Posts for April 29, 2015
These are the posts that are accumulated in our
newsletter which goes out every 4-6 days during the school year. The posts are
organized by the major units in our Con 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] Here are 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]
Here are recent articles that are relevant to this unit:
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:
Supreme
Court Upholds Limits on Judges’ Appeals for Campaign Cash [Jurist,
4/29/15]: The
Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that states may limit candidates for elected
state and local judgeships from making a personal appeal for campaign
contributions. The case is Williams-Yulee v. Florida Bar
You can read the 5-4
decision at:
Rand Paul’s Bay Area
visit next week is all about 'disruption’ [SF Chron, 4/28/15]: Aiming to appeal to Millennials and
libertarian-leaning tech workers, GOP presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul
will visit San Francisco next week for a campaign swing that includes
headlining a discussion and conference on “Disrupting Democracy.”
Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)
School boards and administrators oppose teacher
evaluation bills [EdSource,
4/28/15]: The Legislature’s top Democrats have made a comprehensive rewrite of
the law on teacher evaluations a priority this session. But a fundamental
disagreement over granting teachers the power to negotiate all aspects of
evaluations, including whether to use student test scores as a factor, could
doom prospects for passage, as it has in the past.
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:
After
Botched Executions, Supreme Court Weighs Lethal Drug Cocktail [NPR,
4/29/15]: The U.S.
Supreme Court hears arguments Wednesday in three death penalty cases testing
what drug combinations constitute cruel and unusual punishment when used to
execute a convicted murderer by lethal injection.
Citizen Recordings of Police in
Public Places — First Amendment Protection? [Concurring Opinions, 4/29/15]: It is a fact: Visual communication
is revolutionizing our world, both in cultural and in constitutional ways. The
public forum is becoming public in ways heretofore unimagined.
David Simon
on Baltimore’s Anguish [The Marshall Project, 4/29/15]: Freddie Gray, the drug war, and the decline of
“real policing.”
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:
U.S. judge overturns 'anguish'
law passed after Abu-Jamal speech
[Phiil. Inquirer, 4/29/15]: Writing that
Pennsylvania's General Assembly 'fell woefully short of the mark,' a federal
judge on Tuesday struck down a state law that allowed violent-crime victims to
sue offenders over speech that causes 'mental anguish.
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:
When Religious Airline Passengers Ask Women to Move [Justia, 4/29/15]:
Professor Colb discusses the competing values at issue when an ultra-Orthodox
Jewish man on an airplane requests not to be seated next to a woman who is not
his wife.
Same-sex marriage: Justices look
ahead [Politico,
4/28/15]: Some questions in Tuesday's arguments seemed to be setting up future
debates.
Loving v. Marriage [The Atlantic, 4/28/15]: Opponents
of same-sex unions try to convince the Supreme Court that the state has no
interest in 'love and commitment.'
What
Justices Are Really Saying About Gay Marriage [Bloomberg View, 4/28/15]: According to
reports from the first section of
the questioning, the justices had some messages they want you to hear.
Justice Kennedy is likely
key to decision on same-sex marriage [SF
Chron, 4/28/15]: With marriage rights and states’ authority on the line
Tuesday, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy staged a public debate with
himself. In the end, it seemed that same-sex couples, and their claim to the
“dignity-bestowing” status of marriage, were narrowly ahead.
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