Posts February 4, 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}

_{U.S. Legal News for the past week  [Jurist, 2/3/18]:} Here's the domestic legal news we covered this week: The US Court of Appeals for the Six Circuit affirmed the constitutionality of Ohio's lethal injection method on Thursday, just two weeks prior to a scheduled execution. The case stemmed from two death row inmates attempting to prevent their pending executions, claiming that Ohio's midazolam-based, three-drug execution protocol presents…

_{http://www.jurist.org/paperchase/2018/02/us-roundup-3-February-2018.php}

_{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}

_{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: Nunes memo 'totally vindicates' me –[Politico, 2/3/18]:President Donald Trump said Saturday that the controversial memo written by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) and other GOP lawmakers "totally vindicates" him — a judgment shared by few but his staunchest defenders.

_{https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/03/trump-nunes-memo-fbi-389079?lo=ap_a1}

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

Pennsylvania Congressional Map Faces Supreme Court Call [WSJ, 2/3/18]: With the Pennsylvania primary vote only about three months away, candidates and voters still don't know what their districts will look like

_{https://www.wsj.com/articles/pennsylvania-congressional-map-faces-supreme-court-call-1517745601?shareToken=staad44686a4d54b2491ab734764877efb&reflink=article_email_share}

_{Legislation and the Legislative Process}

_\

Who Is Devin Nunes? A Look At The Man Behind The Memo pNPR, 2/3/18]: The controversy comes with the 44-year-old chairman of the House intelligence committee on a rocky, rapid rise to power in President Trump's Republican Party — an ascent that required something of an about-face. Once an aggressive critic of the GOP's populist right flank, Nunes has become a key Trump defender and champion of the party's most conservative wing.

_{http://www.capradio.org/news/npr/story/?storyid=582678038}

_{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:}

State Supreme Court ruling will help juveniles facing trial as adults [SF Chron, 2/3/18]:  In a victory for youngsters charged with crimes, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a November 2016 ballot measure, which limited prosecutors' authority to charge juveniles as adults, applied to all cases that were not yet final when the measure passed.

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/State-Supreme-Court-ruling-will-help-juveniles-12544734.php

The 'Slave Power' Behind Florida's Felon Disenfranchisement [Slate, 2/4/18]: Laws barring the formerly incarcerated from voting have no business marring politics in a 21st century democracy.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/02/the-slave-power-behind-floridas-felon-disenfranchisement/552269/

_{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:}

_{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:}

_{Internat ional Law, Citizenship and Immigration [TOPIC 40-42}

Immigration: Whose Call Is It Anyway? _{[Slate’s “Amicus” podcast, 2318]:}  As the courts grapple with radical shifts in immigration policy, a look at the cases underlying the conversation about the rights of refugees, immigrants, Dreamers, and visitors.

_{http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/amicus/2018/02/daca_and_dapa_travel_bans_and_sanctuary_cities_immigration_cases_collide.html}