Friday, July 24, 2015

Posts for July 24, 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:

“Somersaults of Statutory Interpretation” [Slate, 7/23/15]: Justice Scalia warns that his fellow justices' opinions are a danger to the nation.

Supreme Court activism prompts conservative calls for limits on judiciary [Wash Times, 7/22/15]: Impeachment, term limits, judicial-retention elections and new Constitutional amendments to give majorities in Congress or the states power over a rogue Supreme Court decision were discussed Wednesday at a Senate hearing on ways to address judicial activism.

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:

A Regrettable Decision [Slate / SCOTUS blog / CSM, 7/23/15]: This astonishing, anti-science, states'-rights court decision begs for a ban on abortion.
The 8th Circuit decision in MKB Management v. Stenehjem can be found at:

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:

Voters: Many just can’t be bothered [Capitol Weekly, 7/23/15]: We Californians justifiably become excited about our many remarkable achievements: we make terrific movies; Silicon Valley leads the planet in technological innovation; our traffic jams are world class. But when it comes to voting, we give a statewide shrug.

Is the Supreme Court headed for 'Bush v. Gore' II? [Wash Post, 7/22/15]: About a month ago, the Supreme Court closed out its term in a blaze of nonpartisan glory. Or nonpartisan obloquy, depending on one’s reaction to the court’s legalization of same-sex marriage and its upholding of Obamacare — but nonpartisan either way. A court with a Republican-appointed majority upheld a Democratic president’s health insurance program and a marital policy that most Republican officeholders felt obliged to oppose (even if most Republican political consultants felt relieved to see gay marriage rendered a fait accompli).

Donald Trump Is Entertaining But When Will It End? [Justia, 7/24/15]: John Dean discusses Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump and the authoritarian leader personality type. Dean argues that while Trump may be the early leader in the polls, he will ultimately not win presidency of the U.S.

Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)


'Wasted in Sacramento': California's crop of committees costs millions [Aljazeera America, 7/23/15]:  More than 350 commissions, committees, councils and boards call California home but few citizens and elected officials know exactly what they do. 

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

 

California court: Juveniles can have crimes reclassified [AP, 7/23/15]:  Juvenile offenders, just like their adult counterparts, are entitled to have certain felonies reclassified as misdemeanors under a crime initiative approved by voters last year, a California appeals court ruled Thursday.

http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CA_RETHINKING_CRIMINAL_PENALTIES_JUVENILES_CAOL

 

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:

Associated Press announces modern history news archive on YouTube [FAC, 7/23/15]: The Associated Press is putting on YouTube over 550,000 video clips of historic events as far back as 1895. It will be the largest compilation of news content on YouTube.

Georgia district settles suit brought by national advocacy group over coach and teacher led prayers at school activities [NSBA Legal Clips, 7/21/15]: The out-of-court agreement with the American Humanist Association (AHA) settles a suit brought by AHA challenging coach and teacher led prayer at HCSD’s high schools. 

A Series of Unfortunate Events for “Religious Liberty”: The Religious Freedom Restoration Act to the State RFRAs to the So-Called First Amendment Defense Act Bill [Justia, 7/23/15]: Professor Hamilton discusses the federal First Amendment Defense Act—a bill that she argues is actually itself unconstitutional.

A Religion Case Too Far for the Supreme Court? [Linda Greenhouse in the NY Times, 7/23/15]: The court of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has been one of the most religion-friendly Supreme Courts in modern history. Nearly every religious claim presented to the court has emerged a winner, from explicitly sectarian prayer at town board meetings, in last year’s closely divided Town of Greece decision, to beards for Muslim inmates in a prison system that banned facial hair — a unanimous decision that defied the court’s tradition of deference to prison officials and their rules.

School Overreacted to Boy's Facebook 'Threats' [CNS, 7/23/15]: A boy who was suspended for calling his eighth-grade teacher "a bitch" who "needs to be shot" on his Facebook page will get attorney fees and a clear school record, a federal judge ruled.
Read the decision in Burge v. Colton School District at:

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:

Finding Segregation in Your Town [EdLawProfs blog, 7/23/15]: Edbuild has released an interactive map that includes every school district in the country. You can zoom in and out and hover over individual school districts.  Without leaving the page, it will tell you size of the student population and the percent of poor students attending the school district.  

California judge to rule on right-to-die lawsuit [AP, 7/23/15]: A single mom given only months to live hopes that a court will do what the Legislature did not: allow doctors to prescribe fatal medication for terminally ill people who want it.

Olson, Boies call for new federal LGBT protections [Politico, 7/22/15]: Ted Olson and David Boies, the prominent attorneys who helped overturn California’s same-sex marriage ban, are backing a new federal law that would extend anti-discrimination protections to LGBT Americans.
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/ted-olson-and-david-bloies-call-for-new-federal-lgbt-protections-120494.html

 

Eleventh Circuit rules that Florida’s teacher evaluation law and policies implementing it do not violate teachers’ substantive due process or equal protection rights [NSBA Legal Clips, 7/20/15]: The panel rejected the plaintiffs’ substantive due process claim, finding that the plaintiffs had failed to refute the defendants’ argument that the policies implementing the SSA are rationally related to the purpose behind the SSA, which is to “increas[e] student academic performance by improving the quality of instructional, administrative, and supervisory services in the public schools of the state.” 

Group of teachers terminated after receiving negative evals file suit challenging Nevada law eliminating teacher tenure protections [NSBA Legal Clips, 7/23/15]: The teachers’ suit claims their terminations violated their constitutionally protected contract and due process rights.

 

PERB Emphasizes an Expansive Right to Union Representation [California PERB blog, 7/23/15]: The issue in this PERB case was whether an employee had the right to union representation in a meeting with her supervisor. 

http://www.caperb.com/2015/07/23/perb-emphasizes-an-expansive-right-to-union-representation/

The decision is Capistrano Unified School District (2015) PERB Decision No. 2440-E (Issued on 6/30/15) and can be accessed here:


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