^{Posts January 4, 2018}

^{These are the posts 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:

^{The American Presidency [TOPIC 15_]}

Donald Trump Didn’t Want to Be President [NY Mag, 1/3/18\” One year ago: the plan to lose, and the administration’s shocked first days.

^{http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/01/michael-wolff-fire-and-fury-book-donald-trump.html?utm_source=nym&utm_medium=f1&utm_campaign=feed-part}

III.        The Political System: Voting and Campaigns [See TOPICS 16-20 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

Ohio Voter Challenges Election Roll Purge in Supreme Court Clash [Bloomberg, 1318]:

Larry Harmon got a surprise when he went to his Kent, Ohio, polling place for a 2015 local election: He was no longer registered and couldn’t vote. Election officials removed him from the rolls because he hadn’t voted since 2008 and didn’t respond to the notice they say they sent in 2011. The lawsuit he and two interest groups filed against Ohio is now part of a U.S. Supreme Court case that will shape the rights of thousands of p https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01- eople as the 2018 elections approach.04/ohio-voter-challenges-election-roll-purge-in-supreme-court-clash

Use it or lose it [The Economist, 1/3/18]: Should voters who don't vote stay on voter rolls? An Ohio voter-purge case with national implications comes before the Supreme Court.

https://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21734019-ohio-voter-purge-case-national-implications-comes-supreme-court-should

For Minn. Senator Tina Smith: a Lesser Form of Incumbency [Sabato;s Crystal Ball, 1/4/18]: Appointed senators have worse electoral records than elected ones in both primaries and general elections.

http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/for-new-minnesota-sen-tina-smith-a-lesser-form-of-incumbency/

^{Legislation and the Legislative Process}

California Legislature's 2018 Priorities: Addressing Sexual Harassment, Housing, Federal Tax Law [CPR, 1/3/18]: California legislative leaders have finally agreed to address perhaps the most overarching goal of activists pushing to end sexual harassment at the state Capitol: Create a uniform process to handle complaints and investigations. As the Legislature reconvened Wednesday for the 2018 session, Senate and Assembly leaders announced a joint committee that will hold hearings starting later this month.

http://www.capradio.org/107967

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:

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:

Students Identify With 50-Year-Old Supreme Court Case [Nina Totenberg in NPR’s “All Things Considered,” 1/3/18]: They came by subway, and on foot. Two hundred forty middle and high school students from Washington, D.C., public schools. Destination: the federal courthouse at the foot of Capitol Hill. They were there to watch a re-enactment of a landmark Supreme Court case on a subject that is near and dear to their hearts — the First Amendment rights of students. What they learned, among other things, was that history repts itself, even in their young lives.

https://www.npr.org/2018/01/03/571647322/students-identify-with-50-year-old-supreme-court-case

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:

The Supreme Court's Quiet Assault on Civil Rights [Dissent, Fall 2017]: It is a little-known and disturbing fact that the Supreme Court is in the process of gutting what may be the most important civil rights statute Congress has ever passed. It is particularly distressing that the harm is being done by a largely unanimous court—and that, other than a few legal scholars, no one seems to be paying any attention.

^{https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/supreme-court-assault-civil-rights-section-1983}

After #MeToo Comes to the Courts [New Yorker, 1/3/18]:  The #MeToo movement reached the federal judiciary last month. Alex Kozinski, a longtime judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena, Calif., abruptly resigned after some 15 former law clerks and staffers said he had engaged in sexual misconduct. With more 3,000 federal judges spread among 13 circuit courts, there will almost certainly be more cases like Judge Kozinski’s.

^{https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/03/opinion/after-metoo-comes-to-the-courts.html?_r=0}

 2017 SOL Reform Year in Review and How #MeToo Relates to Child Sex Abuse SOLs  [Justia, 1/4/18]: Professor Hamilton reflects on the changes to civil and criminal statutes of limitations (SOLs) for child sex abuse across the United States in 2017, and points out how SOLs relate to the #MeToo movement exposing the breadth and pervasiveness of adult sexual assault and harassment. Hamilton praises the progress made over the past year and but calls upon legislators and politicians at all levels to take additional steps to protect children.

^{https://verdict.justia.com/2018/01/04/2017-sol-reform-year-review-metoo-relates-child-sex-abuse-sols}