^{Posts January 31,2018}

^hes

^{These ere 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

Skipping State of the Union is a Supreme Court tradition regardless of who's president [USA Today, 1/28/18]: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be the most notable member of the high court to skip President Trump's first State of the Union address Tuesday night, but she likely won't be the only one.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/01/29/skipping-state-union-supreme-court-tradition-regardless-whos-president/1073785001/

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:

California Senate approves tax workaround

 ^{[Jiurist, 1/31/18]:} he California Senate approved Senate Bill 227 Tuesday in an attempt to protect its taxpayers from the recent tax overhaul and its cap on individual deductions for state and local taxes. The new federal tax law limits the individual deduction for state and local taxes to $10,000, which mostly hurts wealthier Californians.

http://www.jurist.org/paperchase/2018/01/california-senate-approves-tax-workaround.php

Appeals Court Rules CFPB Structure Is Constitutional

 [WSJ, / {p;otocp 1/31/18]: A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld the single-director structure of a consumer-finance regulator created after the financial crisis, but threw out the penalties it levied against a mortgage-service company. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, in a divided ruling, rejected arguments that Congress in 2010, while controlled by Democrats, improperly set up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by making it difficult for the president to remove the agency’s director.

^{https://www.wsj.com/articles/appeals-court-rues-cfpb-structure-is-constitutional-1517415363?shareToken=st38d53e972a3541be8b140e8fa1ca05f8&reflink=article_email_share}

^{https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/31/consumer-financial-protection-bureau-court-ruling-380226}

Court Ruling on CFPB Director Deals Blow to Trump Administration [Bloomberg, 1/31/18]: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regained a measure of independence when a U.S. appeals court said the president’s power to remove the agency’s head is limited to specific reasons such as neglect of duty or malfeasance in office.

^{https://www.bloo mberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-31/cfpb-s-director-slot-regains-job-security-on-appeals-reversal}

^{The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]}

From 'American carnage' to 'American heart': How Trump toned it down [Politico, 1/30/18]: Amid deepening partisan divides and the Russia investigation, the president made a strategic choice to deliver a conventional speech in front of Congress and the nation. 

^{https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/31/trump-state-of-the-union-380146}

Analysis: Trump’s call for bipartisan approach likely to come up short [SF Chron, 1/30/18]:  President Trump spoke all the right words at his State of the Union address Tuesday, calling for a second-year reset toward a more bipartisan approach to government. But don’t look for it to happen.

^{http://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Trump-talks-up-his-agenda-but-didn-t-offer-12538741.php?utm_campaign=twitter-premium&utm_source=CMS%20Sharing%20Button&utm_medium=social}

Fact check: What Trump got wrong in his State of the Union address [LA Times, 1/30/18]: President Trump likes to boast about the records he has achieved, but there's at least one mark the White House tries to downplay – the president has amassed an unprecedented number of inaccurate statements. The Times' staff analyzed the State of the Union on Tuesday to try to separate truths from falsehoods. 

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-state-of-the-union-fact-check-20180130-story.html

Democrats furious over Trump's immigration rhetoric  [Politico, 1/30/18]: The opposition party says the president has only made a Dreamers deal harder to reach.

^{https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/31/state-of-the-union-democrats-congress-379571}

The Mandatory Guid elines Predicament  ^{[“Take Care” blog, 1/28/18]:}  It’s Johnson resentencing time on Take Care again!  Both the courts of appeal and the Supreme Court are currently deciding whether provisions that are worded differently than the Armed Career Criminal Act’s (ACCA) residual clause, such as section 924(c) or section 16(b), might be unconstitutionally void for vagueness.  But one of the more pressing questions in the wake of Johnson concerns a group of prisoners who were sentenced under a provision of the Sentencing Guidelines that contains the exact same wording as ACCA’s unconstitutionally vague residual clause.

https://takecareblog.com/blog/the-mandatory-guidelines-predicament

III. The Political System: Voting and Campaigns

Crossing State Lines [Slate, 1/30/18]:  The Supreme Court's conservatives may be preparing an attack on states' ability to combat partisan gerrymandering.

 https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/01/justice-alito-prepares-an-attack-on-state-sovereignty-over-voting-rights.html

^{Legislation and the Legislative Process}

The Senate voted on Tuesday to confirm an appellate court pick for President Trump despite one of the nominee's home-state senators not returning a blue slip. Senators voted 56-42 on David Stras's nomination to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, making him the first Trump nominee to be confirmed despite a missing blue slip,

http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/371453-senate-confirms-trump-nominee-despite-missing-blue-slip blue slip.

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:

  What Miranda Can Teach Us About Sexual Consent  [Justia, 1/31/18]: Pr4ofessor Colb compares the requirement that police officers advise suspects in custody of their Miranda rights with the proposal that we as a society adopt a "Yes means yes" requirement for sexual consent. Colb describes how many of the fears about Miranda never actually came to fruition and points out how both the strengths and weaknesses of Miranda can help us to figure out how best to design the rules defining sexual assault.

https://verdict.justia.com/2018/01/31/miranda-can-teach-us-sexual-consent

Law enforcement objects to Trump administration order to target immigrants [SF Chron, 1/30/18]: The Trump administration’s latest attempt to pressure local and state governments to aid in immigration enforcement is under attack from police officials and prosecutors, including district attorneys in San Francisco and Contra Costa County, who say the Justice Department’s demands are potentially dangerous.

http://www.sfchronicle.com/nation/article/Police-prosecutors-condemn-Trump-administration-12537639.php

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:

The Untold Story of the Pentagon Papers Co-Conspirators: Speaking publicly for the first time, a historian reveals the crucial role that he and a small band of others played in helping Daniel Ellsberg leak the documents to journalists.

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:

What Does It Mean to Die? [The New Yorker, 1/28/18]: When Jahi McMath was declared brain-dead by the hospital, her family disagreed; Her case challenges the very nature of existence.

^{https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/02/05/what-does-it-mean-to-die}

The Untold Story of the Pentagon Papers Co-Conspirators [The New Yorker, 1/309/18]: Speaking publicly for the first time, a historian reveals the crucial role that he and a small band of others played in helping Daniel Ellsberg leak the documents to journalists

^{https:www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-untold-story-of-the-pentagon-papers-co-conspirators}