Posts for July 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 (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:

Justice Kennedy: 'Constitution is yours' [SD U-T / AP, 7/15/15]: Swing member of Supreme Court speaks in San Diego on controversial rulings, solitary confinement.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2015/jul/15/justice-anthony-kennedy-9th-circuit-rulings/

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SUPREME_COURT_KENNEDY

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:

The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]

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:

AP-GfK Poll: Clinton's standing falls among Democrats [AP, 7/16/15]: The survey offers a series of warning signs for the leading Democratic candidate. Most troubling, perhaps, for her prospects are questions about her compassion for average Americans, a quality that fueled President Barack Obama's two White House victories.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/ap-gfk-poll-clintons-standing-falls-democrats-32484866

Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)

Senate Votes Down ESEA Amendment to Protect LGBTQ Youth [EdLawProfs Blog, 7/16/15]: Yesterday, the Senate rejected an amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that would have specifically prohibited discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students in school.

http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/education_law/2015/07/senate-votes-down-protections-for-lgbtq-youth-as-an-esea-amendment.html

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

 

Delayed Trials for Fairer Outcomes? [Justia, 7/16/15]: Professor Colb discusses a proposal by Adam Benforado, author of Unfair: The New Science of Criminal Justice, that one way to improve the criminal justice system would be to conduct and record trials outside of the jury’s presence, then to show edited versions of the recordings to juries after all of the evidence has been presented. Colb explains how this proposal could potentially improve the system and addresses some potential obstacles to its implementation.

https://verdict.justia.com/2015/07/16/delayed-trials-for-fairer-outcomes

 

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:

How does Uncle Sam get to tell nuns what they believe? [NY Post, 7/15/15]: Who gets to decide what your religious beliefs are? Do you get to decide this yourself? Can you determine this in the privacy of your church, synagogue or mosque? Or does the Health and Human Services secretary, Sylvia Burwell, get to make the choice?

http://nypost.com/2015/07/15/how-does-uncle-sam-get-to-tell-nuns-what-they-believe/

VI. 14^th Amendment, Discrimination, Privacy, Working, Citizenship & Immigration [See TOPICS 34-41 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

Employee or contractor? Labor moves to clarify rules around increasingly contentious issue [LA Times, 7/15/15]:  The Labor Department issued new guidance Wednesday that could limit the ability of many companies to designate their workers as contractors. That could spell trouble for sharing-economy firms such as Uber and TaskRabbit, which rely on independent workers, often for short-term projects.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-contractor-rules-20150715-story.html

 

ACLU challenges NSA phone surveillance program [Jurist, 7/16/15]: The motion filed by the ACLU state stated that "today the government is continuing - after a brief suspension - to collect Americans’ call records in bulk on the purported authority of precisely the same statutory language this court has already concluded does not permit it." 

http://jurist.org/paperchase/2015/07/aclu-challenges-nsa-phone-surveillance-program.php

 

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

Analysis: GOP against Iran deal, with or without reading it [AP, 7/16/15]: Republicans fall into two camps when it comes to President Barack Obama's nuclear deal with Iran. Some are against it, while others want to read it before announcing their opposition.

http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/article27378664.html