Posts for April 23, 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:
Supreme Court Justices Are Getting
'Grumpier,' Study Finds [Bloomberg News, 4/22/15]: Computer
analysis of decisions going back to John Jay finds increasing dyspepsia and a
'lower grade level' of writing.
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:
What's At Stake If
Supreme Court Eliminates Your Obamacare Subsidy [NPR, 4/21/15]: The
Affordable Care Act requires all Americans to get health insurance or pay a
penalty. To help coax people to buy a health plan, the federal government now
subsidizes premiums for millions of Americans.
At
Supreme Court, raisin rules get scoopful of arguments [McClatchy DC, 4/22/15]: A decades-old program for managing surplus California raisin production
might be in jeopardy, following a heated Supreme Court argument Wednesday.
The
American Presidency
[TOPIC 15]
Visiting The Everglades,
Obama Takes Swipe At Climate Change Deniers [NPR, 4/22/15]: "Climate change can no longer be
denied," Obama said. "It can't be edited out. It can't be omitted
from the conversation. And action can no longer be delayed."
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:
More Questions About the
Meaning of “Legislature” [Gerard
Magliocca in Concurring Opinions, 4/23/15]: "The Justices are still considering the Arizona
redistricting case that I’ve posted about several times, but a few other things
occurred to me about that pending decision that I wanted to share."
Explaining the Republican “Lock” on the U.S. House [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 4/23/15]: Strong
partisanship, not gerrymandering, tells much of the story.
Notes on the State of Politics [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 4/22/15]: Comments on some gubernatorial
races.
Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)
Bill removing California
vaccine exemptions approved by key Senate panel [KQED, 4/22/15]: A bill that would require more California
children to be vaccinated before they enter school was approved Wednesday by
the Senate Education Committee, a week after it stalled when members of the
panel voiced concerns that it would deprive many young people of an education.
http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2015/04/22/california-vaccine-bill-approved-in-key-hearing/
Sen. Mike McGuire
introduces sweeping marijuana bill [Santa
Rosa Press, 4/21/15 A North Coast state senator has introduced sweeping
legislation aimed at establishing a comprehensive way for California to
regulate nearly all aspects of medical marijuana, from licensing dispensaries
to creating quality assurance testing for cannabis products.
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/home/3832017-181/sen-mike-mcguire-introduces-sweeping
Bill Would Expand Job Protection Under Paid Family
Leave [CPR,
4/22/15]: Current law only protects the
jobs of people who take paid family leave at businesses with 50 or more
employees. That didn’t include Sabrina Summerfield of Vallejo, who lost her job
three years ago after taking a leave to care for her three adopted children.
http://www.capradio.org/46782
California bill would
require union buy-in for teacher evaluations [Reuters, 4/22/15]: The degree to which student test scores in
California could be used to evaluate teachers' job performance would be decided
in union negotiations rather than by school districts or lawmakers under a bill
that advanced Wednesday in the state legislature.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/23/us-usa-california-teachers-idUSKBN0NE07J20150423?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews
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:
In
Fourth Amendment cases, it's a toss-up [Volokh Conspiracy, 4/22/15]: A lot of people think that today’s Supreme Court is
conservative and pro-government in Fourth Amendment cases. It can be hard to
analyze those views because they often hinge on disputed questions of framing:
What is the baseline for determining what the Fourth Amendment should be
interpreted to mean, in order to say whether the Court tends to be “pro
government” or “pro defense”?
Appeals court overturns Barry Bonds’ obstruction
conviction [SF Chron / Cal. App.
Report, 4/23/15]: Barry Bonds was cleared of his
only criminal conviction in a government investigation of steroids in sports
Wednesday when a federal appeals court ruled that the former San Francisco Giants
star’s “rambling, nonresponsive answer” in grand jury testimony did not amount
to obstruction of justice.
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:
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:
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