_{Posts February 2, 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 5th edition of Constitutional Law] Some recent articles that are relevant to this unit}

_{Is the Federal Judiciary Independent of Congress? [SSRN, 2/1/18]:  Can Congress command a federal court to rule in favor of a particular party in a pending case? The answer to this seemingly simple question is unsettled.}

_{https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3106780}

_{'I will be there': Ruth Bader Ginsberg says she has no plans to retiree [Haaretz, 2/1/18]: Ginsburg says the U.S. should pass the Equal} 

_{https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-ruth-bader-ginsburg-says-she-ll-keep-serving-with-full-steam-ahead-1.5786065}

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

_{The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]}

_{Trump falsely claims his State of the Union audience was 'highest' in history [LA Times, 2/1/18]: Trump’s audience, measured by Nielsen data, is b / NPRelow the 48 million viewers who watched former President Obama's first State of the Union address in 2010. It’s also below 52 million — the number that tuned in to watch President George W. Bush’s first such speech in 2002 and President Clinton’s in 1994.}

_{http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-essential-washington-updates-trump-falsely-claims-his-state-of-the-1517489511-htmlstory.html}

_{https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/02/01/582414052/trump-claims-his-sotu-had-the-highest-ratings-in-history-it-didn’t}

_{III. The Political System: Voting and Campaigns}

_{Interest groups spent record $339 million on lobbying California state government in 2017 pLA Times, 2/1/18]:The spending activity to influence elected officials and bureaucrats far exceeds the previous record of $314.7 million in 2015, new lobbying reports show.}

_{http://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-ca-essential-politics-updates-by-the-numbers-democrats-look-strong-in-1517550946-htmlstory.html}

_{Legislation and the Legislative Process}

_\

_{California Senate approves staff whistleblower protections [AP, 2/1/18]: The California Senate has unanimously approved whistleblower protections for legislative staff after four years of stonewalling the measure. The Senate's passage comes as the Legislature grapples with an ongoing sexual misconduct scandal that's prompted two members to resign and another to take a leave of absence.}

_{http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CA_CALIFORNIA_LEGISLATURE_SEXUAL_HARASSMENT_CAOL-?SITE=CASON&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2018-02-01-13-37-16}

_{If Republicans Really Wanted a Middle;e Class Tax Cut, They Could Have Passed a Much Better (and Cheaper) One  [Justia, 2/2/18: Professor  Buchanan argues that Republicans could have achieved a middle-class tax cut a fraction of the cost of the Republicans' tax bill. Buchanan points out that while the middle class may see a few thousand dollars in the short-term, Republican donors and wealthy corporations will benefit from significantly reduced taxes year after year, indefinitely, causing yet another surge in economic inequality.}

_{v https://verdict.justia.com/2018/02/02/republicans-really-wanted-middle-class-tax-cut-passed-much-better-cheaper-tax-bill}

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

_{Court overturns order on FBI surveillance of Northern California Muslims [SF Chron, 2/1/18]:}

 _{A federal appeals court on Thursday overturned a ruling by a judge in San Francisco that would require the FBI to release documents describing its efforts to keep watch on Muslims in Northern California and recruit informants from the Muslim community.}

_{https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Court-overturns-order-on-FBI-surveillance-of-12544542.php}

_{https://www.courthousenews.com/fbi-can-keep-muslim-spy-files-under-wraps-9th-circuit-rules/}

_{Case Appealed to U.S. Supreme Court Omnstitute  If All 50 States Must Comply with U.S. Constitution's Excessive Fines Clause [Insight for Justice blog, 2/1/18]: Indiana Supreme Court Ruled It May Impose Excessive Fines in Forfeiture Cases Until the U.S. Supreme Court Says It Can't,":}

_{http://ij.org/press-release/case-appealed-u-s-supreme-court-asks-50-states-must-comply-u-s-constitutions-excessive-fines-clause/}

_{Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito Butt Heads Over the Fourth Amendment, Again [“Hit and Run” blog, 2/1/18]: Gorsuch advances another property rights theory of the Fourth Amendment that Alito rejects}

_{http://reason.com/blog/2018/02/01/neil-gorsuch-and-samuel-alito-butt-heads}

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

_{Is Legislator-Led Prayer Constitutional? [Newseum, 2/1/18]: The Establishment Clause says that the government can’t establish a religion or favor one set of believes over another.  When local government officials open their meetings with prayers, are they?}

_{http://www.newseuminstitute.org/2018/02/01/is-legislator-led-prayer-constitutional/}

_{Eagle Point Educ. Assn. v. Jackson County School Dist. No. 9 [9th cir., 12618]: :The Court  iverturned district policies that prohibited, among other things, picketing on school district property, and prohibited strikers from coming onto school grounds, even for reasons unrelated to an anticipated teachers' strike. Reada the decision at:}

_{https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca9/15-35704/15-35704-2018-01-26.html?utm_source=summary-newsletters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2018-02-02-education-law-ad46deff17&utm_content=text-case-title-2}

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