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.
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/immigration-gop-rift-mandatory-minimum-senate-cruz-121231.html
No comments:
Post a Comment