"An indispensable and provocative guide through the thicket of today''s most challenging constitutional controversies by some of the most eminent judges of their time. It offers an invaluable peek behind the curtain of judicial decision making."  —David Cole, Professor of Law, Georgetown University   The Embattled Constitution presents the fourth collection of the James Madison lectures delivered at the NYU School of Law, offering thoughtful examinations of an array of topics on civil liberties by a distinguished group of federal judges, including Justice Stephen Breyer of the U.S. Supreme Court. The result is a fascinating look into the minds of the judges who interpret, apply, and give meaning to our “embattled Constitution.”   In these insightful and incisive essays, the authors bring to bear decades of experience to explore wide-ranging issues. The authors also discuss how and why the Constitution came to be embattled, shining a spotlight on the current polarization in both the Supreme Court and the American body politic and offering careful and informed analysis of how to bridge these divides.   Contributors include Marsha S. Berzon, Michael Boudin, Stephen Breyer, Guido Calabresi, Robert H. Henry, Robert Katzmann, Pierre N. Leval, M. Blane Michael, Davis S. Tatel, J. Harvie Wilkinson, III, and Diane P. Wood.   Norman Dorsen  is Stokes Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Program at NYU School of Law. He has directed the James Madison lecture series since 1977.   Catharine DeJuliois  an Associate in the law firm of Sidley Austin LLP. During law school, she served as Editor-in-Chief of the New York University Law Review.