Posts for September 24, 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:
The
Supreme Court's Secret Power [NY Times Op-Ed, 9/24/15]: Monday, the Supreme Court will meet
in private to perform one of its most consequential — yet least appreciated —
functions: choosing the cases it will hear. The court’s nine justices hold
regular conferences from late September to late June to perform this task. From
the roughly 8,000 petitions that arrive at the court each year, the justices
select about 75 cases.
Four
Votes to Midnight [The Atlantic, 9/23/15]: Interpreting the U.S. Supreme
Court’s long-term trajectory often feels like reading smoke signals
in Mandarin, but I gave it a shot after the death-penalty ruling in July.
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:
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:
Republicans
2016: Two Down, 14 to Go: Making sense of a (slowly) shrinking GOP field [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 9/24/15]: Whatever
else it is, the Republican presidential contest has become a full employment
act for reporters and analysts.
The Fall of Scott Walker [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 9/21/15]: How the man who could have been both outsider and insider
became neither.
Carson says immigrants
'don't get to change who we are' [AP,
9/23/15]: Speaking at a university in
his native Michigan Wednesday, Carson said the U.S. is
"Judeo-Christian." He says he has "no interest in being like
everyone else and giving away all of our values and principles for the sake of
political correctness."
Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)
Fox: The Theologian and
the Politician [Fox &
Hounds, 9/23/15]: A theologian would not think this way but a politician
might—if you have two contrasting bills on the subject of life and death
perhaps the middle ground would provide a solution. Governor Jerry Brown—part
theologian and all politician—is facing that kind of decision when determining
whether to sign or veto the bill tabbed “Right to Die” and another labeled
“Right to Try.”
NCLB—a History [Politico, 9/24/15]: Have
you ever wondered about the inside story of the No Child Left Behind law? The law is perhaps the most
controversial education law ever passed—a sweeping overhaul of Lyndon Johnson’s
education act that promised a new era of accountability in schools, but
which opponents today blame for infecting education with testing mania.
Charged With Murder Without Killing Anyone [The Marshall Project, 9/24/15]: The paradox of “felony murder” laws.
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/09/24/a-person-can-be-charged-with-murder-even-if-they-haven-t-killed-anyone?ref=hp-1-121
When the Womb Is a Crime Scene [Mother Jones, 9/24/15]: Alabama has turned hundreds of pregnant women
into felons for using drugs -- even when they're legal and the kids turn out
fine.
Life Without Parole: For Juveniles, 5 Tough Counties [The Marshall Project, 9/22/15]: New study places a quarter of the sentences in a
handful of urban areas.
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:
Five Quotes: Justice Antonin Scalia
Defends Free Speech [Newseum,
9/24/15]: During Justice Antonin Scalia’s nearly 30 years on the Court, he has
made his mark in many areas of constitutional law. The First Amendment
free-speech clause is no exception.
Pressure Mounts Against
Schools' Confederate Ties [EdWeek,
9/23/15]: The racially motivated church shooting in Charleston, S.C., has
spurred districts to reconsider school names, mascots, and imagery linked to
the Old South. Such moves stir sharp debate.
SLAPP lawsuits: Measuring the threat against a right to petition [Newseum, 9/24/15]: “Short of
a gun to the head, a greater threat to First Amendment expression can scarcely
be imagined.” — Judge J. Nicholas
Colabella (1992) Strong statement or overstatement? The Judge was
referring to the threat posed by Strategic Lawsuits Against Public
Participation, or “SLAPPs” — lawsuits filed in response to, or in
retaliation for, citizen communication with government entities and employees.
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:
International Law, Citizenship and Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]
Arizona’s SB 1070 Immigration Law Is Back in Play in
the Federal Courts [Justia, 9/24/15]: Professor Amar comments on a recent decision by a federal
district court in Arizona addressing a challenge to two parts of Arizona’s SB
1070 statute, which attempts to deal with immigration stresses in that
state.
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