Posts for April 4, 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
Appeals
court gives counties more power to remove kids from homes [Cal.
App. Report / AP, 4/3/15]: Parents doing their best to protect their out-of-control kids got a
tough message from a California appeals court: If you don't keep them from
harm, the state can take them from you.
The
ruling can be read at:
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:
Protesters
again disrupt U.S. Supreme Court proceedings [Reuters / Election Law Blog,
4/1/15]: Protesters disrupted U.S.
Supreme Court proceedings for the third time in just over a year on Wednesday,
with several people shouting out before the nine justices heard oral arguments
in a bankruptcy case.
Protesters release video of
Supreme Court outburst [The
Hill, 4/2/15]:
Constitution Check: Who has a right
to speak up in the Supreme Court? [Constitution Daily, 4/2/15]:
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:
Brown's Action Draws
Excitement, Disdain At Street Level [CPR
/ KQED / WIRED, 4/1/15]: Among other
actions, Governor Brown’s executive order mandates the replacement of 50
million square feet of lawn around the state with drought-tolerant landscaping.
The
American Presidency
[TOPIC 15]
The
Threat to Obama from the Courts [Jeffrey Toobin in The New Yorker,
3/31/15]: It may appear
that the Republican Congress represents the greatest threat to President
Obama’s agenda and legacy. But in the larger scheme of things, Congress is an
annoyance. It’s the courts that are the threat.
Saunders: Presidential
pardons at last [SF Chron,
4/1/15]: In commuting the sentences of 22 federal drug offenders Tuesday,
President Obama has begun to take the unfettered power of executive clemency
embedded in the Constitution to the place where it belongs.
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:
In Iowa, Ted Cruz denounces gay marriage,
lauds Indiana religious liberty bill [Dallas Morning News, 4/1/15]: On
his first Iowa stop as a presidential candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz warned Wednesday
that a Supreme Court ruling to legalize gay marriage nationwide would be
“fundamentally illegitimate.”
Jeb Bush is an early GOP
favorite as companies cut PAC checks [Politico,
4/1/15]: The first signs of which companies are supporting Republican 2016
presidential candidates are in, and things are looking good for Jeb Bush.
Notes on the State of Politics [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 4/2/15]: Nevada Senate after Reid’s retirement, plus two
gubernatorial ratings changes and some House updates…
Are Voters Drifting Away? [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 4/2/15]: For first time in 16 years, back-to-back cycles saw drops in
raw turnout…
En banc Ninth Circuit unanimously
upholds constitutionality of California law requiring sponsor of ballot
initiative to be identified on signature-gathering petitions: The ruling can be read at:
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:
Where Rape
Goes Unnoticed [The Marshall
Project, 4/3/15]: The Prison Rape
Elimination Act is making its way into state prisons, but what about all those
county jails?
Eleven former Atlanta district employees convicted of
racketeering charges in test cheating scandal [NSBA Legal Clips, 4/2/15]: The New York Times
reports that an Atlanta jury convicted 11 educators for their roles in a
standardized testing scandal. 11 of 12 former teachers, testing
coordinators and administrators employed by Atlanta Public Schools (APS) were
convicted on criminal charges related to a standardized test cheating
scandal that tarnished a major school district’s reputation and raised broader
questions about the role of high stakes testing in American schools. http://legalclips.nsba.org/2015/04/02/eleven-former-atlanta-district-employees-convicted-of-racketeering-charges-in-test-cheating-scandal/
School breathalyzer upheld in pre-prom testing [NSBA Legal Clips, 3/26/15]: A federal district court in Florida has
ruled that school officials and local law enforcement did not violate students’
Fourth Amendment search rights when sheriff’s deputies searched a bus that the
students had used for transportation to the prom.
Read the decision in Ziegler
et. al v. Martin County School District at:
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:
California
Appeals court: Yoga doesn't bend rules on religious freedom [AP,
4/3/15]: Yoga taught in
a San Diego County school system is not a gateway to Hinduism and doesn't
violate the religious rights of students or their parents, a California appeals
court ruled Friday.
You can read the decision in
Sedlock
v. Baird at:
Read
the post by Shaun Martin at the Cal. App. Report (4/3/15]:
College
student rights group muscles up on campus free speech rights [1st
Amend. Coalition, 4/2/15]: The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
(FIRE) has mounted an aggressive campaign for college free speech rights with
nine First Amendment lawsuits.
Jefferson Davis Statue May Come Down [CNS, 4/3/15]: The
new student government's plan to remove a statue of Jefferson Davis from the
University of Texas at Austin campus has stirred some controversy.
Reporters having difficult time prying information
from government [1st
Amend. Coalition, 4/2/15]: Reporters say that under the Obama administration,
they are experiencing more roadblocks than ever.
Recitation of Pledge of Allegiance in Arabic leads to
controversy at New York high school
[NSBA Legal Clips, 3/30/15]: The Times Herald-Record reports that an
effort to promote "Foreign Language Week" at Pine Bush High School
(PBHS) became the tinder for a polarizing controversy in the school community
when the Pledge of Allegiance was recited in Arabic during the regularly
scheduled morning announcements at PBHS.
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:
Indiana, Arkansas
governors sign amended 'religious freedom' bills [Jurist, 4/3/15]: Governor Mike
Pence signed into law
on Thursday an amended version
of the controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) [text], which critics argued gave business owners the
legal right to deny service based on sexual orientation. The amended
legislation states that the religious freedom law does not authorize any
business to refuse to provide service to any individual or customer based on
sexual orientation or gender identity, in addition to race, color, religion,
age, national origin, disability and military service.
Mrs. Murphy’s Wedding Services [Gerard Magliocca in Concurring Opinions, 4/2/15]: The recent discussion about the Indiana RFRA brings to
mind the “Mrs. Murphy’s Boarding House” hypothetical that was debated when
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 were enacted.
Supreme Court's Big Gay Pandora's
Box [The Daily
Beast, 4/1/15]: The idea that we should make gay marriage the law of the land
and yet refuse to force businesses to follow that law is unjust and absurd.
15
states urge Supreme Court to uphold gay marriage bans [AP, 4/3/15]:
Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell and presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz are among 57
Republicans in Congress who are calling on the Supreme Court to uphold state
bans on same-sex marriage.
Washington Supreme Court: Public employee
names are not private during investigation [AP, 4/2/15]: The Washington Supreme Court said Thursday that public employees
don't have a right to privacy about the fact that they're being investigated.
The ruling came after two workers with the Spokane School District, who have
been on paid administrative leave for years, sought to have their names
redacted on documents released under a public records request.
The
ruling, a 5-4 decision, can be read at:
When Liberals and Conservatives
Agree on Women's Rights [Politico, 3/31/15]: It's not as uncommon as you think.
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