Sunday, July 5, 2015

Posts for July 5, 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:

The biggest surprises of this term [Slate’s “Supreme Court Breakfast Table, 7/3/15]: Now that the Supreme Court term has ended, there’s a natural inclination to try to characterize it as a whole, or at least to view the results of the past few months as a harbinger of important future trends. This year, the consensus view appears to be that the court is unexpectedly leaning to the left or, at a minimum, that the court proved itself to be wildly unpredictable this term. Count me as a skeptic.

Lawrence Hurley on the Supreme Court Term [C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal,” 7/4/15]: Lawrence Hurley talked about Supreme Court decisions in the 2014-15 term, and whether they signaled a shift; He also previewed the 2015-16 term.

Why Obamacare’s Future is Secure [New Yorker, 7/3/15]: It hasn't been quite as dramatic as Justice Owen Roberts's legendary 1937 'switch in time that saved nine,' which flipped the Supreme Court from overturning New Deal legislation to ruling its initiatives constitutional.

The New Divisions in the U.S. Supreme Court [The Atlantic, 7/4/15]: The justices this year seemed to be less likely to vote along traditional partisan lines, but bitter battles over philosophical ideals in recent decisions could be a sign of bigger wars to come next fall.

The Supreme Court and the Politics of Fear [Linda Greenhouse in the NY Times, 7/4/15]:I thought of Nixon last week as I watched the parade of Republican would-be presidents outdoing one another in denouncing the “lawless” and “brazen” Supreme Court. With its “hubris and thirst for power,” the court threatens “the very foundations of our representative form of government,” the most Nixonian of them all, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, warned.”

Poll: Support grows for states to ignore federal courts [The Hill, 7/3/15]: More Americans believe individual states should have a right to refuse federal court rulings, a new poll says. The Rasmussen Reports survey released Friday finds an increasing number of likely U.S. voters believe states can disobey federal court rulings if their elected officials agree with them.
See the survey:

Your Questions About the Supreme Court's Term, Answered [WSJ Law Blog, 7/1/15]: WSJ’s Supreme Court reporter Jess Bravin answered questions about the court’s just-finished term on Wednesday in a Facebook Q&A.

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:

Abortion case: Texas leaders' underhanded tactics may face U.S. Supreme Court scrutiny [Dallas M-N, 7/4/15]: Politely, we could call it a ruse or a charade. But to put it in the plainest possible terms: They’re lying. Texas public officials have been lying, and now the U.S. Supreme Court may decide if their lies amount to something unconstitutional.

The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]

The Thing President Obama Didn't Do That Helped Bring About Marriage Equality [Slate, 7/3/15]: When the Supreme Court handed down its decision in King v. Burwell, the health care case, last Thursday, there was no end of talk about how the court had just cemented a critical part of President Barack Obama’s legacy. But the health care decision wasn’t the only one that will rightly be considered an important part of Obama’s legacy. The other is marriage equality—and not only because of what the president did, but also because of what he didn’t do.

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:

Hispanic leaders want GOP field to condemn Trump's 'idiocy' [AP / ABC News, 7/3/15]:  Hispanic leaders are bristling at the largely tepid response by Republican presidential candidates to Donald Trump's characterization of Mexican immigrants as rapists and drug dealers.

Balz: Voters are shifting to Democrats, flashing a warning for Republicans [Wash Post, 7/4/15]: The Gallup organization reported its latest findings on party identification late last week, and the report contained good news for the Democrats and a flashing yellow for Republicans. 

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

 

Amnesty International Report on Police Use of Force [Jurist, 7/2/15]: Amnesty International last week harshly criticized the US for not providing standards strictly limiting the use of lethal force by police to those occasions when no other options are available and such force is essential to save lives.

Federal Judge: My Drug War Sentences Were 'Unfair and Disproportionate' [Atlantic, 6/29/15]: Nancy Gertner, who left the bench after 17 years, compares the damage caused by drug prohibition to the destruction of cities in World War II.
You can view the comments on You Tube at:

Try, Try Again: The most outrageous decision of this Supreme Court term [Slate,7/3/15]: Just before the Supreme Court closed out its term on Monday, it condemned a man to death. Richard Jordan, who has been on Mississippi’s death row for 38 years had asked the justices to reconsider an appeals court’s ruling that blocked his access to the courts. Without explanation, they declined. The justices’ refusal to examine Jordan’s case clears the way for his execution. It may be remembered as their most gallingly unjust decision this term.

 

Breyer, Ginsburg Surprise on Death Penalty [Jost on Justice, 7/5/15]: High drama came in the reading of the conflicting majority and dissenting opinions in the recent Oklahoma case. And then came the genuine surprise from the most senior liberal justices.

http://jostonjustice.blogspot.com/2015/07/breyer-ginsburg-surprise-on-death.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:

A Gay Couple's Love, in Life and Death, Goes to the Supreme Court [NY Times, 7/5/15]: It’s easy to forget there are real people behind Supreme Court rulings. Back when the court announced it would hear six cases about same-sex marriage, I scrolled through the documents, waiting for anything human to jump out at me. When I read that a funeral director was a plaintiff in one, I thought, “That’s weird.”

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/05/a-gay-couples-love-in-life-and-death-goes-to-the-supreme-court/?_r=0

 

Colorado ballot measure seeks to limit gay marriages as civil unions [Denver Post [7/4/15]: A proposed ballot initiative filed Thursday would redefine same-sex marriages in Colorado as civil unions. A second initiative would allow wedding-related businesses opposed to gay marriage to hire a contractor to serve the couples.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_28430496/colorado-ballot-measure-seeks-limit-gay-marriages-civil

 

Greenhut: High court mulls future of forced dues [San Diego U-T, 7/3/15]: California Republican officials are accustomed to having their legislation killed, given their lack of clout in the Capitol. But the recent derailment of six out of seven bills in their modest education-reform package — and the seventh was gutted — speaks not just of their minority status, but of the power of the state’s teachers’ unions. 

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2015/jul/03/supreme-court-compulsory-union-dues-teachers-case/

 

US court: Unpaid internships legal if they boost education [Jurist / CNS, 7/3/15]: The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Thursday ruled that unpaid internships are legal when they are tied to the intern's education.

http://jurist.org/paperchase/2015/07/us-court-unpaid-internships-legal-if-they-boost-education.php

http://www.courthousenews.com/2015/07/02/fox-prevails-on-appeal-in-intern-class-action.htm

 

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


A look at San Francisco's status as a sanctuary city [SJ Merc, 7/3/15]: What does it mean to be a sanctuary city? According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, sanctuary cities have policies in place to "bar any local official, including law enforcement officials, from asking people about their immigration status, reporting them to federal immigration authorities, or otherwise cooperating with or assisting federal immigration authorities."

A year on, children caught on border struggle to stay, adapt [AP, 7/4/15]:  At 1-year-old, a wide-eyed, restless Joshua Tinoco faces the prospect of deportation to his native Honduras, one of tens of thousands of children who arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border last year.

Nuclear negotiations with Iran move forward [Jurist, 7/4/15]: The proposed deal would impose a decade of restrictions on the Iranian government and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran in exchange for the United States, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia lifting imposed sanctions. 

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