its impact, background, the vote, highlights, and excerpts. The illustrations are mostly b&w photos of people involved in the cases, which begin with Marbury v. Madison in 1803, and go up to 2005. Examples: Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, United States v. Nixon, Ten Commandments Cases, Roe v. Wade, and Cherokee Cases. Also included are the Constitution of the United States and a list of the justices with their biographical information. The new edition is organized by topic and has 20 new cases since 2000, such as Bush v. Gore, Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, and a case involving detainee rights. Mauro is a Supreme Court correspondent for American Lawyer Media and Legal Times. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)