Posts for August 4, 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:

Rights and legislation: Can Congress over-ride a Supreme Court decision? [Democracy in America in “The Economist” blog, 7/28/15]: Following Obergefell v Hodges, the Supreme Court’s recent landmark ruling in support of gay marriage, Mr Santorum asserted, in a speech to the National Right to Life Foundation, that the court does “not have the final say on anything. The American people have the final say on everything.” It was this rather creative view of America’s division of powers that Ms Maddow was keen to challenge. Here we consider their debate, and pick apart their respective arguments.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2015/07/rights-and-legislation

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:

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:

 

How to Save the Voting Rights Act [Slate, 8/4/15]: We need to stop trying to untangle racism and partisanship by agreeing on one simple idea.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/08/how_to_save_the_voting_rights_act_voting_rights_shouldn_t_rely_on_parsing.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

 

How the Supreme Court Made It Legal for Cops to Pull You Over for Just About Anything [The Marshall Project, 7/3/15]: Even hanging an air freshener.

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/08/03/how-the-supreme-court-made-it-legal-for-cops-to-pull-you-over-for-just-about-anything

 

Constitution Check: Does cellphone privacy follow its owner's wanderings? [Constitution Daily / Ars Technica, 8/3/15]: Lyle Denniston, the National Constitution Center’s constitutional literacy adviser, examines a case that has just arrived at the Supreme Court about police access to cellphone location data stored on cellphone towers.

http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2015/08/constitution-check-does-cellphone-privacy-follow-its-owners-wanderings/

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/07/warrantless-mobile-phone-location-tracking-heads-to-supreme-court/

 

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:

The Hell You Say [The New Yorker, 8/10/15]: The new battles over free speech are fierce, but who is censoring whom?

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/08/10/the-hell-you-say

Ex-Free Press reporter wins fight to keep source secret [Detroit Free Press, 7/31/15]: In what could be the end of an 11-year legal fight, a federal appeals court sided with a former Detroit Free Press reporter today, ruling he can claim Fifth Amendment protection in keeping the name of an anonymous source secret.

http://www.freep.com/story/news/2015/07/31/ashenfelter-case-detroit-free-press/30931809/

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:

Group Created By Silicon Valley Millionaire Targets Teacher Evaluations In California [EdSource / Huff Post, 7/21/15]: Students Matter, which is challenging tenure and other teacher protection laws in Vergara v. California, filed a second school lawsuit Thursday. It is suing 13 school districts that it claims are violating the state law requiring student scores on state standardized tests be a component of a teacher’s evaluation.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/21/students-matter-teacher-evaluations_n_7841812.html

Can This Lawsuit Fix Our Schools? [Cal Lawyer cover story, 8/1/15]: State and union attorneys defend California teacher tenure rules against charges they foster unequal education.

http://callawyer.com/clstory.cfm?eid=942218&wteid=942218_Can_%3CI%3EVergara%3C/I%3E_Fix_Our_Schools?

Students Matter: Vergara case status:

http://studentsmatter.org/our-case/vergara-v-california-case-status/