Posts for September 29, 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:

The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]

Legal fight over Obama's immigration orders may outlast his presidency [CNN, 9/29/15]: The Sidonios and millions of other similarly situated families across the country have seen their dreams turn into a slow-moving court case that remains stalled.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/29/politics/immigration-obama-lawsuit-delays/

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:

Voting in Presidential Primaries and Caucuses [Gerard Magliocca in Concurring Opinions, 9/29/15]: A student posed the following question that I thought I’d address:  Is there a federal constitutional right to vote in the presidential nominating contest? I think that the answer is no.

http://concurringopinions.com/archives/2015/09/voting-in-presidential-primaries-and-caucuses.html 

Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)

Leadership honeymoon could be brief for a Speaker McCarthy [McClatchy, 9/28/15]: House Speaker-in-waiting Kevin McCarthy of California announced Monday he’s ready to seize the summit of Capitol Hill. His next climb would be even steeper – governing.

http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/article36897339.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

 

Will the Supreme Court 'peck away at' capital punishment? [ABA Journ., Oct. 2015]: Soon after their new term begins in October, the justices will again confront the death penalty in a handful of cases that present relatively modest questions and wouldn’t seem to be likely vehicles for continuing the larger debate over the future of capital punishment.

http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/death_revisited

How Prosecutors Get Away With Cutting Black Jurors [Daily Beast, 9/29/15]: This term, the Supreme Court will consider an outrageous case of prosecutorial misconduct; But will it do anything about it?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/09/28/how-prosecutors-get-away-with-cutting-black-jurors.html

Humane Criminal Justice Is Not Hopeless [Slate, 9/28/15]: The Supreme Court is beginning to take cruel and unusual punishment seriously -- just like Pope Francis is.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2015/09/pope_francis_and_supreme_court_on_cruel_and_unusual_punishment_death_penalty.html

Georgia is About to Execute its First Woman in 70 Years [The Marshall Project, 9/28/15]: A closer look at why female executions are so rare.

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/03/02/georgia-is-about-to-execute-its-first-woman-in-70-years

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:

What Next Year's Attack on Obamacare Will Look Like [Daily Beast, 9/29/15]: Houses of worship don't have to offer employees contraceptive coverage; But other religious employers do; Supreme Court, here we come.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/09/29/what-next-year-s-attack-on-obamacare-will-look-like.html

School Speech Shorts [EdLawProfs Blog, 9/29/15]: School District Employees Entitled to Qualified Immunity in Facebook Search Suit; Univ. of Kansas Cannot Expel Student for Off-Campus Tweets.

http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/education_law/2015/09/school-speech-shorts-school-district-employees-entitled-to-qualified-immunity-in-facebook-search-sui.html

Case of Student Rapper Deserves Close Examination [Newseum, 9/29/15]: The case of a former high school student from Mississippi punished for a rap song he created off-campus and posted online has the potential to be the most significant K-12 student speech case in several years.

http://www.newseuminstitute.org/2015/09/29/case-of-student-rapper-deserves-close-examination/

Read the decision in Bell v. Itawamba County School Board at:

http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions%5Cpub%5C12/12-60264-CV2.pdf

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:

Peele: California's bad public records laws can shock outsiders [CC Times, 9/26/15]:  It's around this time each year that a student from another state reacts incredulously to something I've said about government access in California during a lecture at the Graduate School of Journalism at Berkeley. A hand shoots up. "What do you mean you can't get police reports?" "What do you mean the courts charge for on-line searches?"

http://www.contracostatimes.com/opinion/ci_28872425/thomas-peele-californias-bad-public-records-laws-can?source=rss

Hit the Gym, BorgataBabes [Justia, 9/29/15]: Professor Grossman discusses a recent decision by a New Jersey appellate court that she argues illustrates a pattern of courts erroneously failing to see the illegal and harmful stereotyping embodied in sex-specific dress codes.

https://verdict.justia.com/2015/09/29/hit-the-gym-borgatababes