Posts for July 7, 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:
Hunting for “Three Coequal Branches” [Gerard Magliocca in
“Concurring Opinions, 7/7/15]: This is a longer-than-average post about why we think that
the Constitution establishes three equal branches. As I’ve explained in
some earlier posts, the text does not support that proposition, and at the
Founding it’s hard to find anyone who said that the three branches were
equal.
Is the Supreme Court Too Powerful? [“Room for Debate” discussion in the NY
Times, 7/7/15]: Opinions about the
Supreme Court’s legitimacy and value usually depend on ideology. Conservatives
shouted tyranny after the Supreme Court upended bans on same-sex
marriage. Liberals were outraged when the court overturned campaign finance
limitations in the Citizens United ruling and gutted the Voting Rights Act in
the Shelby County case. But absent the ideological scoreboard, how can we judge
the merit of the court? Is judicial review of laws the best way to avoid
political influence? Or is major change more lasting and accepted when it’s
accomplished legislatively?
This is a great resource
for teachers. Go to the “Room for Debate” site to see past topics: http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate
Supreme Court Justices Send Signals to Request
Cases They Want to Hear [NY Times’
“Sidebar” blog, 7/6/15]: Signals sent in
the term that just ended included one from Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who asked for a case about solitary
confinement, and another from Justices Stephen G. Breyer and Ruth Bader
Ginsburg, who asked to consider the constitutionality of the death
penalty.
Why 2016
will be a Supreme Court election [The Week, 7/7/15]: Republicans can take heart, because things are likely
to go back the way they were when the court reconvenes in October. Which is all
the more reason why the court will probably be as big an issue in the 2016
presidential campaign as it has ever been. And if it isn't, it should be.
Coming
Next: The Revenge Of The Supreme Court's Conservatives [ThinkProgress,
7/6/15]: Something very
unusual happened at the nation’s highest Court this year. The justices
adjourned for their summer vacation and liberals were left feeling pretty good
about the just-completed Supreme Court term. Marriage discrimination is dead, and Obamacare is alive. America’s civil
rights laws were left largely intact, and state election laws were not cast into turmoil.
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]
@POTUS unscripted: Obama
weighing in on pop culture, sports on personal Twitter account [AP, 7/7/15]: Forget the primetime interviews
or the formal, choreographed news conferences. President Barack Obama is taking
to Twitter to muse about sports, pop culture, even Supreme Court rulings — at
all hours of the day.
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:
Senator Ted Cruz is not fit to be President ["Hercules and the
umpire" blog, 7/6/15]: “As a federal judge, I am duty bound not to play politics. However, when
a politician makes an extreme proposal to amend the Constitution and
fundamentally alter and harm the federal judiciary and the Supreme Court, I
have the right as a federal judge, and dare I say the duty, to respond to the
proposal.”
Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)
California right-to-die
bill struggling ahead of key vote [AP
/ SJ Merc / San Diego U-T, 7/7/15]: A bill that would allow California
physicians to help terminally ill patients end their lives is struggling to
muster enough support ahead of a legislative vote Tuesday.
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
Constitution Check: Is the end
of the death penalty in sight? [Constitution Daily / NY Times
Op-Ed, 7/7/15]: Lyle
Denniston, the National Constitution Center’s constitutional literacy adviser,
looks at Justice Stephen Breyer’s dissent in a recent death penalty case, which
argued for an end to capital punishment.
http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2015/07/constitution-check-is-the-end-of-the-death-penalty-in-sight/
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/07/opinion/is-the-death-penalty-unconstitutional.html?_r=0
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:
Is Three
Still a Crowd? Polygamy and the Law After Obergefell v. Hodges [Justia,
7/7/15]: Professors Grossman and Friedman comment on a recent legal
challenge—based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage decision in Obergefell
v. Hodges—to state anti-polygamy laws.
https://verdict.justia.com/2015/07/07/is-three-still-a-crowd-polygamy-and-the-law-after-obergefell-v-hodges
Marriage ruling may boost
school climate for LGBT families and students [EdSource, 7/6/15]:
When the U.S. Supreme Court issued a major civil rights decision on
marriage in Loving v. Virginia in 1967, striking down a state law banning
interracial marriage, Alameda Unified teacher Gene Kahane was a 3rd-grader in
Richmond, California, and didn’t hear about it. News of social change travels
faster and farther now – and almost immediately into the classroom.
http://edsource.org/2015/marriage-ruling-may-boost-school-climate-for-lgbt-families-and-students/82395
International Law, Citizenship and Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]
Immigrant rights group
launches citizenship drive ahead of 2016 general election [LA Daily News, 7/6/15]: With her 5-month-old
granddaughter in tow, Adriana Rivera made the trip from Lancaster to Pacoima
last week to talk to an immigration specialist about becoming a U.S.
citizen.
Saunders: Who finds
sanctuary in San Francisco? [SF
Chron, 7/6/15]: Did San Francisco’s sanctuary city ordinance contribute to the
senseless shooting death of Kathryn Steinle, 32, as she was out for an evening
stroll on Pier 14 last week?
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