Thursday, August 13, 2015

Posts for August 13, 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:

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]

Panetta calls out Jeb Bush on blaming Clinton, Obama for Isis [SF Chron, 8/12/15]: Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has refuted Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush’s charge that Hillary Rodham Clinton and President Obama are largely responsible for the rise of ISIS, even as he expressed concern that the administration needs “a larger strategy on how to deal with the Middle East.”

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:

 

Republicans 2016: What to do with The Donald? Handicapping a frontrunner who (almost certainly) cannot win [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 8/13/15]: Whatever you think of him, Donald Trump is a stick of dynamite thrown into the presidential pond. All the boats have been rocked, and given Trump’s potential for more explosiveness, the political waters show little sign of settling down anytime soon.

Inside John Roberts' Decades-Long Crusade Against the Voting Rights Act [Politico, 8/10/15]: John Glover Roberts, a 25-year-old graduate of Harvard Law School, arrived in Washington in early 1980. Harvard Law professor Morton Horwitz described Roberts as “a conservative looking for a conservative ideology in American history,” and he found that ideology in the nation’s capital, first as a clerk for Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist and then as an influential aide in Ronald Reagan’s Justice Department.

Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)


Lawmaker Defends California Climate Change Bill [CPR, 8/12/15]: Debate over an ambitious climate change bill continues to sizzle in the California Legislature as its final vote nears. Senate leader Kevin de León responded on Wednesday to what he said are fears about his measure stoked by the oil industry.

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


Why Three Counties That Loved the Death Penalty Have Almost Stopped Pursuing It; A closer look at get-tough DA [The Marshall Project, 8/12/15]: On Aug. 26, Texas death row inmate Bernardo Tercero is scheduled to die by lethal injection. His execution will come more than 15 years after his original conviction for murder in Harris County, which more than once has been dubbed the “Death Penalty Capital of the World.”

Connecticut Supreme Court Rules Death Penalty Unconstitutional, Bars Execution Of Any Inmate [Hartford Courant, 8/13/15]: After a sweeping two-year review, the state Supreme Court outlawed capital punishment in Connecticut, saying the state's death penalty no longer comports with evolved societal values and serves no valid purpose as punishment.

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:

Megyn Kelly — Bold Defender of Free Speech Freedoms [Concurring Opinions, 8/12/15]: Though she is a news anchor, she is very much in the news these days. She is the object of a national discussion about women. And it all stemmed from a pointed, polite, and entirely appropriate question she posed to the most outspoken candidate currently seeking to be President of the United States.

10th Circuit rules New Mexico district did not violate principal’s free speech rights by terminating her employment after she made comments at a public meeting opposing the district’s proposed plan to close her school [NSBA Legal Clips, 8/10/15]:  A U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit three-judge panel has ruled that a New Mexico school district did not violate a former principal’s First Amendment free speech rights when it terminated her employment because she had publicly opposed the district’s proposal to close the alternative high school where she was principal.
Read the decision in Rock v. Levanski 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:
Court: Baker who refused gay wedding cake can't cite beliefs [AP, 8/13/15]: A suburban Denver baker who wouldn't make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple cannot cite his religious beliefs in refusing them service because it would lead to discrimination, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.

 

Clerk digs in, defies judge's gay marriage order [Louisville Courier-Journal, 8/13/15]: April Miller and Karen Roberts, a couple at the center of Kentucky’s same-sex marriage battle, were refused a marriage license again Thursday even though a federal judge has ordered Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis to provide the paperwork regardless of the applicants' orientation. The couple was one of four turned away at the clerk’s office before noon. Deputy clerks were telling applicants that Davis is on vacation and that they were instructed not to give out any licenses despite the injunction issued by U.S. District Judge David Bunning on Wednesday.

Suit against California district alleging coverup of sexual hazing on high school football team scheduled for trial [NSBA Legal Clips, 8/10/15]: According to the Daily Press, a suit alleging that Hesperia Unified School District (HUSD) and Oak Hills High School (OHHS) officials failed to address sexual hazing issues on the school’s football team is scheduled to go to trial early next year. The suit, which is pending in San Bernardino County Superior Court, involves claims by the mother of a football player at OHHS on his behalf, accusing HUSD district and OHHS officials of covering up the “sexual beatings.”

http://legalclips.nsba.org/2015/08/10/suit-against-california-district-alleging-coverup-of-sexual-hazing-on-high-school-football-team-scheduled-for-trial/

 

Appeals Court Revives Suit of 8th Grader Used as 'Bait' to Catch Harasser [School Law Blog, 8/12/15]: The 11th Circuit federal appeals court revived an 8th grade girl's Title IX case against an Alabama district involving an alleged rape in a school bathroom. The ruling came in a case in which the girl was used in an attempted sting to try to catch an 8th grade boy who had been harassing girls and soliciting them for bathroom sex in 2010. 

http://www.itemlive.com/news/national/court-suit-over-using-teen-as-bait-in-sex-sting/article_07750e1d-a3e0-553a-a315-c37b9ff8f271.html

The case, Hill v. Cundiff and Madison County School Board, can be found at:

http://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/201412481.pdf


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


Immigration crackdown splits GOP [Politico, 8/11/15]: Ted Cruz and other Senate Republicans are pushing an aggressive immigration crackdown, proposing tougher penalties against foreigners who repeatedly try to enter the United States illegally. But there’s stiff resistance — from fellow Republicans. 


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