Posts for June 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:
Rulings on raisins and hotel
registries favor individual rights [PBS / NPR, 6/22/15]: The Supreme Court issued a set of
rulings today with a unifying theme, restricting government power and boosting
individual rights. View the broadcast.
The Roberts Court's Surprising Move
Leftward [“Upshot,”
in the NY Times, 6/23/15]: This term so far shows potential for a greater
percentage of liberal decisions than any since 1969.
At U.S. top court, when justices take the bench, it's story hour [Reuters, 6/22/15]: The justices
read excerpts of their opinions from the tall mahogany bench. For some among
the nine, these renditions rise to an art form, a compelling way to relate
facts and explain the law. The recitations usually last about five minutes
apiece but, as evidenced on Monday, can reveal a justice's personality, sense
of humor, or, in a dissenting opinion, temper.
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:
Opinion analysis: Is the New Deal in new
trouble?
[SCOTUS blog / Fresno Bee, 62215]: One
of the more durable legacies of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal in the 1930s
was the idea that the farm economy can be bolstered by paying growers to
keep some of their crop off the market, or paying them not to grow some of it
at all. One of those programs ran into a high constitutional fence
on Monday, raising at least some question about how long the idea can continue
unchanged. Depending on how farmers, and their lawyers, interpret the new
decision in Horne v. U.S. Department of
Agriculture, it could pose a threat to a wide range of
government subsidy programs that seek to keep crop prices up by keeping supply
down.
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:
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
Saunders: The church
shooter and capital punishment [SF
Chron, 6/22/15]: It is fitting, if late, that South Carolina’s political
leaders seem ready to evict the Confederate flag from the grounds of their
state capitol in response to the vile shooting that left nine African Americans
dead in Charleston’s AME Church last week.
http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/saunders/article/The-church-shooter-and-capital-punishment-6342777.php
Constitution
Check: Did hotel or motel guests just gain more privacy? [Constitution Daily, 6/23/15]: Lyle Denniston, the National
Constitution Center’s constitutional literacy adviser, looks at how a Monday
Supreme Court ruling provides a new layer of privacy protection to hotel guests
and owners.
Supreme Court rules in favor of inmate with excessive
force claim [Politico / Slate,
6/22/15]: The Supreme Court on Monday made it easier for pre-trial inmates to
bring claims against jail officials for using excessive force, ruling that
officers will be held to an objective standard about whether the use of force
was reasonable.
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/jail-inmate-excessive-force-supreme-court-119283.html
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/jail-inmate-excessive-force-supreme-court-119283.html
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:
Court ruling against gay marriage could cause legal 'chaos' [AP, 6/23/15]: Among
the 36 states in which same-sex couples can now marry are 20 in which federal
judges invoked the Constitution to strike down marriage bans.
7 former McDonald’s
employees in Northridge sue over age discrimination [LA Daily News, 6/22/15]: Seven former employees of a
McDonald’s restaurant in Northridge sued the company, alleging they were fired
because they were over 40 years old.
International Law, Citizenship and Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]
UN finds evidence of war crimes by both Israel and
Hamas in conflict [Jurist, 6/23/15]:
The 51 day Gaza
Conflict resulted in widespread destruction and over a thousand dead.
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