Posts for September 3, 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.
School Funding in the News [EdLawProfs Blog, 9/3/15]: Pennsylvania had long been one of those states that somehow managed to
distribute money to its public schools without an actual funding
formula. And Shelby County School District in Memphis, Tennessee, sued the
state Monday, alleging the state's failure to properly fund schools violated
both the state constitution and state statutes. The ACLU along with the Americans United for Separation of Church and
State filed a lawsuit last week challenging the state's voucher program that will
send public dollars to private, religious schools. See
the articles at their blog:
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 2014-2015 Term: The Year the Administrative State
Trembled [Public Discourse, 9/3/15]: Quietly, however, the past term
witnessed an important intellectual shift among the conservative justices: an
increasing willingness to rethink the Court’s jurisprudence regarding the power
of federal agencies.
Possible "Coming Liberal Disaster" on Class
Actions, Too [LawProfsBlog, 9/2/15]: Mr. Toobin included affirmative action, abortion, and
public-employee unions in “the subjects before the Justices [that] appear well
suited for liberal defeats.” He also could also have included private-law
class actions.
Sotomayor opens up during appearance
at Notre Dame [South
Bend Trib, 9/3/15]: Justice talks about workings of court and overcoming
biases.
Judges Standing Upside-Down [Linda Greenhouse in the NY Times, 9/3/15]: For decades, judicial conservatism has been defined at
least in part as strict observance of the elements that make a case justiciable
in federal court: a live controversy and a plaintiff with a concrete problem —
as opposed to a general grievance — that can be fixed by a favorable
ruling.
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:
Abortion Clinics in Ohio Are Against the Ropes [CNS, 9/2/15]: A
federal judge must block new Ohio rules that will close two of the state's
three remaining abortion providers, the clinics claim in court. The regulations began with the requirement that
ambulatory surgery facilities - clinics that provide same-day surgery - have a
written transfer agreement with a nearby hospital, according to the complaint
filed Tuesday.
The
American Presidency
[TOPIC 15]
Obama’s Final 500 Days [The Marshall Project, 9/3/15]: People from across the political spectrum suggest criminal justice reforms the president should enact during his remaining time in office.
Obama Has Support to Uphold Iran Nuke Deal [CNS, 9/2/15]:
President Barack Obama has enough Senate votes to protect the Iran nuclear deal
from Republican assault after Sen. Barbara Mikulski said Wednesday she will
support the agreement.
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:
Texas Two-Steps All Over Voting
Rights [Slate,
9/2/15]: It says it can make voting as difficult as it wants to, and any law
that says otherwise is unconstitutional.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2015/09/voting_rights_act_sections_2_and_5_texas_defends_voter_id_laws.html
IV. Criminal Law and Procedure (4th,
5th, 6th, and 8th amendments) [See TOPICS 21-28 in the 5th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent
articles that are relevant to this unit
California data shows
racial disparity in arrests, deaths [AP,
9/3/15]: Just 6 percent of Californians are African American, yet they are
involved in 17 percent of all arrests in the state and a quarter of in-custody
deaths, according to what officials called a nationally unprecedented release
of data Wednesday.
Court: Parole OK for
prisoner who denies crime [SF
Chron, 9/2/15]: The California parole board can deny release for an inmate who
lacks “insight” into the crime he or she committed many years ago. But a state
appeals court says a prisoner who has behaved well during 34 years of
confinement, and who poses a low risk of violence to the public, can’t be
denied parole merely because he continues to deny the crime he was convicted of
committing.
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:
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:
Ky clerk Kim Davis stands firm amid
ridicule
[Louisville Courier-Journ., 9/3/15]: She
has been denounced and ridiculed, online and in print. One website said that
“bigotry is ugly and so is her sweater.” Wonkette headlined a story about her,
“Dumb Kentucky Clerk Sues for Religious Freedom to Suck at her Job.” And since
the disclosure that she has been divorced three times and married four, Rowan
County Clerk Kim Davis, who claims she has acted on “God’s authority” in
refusing to license gays to marry, has been denounced as a hypocrite — and
worse — who has selectively applied the Bible.
Conservative legal group defends clerk's stand against gay marriage [Reuters, 9/2/15]: The Kentucky
county clerk who faces a contempt hearing in federal court on Thursday for
refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples is represented by a
Florida-based legal group with a history of long-shot battles on behalf of
conservative Christian causes.
Clerks, Conscience, and the Case for Common Ground [Newseum Institute, 9/2/15]: See Charles Haynes’ thoughts:
“Utah has a better idea. In March,
the Utah legislature passed compromise legislation that went a long way toward
both protecting religious liberty and prohibiting discrimination against LGBT
people. One of the law’s key provisions ensures that county clerks’ offices
perform marriages and that a clerk be available to marry same-sex couples. A
clerk may opt out of performing gay marriage if, and only if, other clerks are
readily available to issue the license and perform the ceremony. A clerk who
chooses to opt out of gay marriage may not perform any marriages.”
http://www.newseuminstitute.org/2015/09/02/clerks-conscience-and-the-case-for-common-ground/
San Francisco school
adopting gender-neutral bathrooms [SF
Chron, 9/3/15]: Miraloma Elementary started removing the circles, triangles and
stick-figure signs from restrooms at the start of this school year, in part to
acknowledge six to eight students who don’t fit traditional gender norms — kids
who range from tomboys to transgender, said Principal Sam Bass.
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