^{Posts January 26, 2018}

^{These are the 2018 that are accumulated in our weekly newsletter which goes out throughout the school year. The posts are organized by the major units in our Constitutional Law (5th ed.) student textbook}

I.          Introduction to Law, the Constitution, and the Supreme Court [See TOPICS 1-10 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Some recent articles that are relevant to this unit

II.         Defining the Political System: Federalism and Checks and Balances [See TOPICS 11-15 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

^W

The details behind 10 big sexual harassment payouts by the state of California [Sac Bee, 1/25/18]: California settled sexual harassment claims against state agencies, prisons and public universities totaling more than $25 million over a three-year period ending in 2017. This list shows the 10 biggest settlements, each with a key document that has a significant passage highlighted (the entire document is also available). Warning: Some documents contain explicit language.

^{http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article196764169.html}

^{The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]}

Trump’s swap: Citizenship for 1.8 million Dreamers, legal immigration gutted –[McClatchy DC, 1/25/18]:The plan, first discussed a day before by President Trump in speaking with reporters, would protect not only those who had received protections under an Obama-era deferred action program, known as DACA, but hundreds of thousands more who never got to apply or failed to renew their status when it expired. But — perhaps most significantly — the plan would also overhaul a key principle of American immigration policy aimed at keeping families together.

^{http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/article196727749.html}

Trump wins over global elites at Davos. All it took was a $1.5 trillion tax cut pWash Post, 1/25/18]: Donald Trump may have finally gained entry into the exclusive global club of the corporate elites he has long scorned — and which has scorned him. All it took was a $1.5 trillion tax cut and a much more hands-off approach toward regulating companies for business leaders to embrace him.

^{https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/trump-wins-over-global-elites-at-davos-all-it-took-was-a-15-trillion-tax-cut/2018/01/25/3c688624-0201-11e8-8acf-ad2991367d9d_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_davosbiz-730pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.6c640da13f65}

Democrats will fill balcony with 'Dreamers' for State of the Union –[Politico, 1/24/18]:House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats will fill the balcony with so-called Dreamers and other immigrants during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address next week as the party panned a White House attempt on Thursday to reach a deal on immigration reform.

^{https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/25/state-union-2018-dreamers-trump-370805}

  

Resisting the Myth of the Judicial Resistanc ]Slate, 1/25/18]:  There is no evidence judges have abandoned their oaths of integrity and impartiality to rule against Trump.

^{https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/01/the-judges-whove-ruled-against-trump-arent-part-of-some-judicial-resistance.html}

Trump's 1st State of the Union: Is he really reshaping the federal judiciary

 [Brookings, 1/25/18]:

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2018/01/25/trumps-1st-state-of-the-union-is-he-really-reshaping-the-federal-judiciary/

Trump Ordered Mueller Fired, but Backed Off When White House Counsel Threatened to Quit [NY Times, 1/24/18]: In April, President Trump boasted about the confirmation of Justice Neil Gorsuch that he “got it done in 100 days.” He’s likely, in the State of the Union address, to point to the confirmation of district and appellate judges, reflecting a common refrain that, whatever his accomplishments overall, he is “reshaping the federal judiciary.” Actually, so far he hasn’t reshaped it much at all. The potential to do so is there, but hardly a sure thing.

https://www.nytimes.com /2018/01/25/us/politics/trump-mueller-special-counsel-russia.html

III. The Political System: Voting and Campaigns

IV.       Cminal Law and Procedure (4^th, 5^th, 6^th, and 8^th amendments) [See TOPICS 21-28 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

Supreme Court halts Alabama execution [Jurist, 1/26/18]:  The US Supreme Court on Thursday halted the planned execution of Alabama death row inmate Vernon Madison. Vernon Madison was convicted [cert. petition, PDF] in Alabama of murdering a police officer in 1985. He was scheduled to be executed on January 25. Madison's attorneys petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari, claiming that Madison …

^{http://www.jurist.org/paperchase/2018/01/supreme-court-halts-alabama-execution.php}

PolitifactCA: Has the rate of California’s prison spending nearly tripled since 1970? pPolitiFactCA, 1/25/18]: \Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown reeled off statistics on California’s prison spending during his final State of the State Address after a total of 16 years as governor.

http://www.politifact.com/california/statements/2018/jan/25/jerry-brown/has-rate-californias-prison-spending-nearly-triple/

The Supreme Court Stopped Alabama From Executing A Man Over Competency Questions  nig [Buzzfeed, 1/25/18]: The justices granted a stay of execution to Vernon on Tuesday night.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/chrisgeidner/the-supreme-court-stopped-alabama-from-executing-a-man-over?utm_term=.nq9PB5Yx8#.viyPZJxbn

V.        1^st Amendment (Speech, Religion, Press and Assembly) [See TOPICS 29-33 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

Demand Truth, Not Junk News: Lessons of “Pizzagate,” “Idiotgate” [Newseum, 1/25/18]: Recent threats to journalists, like the one against CNN from a 19-year-old in Michigan, may have been empty, but we shouldn’t take them any less seriously. 

http://www.newseuminstitute.org/2018/01/25/demand-truth-not-junk-news-lessons-of-pizzagate-idiotgate/

VI.       14^th Amendment, Discrimination, Privacy, Working, Citizenship & Immigration [See TOPICS 34-41 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

Lesbian Former Firefighter's Sex Bias Verdict Upheld [Bloomberg, 1/25/18]: The city of Providence, R.I., is liable for sexual harassment of a lesbian firefighter who faced misogynistic and homophobic slurs, a federal appeals court ruled.

^{https://www.bna.com/lesbian-former-firefighters-n73014474689/}