Friday, October 3, 2014


Americans Deliver Verdicts on the U.S. Supreme Court [Harris Poll, 10/1/14]: Majorities feel it's a crucial governing body, but many are unfamiliar with how justices are confirmed; Seven in ten balk at lifetime appointments.

Young legal stars spend heady year at high court [AP, 10/3/14]: These young elite of the legal world tend to be accomplished and polished beyond their years, and more likely than not to leave a mark on their profession.

Welcome Back, SCOTUS: 3 Supreme Court Cases to Watch in October 2014 [Reason.com, 10/3/14]: The high court prepares to tackle aggressive police tactics, religious liberty for prisoners, and occupational licensing abuse.

Gay marriage aside, business cases dominate U.S. high court docket [Reuters / Fortune, 10/13/14]: Gay marriage may be the most anticipated issue heading for the U.S. Supreme Court, but the justices also must tackle a host of business cases as they convene for their new term, including a patent battle involving Teeva Pharmaceutical Industries, Inc.

Chemerinsky Reports Troubling Truths About the Supreme Court [Justia, 10/3/14]: John Dean writes about “The Case Against the Supreme Court” by UC Irvine Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky.

10 U.S. Supreme Court Cases That Matter for State and Local Governments [Governing.com, 10/3/14]: The U.S. Supreme Court will hear cases this term related to religious freedom in state prisons, taxes on railway carriers, traffic stops and more.

Alabama's Insane New Abortion Law [Slate, 10/2/14]: Putting teenage girls on trial may finally be too much for the Supreme Court.

5th Circuit Closes Doors on Texas Abortion Clinics [CNS, 10/2/14]: Abortion clinics not in compliance with Texas' new stringent rules on abortion must close their doors, the 5th Circuit ruled Thursday. The decision significantly affects the number of clinics in Texas, reducing their number from about 20 to seven or eight.

That $1,200 Machine for Making Untraceable Guns Just Sold Out in 36 Hours [Wired, 10/3/14]: Americans want guns without serial numbers. And apparently, they want to make them at home. 

Obama Finally Delivers a Campaign Message. Is It too Late? [Nat Journ, 10/3/14]: The president offered a robust defense of the economy and his signature health-care bill, but it's not clear whether voters are listening.

Arizona Redistricting Suit Picked Up by Supreme Court [CNS, 10/2/14]: The Supreme Court agreed Thursday to decide whether Arizona's adoption of congressional districts by commission complies with the law. Voters created the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission through Proposition 106 in 2000. Though Democrats challenged the first map that the commission adopted in 2002, their challenge was dismissed, and the Republican-led Legislature then challenged the map that the commission released in 2012.

Poll: Voters sour on Congress; country’s direction makes them wince [McClatchy DC, 10/2/14]: Most Americans view the country moving in the wrong direction and don’t see their financial futures getting better anytime soon, attitudes likely to make it harder for Democrats to do well this fall, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll. 

Third Circuit gives narrow reading to exclusionary rule [Volokh Conspiracy blog, 10/2/14]: This is about the Third Circuit’s litigation in United States v. Katzin, a case on the Fourth Amendment implications of installing a GPS device. Initially, a panel of the court held that installing a GPS device on a car requires a warrant and that the exclusionary rule applied because there was no binding precedent allowing the government to install the device. Next, DOJ moved for en banc rehearing of just the exclusionary rule holding, which the Third Circuit granted. That brings us to the new development: On Wednesday, the en banc Third Circuit ruled that the exclusionary rule does not apply.
Here is the 3rd Circuit ruling from 10/1/14:

'Good Faith' Made Warrantless GPS Search OK [CNS, 10/2/14]: Evidence from a warrantless GPS tracker that police put on a car before the Supreme Court forbade the practice is admissible at trial, the full 3rd Circuit ruled. The case involves the 2010 investigation into a wave of Rite Aid pharmacy burglaries that hit Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey. Circumstantial evidence led police to suspect Harry Katzin and his brothers, Michael and Mark Katzin.
The 3rd Circuit decision in U.S. v. Katzin can be found here:

Two little known statutes may make religious belief superior to the law of the land [Constitution Daily, 10/3/14]: We have all learned to be sensitive to the many symbolic dimensions of hair. Cultural marker, religious mandate, personal statement, good luck charm—hair matters. And we all know that most things that matter sooner or later become the stuff of legal conflict. Indeed, a facial hair dispute will soon be before the Supreme Court.

Religious Rights in Historical, Theoretical and International Context: Hobby Lobby as a Jurisprudential Anomaly? Law Professor S.I. Strong’s paper on this interesting topic:

Student’s suit alleges Mississippi district expelled him for online posting of nude photo of classmate [NSBA Legal Clips, 9/29/14]: The Clarion-Ledger reports that the parents of a ninth grade student, identified as J.B., who attended Germantown High School (GHS), have filed suit against Madison County Schools (MCS) alleging that the school district violated J.B.'s free speech rights and deprived him of an education. 

U.S. Dep’t of ED issues guidance on resource equity for all students [NSBA Legal Clips, 10/2/14]: In a press release from the U.S. Department of Education, Secretary Arne Duncan has announced Guidance to Ensure All Students Have Equal Access to Educational Resources. The guidance, in the form of a "Dear Colleague Letter" (DCL), was issued by ED's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and "provides detailed and concrete information to educators on the standards set in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964."

The Supreme Court Is Poised To Cripple The Federal Ban On Housing Discrimination [ThinkProgress,10/2/14]: The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take a case Thursday morning that is expected to demolish a crucial legal protection against racial discrimination in housing. The case concerns how plaintiffs can prove that governments and developers are discriminating.
This is Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. which can be found at:

A look at what's next on same-sex marriage [SCOTUS blog, 10/3/14]: A wide wave of anticipation that the Supreme Court would plunge into the constitutional controversy over same-sex marriage ran into a wall of silence on Thursday.  The Justices released a list of official actions which said nothing at all on that issue.  Whether that was disappointing or reassuring, it likely will set off a new wave of interest in what the Justices do next, including next Monday.

Meet two activists who brought sweeping change to the gay rights movement [Wash Post Mag, 10.5/14]: Michelangelo Signorile does not hold back. Not then, not now. A generation ago, he shouted down Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who would become Pope Benedict XVI. In the gay magazine he worked for, he accused gossip columnist Liz Smith and her high-society friends of being “murderers” for not doing enough about AIDS. And when he was incensed at closeted public figures, he printed their telephone numbers in giant type.

Rebalancing Teacher Tenure: A Post-Vergara Guide for Policymakers [Ed Law Prof blog, 10/3/14]: The New Teacher Project has released a new report, Rebalancing Teacher Tenure, as a response to the California trial court ruling striking down the current teacher tenure system there.  
The full report can be found at:

Minnesota Votes to Table Transgender Athlete Policy After Heated Debate [Schooled in Sports blog, 10/3/14]: Transgender student-athletes in Minnesota will have to wait a few more months before new rules are enacted regarding their participation in high school athletics.

U.S. Supreme Court takes up Bay Area immigration case [SF Chron, 10/3/14]: Taking up the case of a Bay Area woman who has been trying to get her husband into the United States for eight years, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed Thursday to decide whether the government can deny an immigration visa without stating a reason.
The case is Kerry vs. Din and can be found here:

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