Posts for August 7, 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:

The Supreme Court's Gap on Race and Juries [Linda Greenhouse in the NY Times, 8/6/15]: There are so many troubling issues surrounding race and the criminal justice system these days that it is easy to forget a longstanding problem: the exclusion of African-Americans from juries. The open secret is this: Batson hasn’t really worked.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/06/opinion/the-supreme-courts-gap-on-race-and-juries.html?_r=0

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:

Abortion and the law: The eighth circuit court embarrasses itself [“Democracy in America” blog in The Economist, 8/5/15]: Last month, Judge Bobby Shepherd of the eighth circuit court in Missouri wrote an opinion reading more like a novice high-school debate speech than a ruling by a federal appellate judge. The topic was abortion—specifically, North Dakota’s highly restrictive law banning the procedure at the first sign of a fetal heartbeat. 

http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2015/08/abortion-and-law

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 FOX News GOP Debate: Who Won? Who Lost? [Justia, 8/7/15]: John W. Dean discusses the Fox News Presidential Debates of August 6, 2015—the first major political event of the 2016 presidential election cycle.

https://verdict.justia.com/2015/08/07/the-fox-news-gop-debate-who-won-who-lost

Calbuzz: GOP Reality Show: Trump The Biggest Loser [CalBuzz, 8/7/15]:  Fox TV moderators exposed Donald Trump as the turd in the Republican punch bowl in the first minute of last night’s debate, forcing him to acknowledge he might decide to run for president as an independent.

http://www.calbuzz.com/2015/08/gop-reality-show-trump-the-biggest-loser/

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

Native Americans lose fight for long hair in prisons [AP, 8/6/15]: An appeals court has ruled against Native American inmates in Alabama fighting for the right to wear long hair in accordance with their religious beliefs.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ALABAMA_PRISONERS_LONG_HAIR

 

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:

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:

What schools and parents need to know to support transgender students [EdSource, 8/6/15]: As superintendent of Benicia Unified School District, Janice Adams found herself face to face with a first when a mother asked what Adams could do to support her kindergarten child, who was born a boy but identified as a girl.

http://edsource.org/2015/what-schools-and-parents-need-to-know-to-support-transgender-students/83871