Posts for June 19, 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 (5^th ed.) student textbook.

I. Introduction to Law, the Constitution, and the Supreme Court [See TOPICS 1-10 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

The Other Other Major Supreme Court Cases This Term [Slate, 6/18/15]: The gay marriage and Obamacare rulings aren't the only huge ones coming.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2015/06/supreme_court_decisions_gay_marriage_and_obamacare_aren_t_the_only_huge.html

Why Chief Justice John Roberts Will Probably Save Obamacare [Mother Jones, 6/19/15]: The latest health care case is a fight between big business and the tea party -- and Roberts usually sides with business.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/06/obamacare-supreme-court-king-burwell-subsidies-john-roberts

II. Defining the Political System: Federalism and Checks and Balances [See TOPICS 11-15 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

III. The Political System: Voting and Campaigns [See TOPICS 16-20 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

IV. Criminal Law and Procedure (4^th, 5^th, 6^th, and 8^th amendments) [See TOPICS 21-28 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to this unit

 

Suspect in Charleston Church Murders Said to Have Confessed [CNS, 6/19/15]: Dylann Storm Roof, the 21-year-old arrested for the Wednesday night massacre in a historically black church, reportedly confessed to the crime Friday, hours before his scheduled bond hearing.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2015/06/19/suspect-in-charleston-church-murders-said-to-have-confessed.htm

V. 1^st Amendment (Speech, Religion, Press and Assembly) [See TOPICS 29-33 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

Constitution Check: What power does the government have to control 'mobile billboards'? [Constitution Daily, 6/19/15]: Lyle Denniston, the National Constitution Center’s constitutional literacy adviser, looks at the broad implications of Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling about messages on license plates

http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2015/06/constitution-check-what-power-does-the-government-have-to-control-mobile-billboards/

Justices Give Officials More Say On Cars' Plates, Less On Roadside Signs [NPR / PBS, 6/18/15]: In two major free speech cases, the U.S. Supreme Court cast a pall of doubt over nearly all sign regulations across the country, and upheld a decision by the state of Texas to refuse to issue specialty license plates featuring the Confederate flag.

http://www.npr.org/2015/06/18/415537224/justices-give-officials-more-say-on-cars-plates-less-on-roadside-signs

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/supreme-court-renders-decisions-first-amendment/

Clarence Thomas Takes on a Symbol of White Supremacy [The Atlantic, 6/18/15]: The justice casts the deciding vote on the U.S. Supreme Court, as it backs Texas’s refusal to print a Confederate flag on its license plates.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/06/clarence-thomas-confederate-flag/396281/