Tuesday, June 16, 2015


Posts for June 16, 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.

Founding Principles: American Government in Action [Bowdoin College, 6/16/15]: Written and hosted by Thomas Brackett Reed Professor of Government Andrew Rudalevige, these programs are one way we thought Bowdoin could help all Americans understand how our government was formed, how it works, and how everyone can participate. This seems especially important now, given that our national leaders seem to find it increasingly difficult (in the words of The Offer of the College) to "cooperate with others for common ends."
This note is from a former student of mine, from Bowdoin College announcing the first five videos—with more to come—in what should prove to be an interesting series. Check it out.

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:

Stop Revering Magna Carta [NY Times / New Yorker, 6/15/15]: Its fame rests on several myths. 

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]

That Time the Middle East Exploded—and Nixon Was Drunk [Politico, 6/15/15]: The Nixon administration began disintegrating—the president unable to play his role as the leader of the nation and the free world—at 7:55 p.m. on October 11, 1973.


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:

Redistricting: Are the 2011 lines still valid? [Capitol Weekly, 6/15/15]:  The Supreme Court is set to announce a decision in an Arizona redistricting case that could upend the California Redistricting Commission’s congressional lines and return to the Legislature the responsibility for conducting each decennial redraw. 

Jeb Bush makes it official: 'I will run to win' [Politico, 6/15/15]: Bush says, 'It's nobody's turn' to be president and declares the race wide open.
The Bush Family Throughout the Decades [Nat Journ, 6/15/15]: A look at a family that boasts one senator, two governors, and two presidents.

Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)


What Happens When a Random Citizen Becomes a California Legislator? [LA Weekly, 6/15/15]: If the Legislature is high school, Lopez is a foreign exchange student — and not just because of how she speaks. Legislators expect their colleagues to possess certain pedigrees, to have held previous posts as local politicians, staff jobs with legislators or, at the very least, have been part of some political machine. Lopez is a rarity: a true amateur. 

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


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:

Prosecutor Cleared on Blogging About Activist [CNS / Trial Insider, 6/15/15]: A conservative political activist does not have a federal case against the Los Angeles county prosecutor who called her an illiterate liar on his blog, the Ninth Circuit ruled Monday.

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:

International Law, Citizenship and Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]


Fremont woman loses bid to learn why husband denied a visa [SF Chron / NPR, 6/15/15]: A Bay Area woman who has been trying to get her husband into the United States since they were married in 2006 has no right to learn why he was denied a visa, a divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday.
The decision in Kerry v. Din can be found at:

Taliban Marriage Case Hints at Liberty's Limits [Bloomberg View, 6/15/15]: Under the Constitution, the U.S. government cannot deprive people of “liberty” without “due process of law.” Clear enough? Clearly not. For more than a century, the Supreme Court has been sharply divided over what "liberty" means. Today’s immigration decision puts those divisions in sharp relief. With their sweeping opinions, Antonin Scalia and Stephen Breyer led the two poles -- but Anthony Kennedy’s appealingly minimalist view carried the day. 

Supreme Court to hear cases involving tribal courts, prisoners' court fees [Jurist / CNS, 6/16/15]: The US Supreme Court granted cert Monday in Dollar General v. Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians on whether tribal courts can hear civil cases involving non-Indian businesses that have contractual agreements with the tribe.

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