Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Posts for April 21, 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.

Simulated Mass Murder at an Oregon Public School [CNS, 4/21/15]: School officials organized the "simulated murder" of an elementary school teacher in a tiny Oregon town - without telling her it was only a drill, the teacher claims in court.

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:

Magna Carta in America: Entrenched [Concurring Opinions, 4/20/15]: Englishmen on both sides of the Atlantic treasured their rights derived from Magna Carta, but during the eighteenth century their manner of protecting them diverged.   That divergence has kept Magna Carta’s legacy more vibrant in American than in the land of its origins.

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:

The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]

Mitch McConnell Exacts Revenge By Slowing Down Obama's Nominations [TPM DC, 4/21/15]: When former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) triggered the "nuclear option" to eliminate the filibuster for most nominations in November 2013, the top Senate Republican issued a categorial threat. You'll regret this," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). "And you may regret this a lot sooner than you think."

Courts' War on FDR Continues With Obama [Bloomberg View, 4/20/15]: More than any president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Barack Obama has seen his signature programs blocked or impeded by the courts.

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 throws out ruling on North Carolina redistricting [Jurist, 4/20/15]: The US Supreme Court on Monday threw out a North Carolina court ruling that upheld Republican-drawn electoral districts for state and congressional lawmakers. The case is Dickson v. Rucho.

David Koch Says Scott Walker 'Should Be' the GOP Presidential Candidate [Bloomberg, 4/20/15]:  The world's fifth richest person has regularly donated to the Wisconsin governor. 

Bush preparing to delegate many campaign tasks to super PAC [ABC News, 4/21/15]: Jeb Bush is preparing to embark on an experiment in presidential politics: delegating many of the nuts-and-bolts tasks of seeking the White House to a separate political organization that can raise unlimited amounts of campaign cash.

Hillary Clinton Continues Listening Tour in New Hampshire [TIME, 4/20/15]: Hillary Clinton responded to renewed controversy on Monday about the Clinton Foundation’s dealings, even as she sought to focus attention on her conversations with New Hampshire voters and a broad-brush economic vision. 

Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)

 

California Teachers Union, School Boards Oppose Dyslexia Testing Bill [KPBS, 4/21/15]: A new bill would require all kindergarten to third-grade students be screened annually for learning disabilities, specifically for dyslexia.

http://www.kpbs.org/news/2015/apr/20/dyslexia-testing-bill-opposed-teachers-union-and-s/

 

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:


Justices: Police can’t extend traffic stop awaiting drug dog [AP, 4/21/15]: The Supreme Court said Tuesday, 6-3, that police may not extend an ordinary traffic stop to seek evidence of crimes unrelated to the offense that prompted officers to pull a vehicle over.
Read Justice Ginsburg’s opinion in Rodriguez v. U.S. at:
With Tsarnaev penalty phase set, outcome uncertain [Boston Globe, 4/21/15]: Capital sentences rarely imposed in US cases, but terrorism sets Marathon bombings apart.

Justices may declare criminal law 'unconstitutionally vague.' [USA Today, 4/20/15]: It was hard to pick out the repeat offender at the Supreme Court Monday — the criminal defendant or the law under which he was prosecuted. Confused frequently by the statutes Congress writes, the court appeared close to declaring a 14-word clause in the Armed Career Criminal Act "unconstitutionally vague." The case is Johnson v. U.S.

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:

Meet The Couples Fighting To Make Marriage Equality The Law Of The Land [Huff Post / NPR, 4/20/15]: If the Supreme Court legalizes same-sex marriage this year, it will be largely because of a group of gay Americans who were courageous enough to subject their families to public scrutiny in order to become the faces of a movement.

Afterbirth: The Supreme Court’s Ruling in Young v. UPS Leaves Many Questions Unanswered [Justia, 4/21/15]: Professors Grossman and Brake continue their discussion of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Young v. UPS, in which the Court held that a pregnant UPS driver who was denied a light-duty accommodation that was routinely made available to other employees with similar lifting restrictions should have the opportunity to prove that the employer’s denial was discriminatory.

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