Posts for August 10, 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:

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:

The long grind: Lengthy presidential campaign fuels apathy, big spending [OC Register, 8/9/15]:  Even the most rapt voters complain about the mind-numbing length of the U.S. presidential campaigns, which can start gearing up two years or more before the general election.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/campaign-676378-presidential-campaigns.html

Trump camp in crisis [Politico, 8/8/15]: Republicans question whether the laws of political gravity have finally caught up with the billionaire.

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/donald-trump-camp-in-crisis-121180.html

Partisan Attacks on Voting Rights Tested in Court [Jost on Justice, 8/9/15]: A lot has changed in the 50 years since LBJ signed the Voting Rights Act into law.

http://jostonjustice.blogspot.com/2015/08/partisan-attacks-on-voting-rights-in.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

"We consider the constitutionality of a decision to impound a vehicle based on a community-caretaking justification. Such impoundments have been the topic of substantial debate and disagreement among our sibling circuits." Read the decision of the 10^th U.S. Circuit out of Colorado in U.S. v. Sanders (8/7/15):

http://www.ca10.uscourts.gov/opinions/14/14-1296.pdf

Chicago allows independent stop-and-frisk evaluation under agreement [Jurist, 8/10/15]: The Chicago Police Department has decided to allow independent evaluations of their stop-and-frisk procedures that many have said specifically target African Americans under an agreement with the American Civil Liberties Union.

http://jurist.org/paperchase/2015/08/chicago-allows-independent-stop-and-frisk-evaluation-under-agreement.php

 

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:

Springfield panhandling ordinance ruled unconstitutional [Illinois Times, 8/8/15]: A federal appellate court ruled Friday that Springfield’s ordinance banning a certain form of panhandling downtown is unconstitutional.

http://illinoistimes.com/article-15986-springfield-panhandling-ordinance-ruled-unconstitutional.html

Read Norton and Otterson v. City of Springfield, IL. by going to:

http://media.ca7.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/rssExec.pl?Submit=Display&Path=Y2015/D08-07/C:13-3581:J:Easterbrook:aut:T:fnOp:N:1600912:S:0

28 California colleges, universities have 'restrictive' protest, demonstration policies [LA Daily News, 8/9/15]: Two California colleges have settled for $145,000 in damages in eight months after being sued over restrictions on student protests and political speech.

http://www.dailynews.com/article/20150809/NEWS/150809512

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:

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

The Fear of Too Much Justice: Tariq Ba Odah and the Department of Defense [Justia, 8/10/15]: Professor Margulies continues his discussion of the conditions under which Tariq Ba Odah are being held at Guantanamo despite unanimous agreement by national security agencies that he is not a threat.

https://verdict.justia.com/2015/08/10/the-fear-of-too-much-justice