Posts for September 13, 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.

Test scores reflect familiar wealth gap among school districts [SF Chron, 9/12/15]: When education officials released the state’s first standardized test scores in two years, Piedmont, Hillsborough, Woodside and Orinda were at the top of the Bay Area list, with nearly 90 percent of students on track for college.

http://www.sfchronicle.com/education/article/Test-scores-reflect-familiar-wealth-gap-among-6500838.php?t=e63dc8961f1210a92f&cmpid=twitter-premium

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:

Why Judicial Supremacy Isn't Compatible with Constitutional Supremacy [Nat Rev., 9/10/15]: It’s an often-heated debate. Huckabee’s side says that the courts have established a “judicial supremacy” at odds with the actual constitutional design; the other side says that people like Huckabee are threatening the rule of law. Both sides have some reasonable points, and both could profit from conducting the debate at a lower level of abstraction.

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/423781/supreme-court-marriage-abortion-constitution

See The Myth of Judicial Supremacy [Nat. Rev., 6/26/15]: Forget Marbury v. Madison. Judicial supremacy is mostly an invention of the Warren Court.
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/420389/not-law-land

The First Congress and How to Amend [Gerard Magliocca in Concurring Opinions, 9/12/15]: I’ve posted previously about the fact that the First Congress debated whether the first set of amendments should be interwoven into the document or listed at the end.  I’ve been reading that discussion as part of writing the new book, and I thought I’d say more about it.

http://concurringopinions.com/archives/2015/09/the-first-congress-on-how-to-amend.html

Full Court Press: Kagan: Court doesn't 
listen to public opinion [Boston Herald, 9/12/15]:

http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/columnists/bob_mcgovern/2015/09/full_court_press_kagan_court_doesn_t_listen_to_public

Breyer says understanding foreign law is critical to Supreme Court's work [Wash Post / WSJ, 9/12/15]: In interview, Justice Stephen Breyer says ‘nobody’s above debate,’ including the high court

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/breyer-says-understanding-foreign-law-is-critical-to-supreme-courts-work/2015/09/12/36a38212-57e9-11e5-8bb1-b488d231bba2_story.html

http://www.wsj.com/article_email/supreme-court-is-fair-game-for-political-debate-breyer-says-1442106034-lMyQjAxMTA1NDExMzIxNjMwWj

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 Real Presidential Deadlines [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 9/10/15]: Late-entering candidates must consider fast-approaching filing dates.

http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/the-real-presidential-deadlines/

Trump: History has not been kind to businessmen-turned Presidents [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 9/10/15]: The many factors behind Donald Trump’s surge to the top of Republican polls are hardly new. There is broad dissatisfaction and distrust of “professional politicians” and with what is widely perceived to be an incompetent Washington that is in the pocket of wealthy and narrow-minded corporate interests.

http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/donald-trump-history-has-not-been-kind-to-businessmen-turned-presidents/

Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)

Analysis: Gov. Brown shares blame for oil bill’s problems [SF Chron, 9/11/15]: It was an angry Gov. Jerry Brown who pulled his landmark plan to cut gasoline use by 50 percent by 2030 after not only Republicans but also moderate Democrats said they weren’t convinced it could — or should — be done. 

http://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Jerry-Brown-shares-blame-for-green-bill-s-woes-6499373.php?t=4cbec52eed1210a92f&cmpid=twitter-premium

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

 

Court says stalking doesn’t require threat of violence [SF Chron, 9/11/15]: A stalker, the law says, is someone who repeatedly follows or maliciously harasses another person and makes a “credible threat” intended to put that person in “reasonable fear for his or her safety.” But it doesn’t have to be a threat of violence. 

http://blog.sfgate.com/crime/2015/09/11/court-says-stalking-doesnt-require-threat-of-violence/

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:

Latest court ruling allows Portland panhandlers to stay on street medians [Portland (Me.) Press herald, 9/11/15]: The city's attempt to ban people from standing on the medians is again deemed unconstitutional, this time by a federal appeals judge.

http://www.pressherald.com/2015/09/11/portland-loses-appeal-of-court-ruling-that-allows-panhandling-on-street-medians/

All Scientists Should Be Militant Atheists [New Yorker, 9/8/15]: The Kim Davis controversy exists because, as a culture, we have elevated respect for religious sensibilities to an inappropriate level that makes society less free, not more.

http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/all-scientists-should-be-militant-atheists

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: