Monday, August 31, 2015

Posts for August 31, 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:

Supreme Court's 'Long Conference': Where Appeals 'Go to Die' [NY Times’ “Sidebar.” 8/30/15]: Four weeks from now, on Sept. 28, the Supreme Court justices will gather in private for an annual ritual called the “long conference.” They will consider the roughly 2,000 petitions to hear appeals that have piled up over the summer. And they will reject almost every one.

Stealing the Bill of Rights [Gerard Magliocca in “Concurring Opinions,” 8/31/15]: “I wanted to share a story about the Bill of Rights that I had not heard before, though perhaps some of you have.


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 Rehabilitationists [The New Republic, 8/30/15]: How a small band of determined legal academics set out to persuade the Supreme Court to undo the New Deal -- and have almost won.

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:

Risks, rewards for Republicans insulting entire groups of people [SF Chron, 8/30/15]: It’s already been called the Year of the Angry Voter, but 2015 could also turn out to be the Year of the Insulted Voter.

http://www.sfchronicle.com/nation/article/Risks-rewards-for-Republicans-insulting-entire-6474929.php?t=21375ddc6100af33be&cmpid=twitter-premium

 

Trump Is Setting the GOP Agenda [Politico, 8/30/15]: Every Republican presidential contender is playing Trump’s game. And losing at it. 

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/08/donald-trump-2016-setting-gop-agenda-213088


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


City cannot govern where sex offenders live, Massachusetts high court rules [Jurist, 8/30/15]: The Massachusetts Supreme Court on Friday ruled that a city within the state has no right to pass ordinances restricting where sex offenders can live. The ruling invalidates the "Ordinance Pertaining to Sex Offender Residency Restrictions in the City of Lynn" which created a zone where level two and three sex offenders were prohibited from residing. 

The death penalty in early America: the Witches of Salem [New Yorker, 9/2/15]: In 1692, the Massachusetts Bay Colony executed fourteen women, five men, and two dogs for witchcraft. 

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:

Off Their Front Porch: Protesters Have No Free-Speech Rights On Supreme Court Plaza [Huff Post, 8/30/15]: An appellate court ruled the Constitution doesn't apply with equal force on the high court's plaza.

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:

The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of Anti-Semitism Here and Abroad [Justia, 8/31/15]: Professor Rotunda discusses relative change in attitudes toward Jews in the United States and elsewhere in the world.

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