Posts for March 31, 2015
These are the posts that are accumulated in our
newsletter which goes out every 4-6 days. The posts are organized by the major
units in our Con Law (5th ed.) textbook
In California, opposition
to Common Core relatively minimal [EdSource,
3/30/15]: In contrast to other parts of the country where the Common Core
standards have run into fierce opposition, several large California school
districts and communities served by a leading charter-school organization have
experienced considerable support and little overt opposition to the new
standards in math and English language arts.
I. Introduction to Law, the Constitution, and the Supreme Court [See TOPICS 1-10 in the 5th edition of Constitutional
Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to
this unit:
Objective: Seem Objective [California Lawyer, 3/13/15]: Briefs Are More
Persuasive When They Employ Facts with Specificity and Care. This article looks
at the briefs filed in the famous 4th amendment school law search
and seizure case, TLO v. New Jersey. Students will be impressed with the power of
good writing.
Constitution
Check: Did the Founders want term limits for Supreme Court Justices?
[Constitution Daily, 3/31/15]: Lyle Denniston, the National Constitution Center’s
constitutional literacy adviser, looks at comments from Mike Huckabee about the
Founders’ intentions for a Supreme Court with term limits and what Alexander
Hamilton said about the issue.
II. Defining the Political System: Federalism and Checks and
Balances [See
TOPICS 11-15 in the 5th edition of Constitutional Law]
Here are recent articles that are relevant to this unit:
'Abortion Reversal' Law Signed in Arizona [CNS, 3/31/15]: Arizona
Gov. Doug Ducey on Monday signed a law requiring medical professionals to tell
patients they can reverse drug-induced abortions, and prohibiting women from
buying health insurance through the federal exchange if it includes abortion
coverage.
III. The Political
System: Voting and Campaigns [See TOPICS 16-20 in the 5th edition of Constitutional
Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:
Why All the Republican Party’s Presidential
Candidates Believe the Same Thing [Slate, 3/30/15]: Nearly every nationally prominent
Republican politician owes his ideas to Barry Goldwater.
Myers: What If
California’s Electorate Actually Looked Like … California? [KQED, 3/30/15]: California is America’s most populous state
and one of its most diverse, a place that researchers have long suggested is
leading the rethinking of what it means to be American. But not at the ballot
box.
Republicans, Democrats
Lose Voters To "No Party Preference" [CPR, 3/30/15]:
Monday's report from the Secretary of State’s office brings “no party
preference” registration to more than 23 percent, thanks to an additional
400,000 Californians are now registered without party preference. That’s a jump
of a little under three percent.
Politics in Play if the
Supreme Court Throws Out Redistricting Commission [Fox & Hounds, 3/30/15]: An effort by a newly announced coalition
supporting California’s redistricting commission may run into some harsh
political realities in its quest to keep current congressional lines in place
if the United States Supreme Court throws out redistricting commissions in the
Arizona State Legislature vs. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission
case.
Jeb Bush Gives One Of His
Most Revealing Interviews Yet [Nat.
Journ., 3/30/15]: The likely GOP
candidate takes on Hillary Clinton, backs the controversial new law in Indiana,
and says he'll get his economic policies "from Milton Friedman and others
like that, not from the Pope."
Indiana Law Tests
Republicans’ 2016 Strategy for Social Issues [Nat. Journ., 3/30/15]: The
party thought ‘religious freedom’ laws would get broad public support, but that
assumption is under fire amid a backlash to the Indiana measure.
Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)
The Harry Reid Legacy That Could Radically Transform
America [TPM, 3/31/15]: When
Harry Reid retires in 2017 after serving for 12 years as Senate Democratic
leader, the calculating and blunt-spoken Nevadan will leave behind a legacy
that could end up transforming the United States far beyond his wildest dreams
— or worst nightmares.
IV. Criminal Law and Procedure (4th,
5th, 6th, and 8th amendments) [See TOPICS 21-28 in the 5th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent
articles that are relevant to this unit:
Defining a
'True Threat' [Cal Lawyer, March 2015]: The Supreme
Court mulls the boundaries of free expression on social media.
Argument analysis: The record's the thing –
unfortunately [SCOTUS blog, 3/31/15]: The Supreme Court, supposedly, is an appeals court set up to
decide issues of law, and should not have to spend its hours — no, its days —
getting familiar with a factual record that may run into many volumes.
But if the Court is to decide the case it heard on Monday, Brumfield v. Cain, the
Justices and their clerks may need to start right away digging very deeply into
at least twenty volumes of a record compiled in a state court.
Defense
moves into spotlight in Boston Marathon bombing trial [Reuters, 3/30/15]: The Boston Marathon bombing
trial shifts sharply in tone next week when prosecutors rest their case against
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and turn proceedings over to his lawyers, who have already
admitted he planted explosives at the finish line in April 2013.
V. 1st Amendment (Speech, Religion, Press and
Assembly) [See TOPICS
29-33 in the 5th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to
this unit:
Religious
Protection Laws, Once Seen as Shield, Now Strike Some as Cudgel [NY Times,
3/31/15] When the
federal government adopted a religious protection act in 1993,same-sex marriage
was not on the horizon.
VI. 14th Amendment, Discrimination, Privacy, Working,
Citizenship & Immigration [See
TOPICS 34-41 in the 5th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to
this unit:
SCOTUS
to review a handful of cases on the rights of same-sex couples [ABA Journ., 3/31/15]: When
the U.S. Supreme Court convenes April 28 to weigh issues over the
constitutionality of same-sex marriage, expect the counsels' tables to be a
little crowded.
Forceps Delivery: The Court Narrowly
Saves the Prenancy Discrimination Act in Young
v. UPS [Justia, 3/31/15]: Professor Grossman and
University of Pittsburg law professor Deborah Brake discuss the U.S. Supreme
Court’s recent decision in Young
v. UPS, in which the Court resolved some issues over the scope of the
Pregnancy Discrimination Act. In a second column, Grossman and Brake will
comment on the implications of the ruling on other aspects of employment
discrimination law.
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