Posts for September 18, 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.
Happy Constitution Day!
[Concurring Opinions, 9/17/15]: Read this stirring quote from Chambers v. Florida (1940).
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 Has Nothing to
Hide, So Don't Look [Slate,
9/17/15]: Stephen Breyer swears the justices are just the nicest people.
Thurgood Marshall, Badass Lawyer [The Atlantic, Oct. 15]: The
Supreme Court justice may have left a stronger legacy off the bench. After
decades of voter suppression, Thurgood Marshall of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund
rolled up his sleeves and got out his briefcase. “There is only one way to
handle that bunch,” he wrote to a black newspaper editor in 1940, “and that is
to take them into court. This we must do.”
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
Bills Advance, Setting Up a Showdown [NY Times, 9/17/15]: Senate Republicans said on Thursday
that they would take up legislation outlawing all abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, and the House voted to move
forward with a bill that would end government financing for Planned Parenthood, intensifying a
fight over abortion that
threatened to paralyze budget talks and force a government shutdown at the end
of the month.
Appeals court steps into abortion-video fray [Politico, 9/17/15]: A federal appeals court has
stepped into the legal fray over undercover videos that anti-abortion groups
say demonstrate the sale of aborted fetuses.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2015/09/appeals-court-steps-into-abortion-video-fray-213799
http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2015/09/appeals-court-steps-into-abortion-video-fray-213799
Appeals courts now split on birth control
mandate [SCOTUS blog, 9/17/15]: Enhancing the likelihood that the Supreme Court will
soon take up the legality of the Affordable Care Act’s birth control mandate, a
federal appeals court on Thursday differed with six others and temporarily
barred the government from enforcing the mandate. That outcome came
in two decisions by the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
The
American Presidency
[TOPIC 15]
No Drama Obama [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 9/17/15]: The president’s approval rating has been the steadiest in modern history.
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:
The Reagan Rumble: Fiorina steals the show [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 9/17/15]: It was a debate with winners (certainly Carly
Fiorina) and losers (sorry, Scott Walker). Mainly, though, the Reagan Rumble
reinforced the strengths and weaknesses that voters already associate with each
of the candidates. Already, millions tuned in mainly to cheer for their current
choice.
See this “fact check”
article [CC Times, 9/17/15]: on some of her statements:
GOP candidates split decision
over the Supreme Court
[CNN, 9/17/15]: Four years ago, a law
professor called the Supreme Court the "forgotten issue" of the
presidential election. Not anymore.
Will the Second Debate Confirm That “Mad as Hell”
Republicans Don’t Want a Competent Presidential Candidate? [Justia, 9/18/15]: John W. Dean discusses the second GOP presidential candidate debate of
September 16, 2015—a major political event of the 2016 presidential election
cycle.
Trump’s demise has
started — just look at social media [SF
Chron, 9/17/15]: The second GOP debate
hinted that the Summer of Trump may be approaching its end. That chill in the
air isn’t just coming from pundits — instead it’s coming from social media.
Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)
Despite setbacks,
California climate push accelerates [CALmatters,
9/17/15]: The Legislature may have scuttled the centerpiece of Gov. Jerry
Brown’s climate change plans, but it still approved ambitious new environmental
policies that will impact the economy and life of Californians.
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
Five Things You Didn’t Know About Clearing Your
Record [The Marshall Report,
9/17/15]: A primer on the complicated road
to expungement.
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/09/17/five-things-you-didn-t-know-about-clearing-your-record?ref=hp-1-111
‘Sex is Not
a Service’ [The Marshall Project,
9/18/15]:
A former prostitute makes the case for
busting johns.
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/09/18/sex-is-not-a-service?ref=hp-2-111
Court:
Teen cannot be held responsible for sex with teacher [AP,
9/16/15]: The Los
Angeles school district was wrong when it argued that a 14-year-old girl shared
responsibility for sexual abuse by a teacher because she consented to the sex,
a California appeals court said Wednesday, overturning a jury verdict in favor
of the district.
Read the decision in S.M.
v. LAUSD by going to:
Also, read the comments by Shaun
Martin in his “Cal. App. Report blog” [9/17/15] on why he things this opinion
should be de-published.
Texas high school student suspended for bringing
homemade clock to school receives invitation to White House [NSBA Legal Clips,
9/17/15]: Ahmed Mohamed, a freshman at MacArthur High School (MHS) in Irving,
Texas, was questioned by local police and suspended for three days after
authorities mistook his clock invention for a fake bomb.
http://legalclips.nsba.org/2015/09/17/texas-high-school-student-suspended-for-bringing-homemade-clock-to-school-receives-invitation-to-white-house/
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:
Third Circuit rules that former
teacher who was discharged for derogatory blog postings about students, parents
and school administration failed to state valid claim for First Amendment
retaliation [NSBA
Legal Clips, 9/16/15]: Although, the
panel majority opinion assumed that the former teacher’s online blog posts were
on a matter of public concern, it concluded that “the interests of [the
teacher] and the public in this speech were entitled to (at best) only minimal
weight under the Pickering balancing test.”
Read the Munroe
decision at:
Georgia district investigating video purporting to
show a group of players and a coach being baptized on field before football
practice [NSBA Legal Clips,
9/14/15]: The caption of the video reads: “We had the privilege of
baptizing a bunch of football players and a coach on the field of Villa Rica
High School! We did this right before practice! Take a look and see how God is
STILL in our schools!”
Teacher Is Immune in Suit Over Search of Student's
Facebook Account [WSJ law blog,
9/17/15]: A federal appeals court rules that it was not clearly established
that the teacher's search of the student's account would violate her rights.
The decision in Jackson
v. Ladner can be found at:
Sunnyvale: Neighbors sue
to banish autistic boy's family claiming he's a public nuisance [CC Times, 9/18/15]: In a potentially
precedent-setting case, two Sunnyvale couples allege that the boy, now 11,
created an "as-yet unquantified chilling effect on the otherwise 'hot'
local real estate market" and that "people feel constrained in the
marketability of their homes as this issue remains unresolved and the nuisance
remains unabated."
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:
Calif. Senate Votes to Ban 'Redskins' Mascots From
Public Schools [“Schooled in Sports”
blog, 9/10/15]: The Calif. Senate voted 25-10 Tuesday on legislation that would ban
public schools from using "Redskins" as a team name, mascot, or
nickname beginning Jan. 1, 2017.
Kentucky still permits schools to
impose corporal punishment as a form of student discipline [NSBA Legal Clips, 9/17/15]: It is one of 19
states that still permits schools to use corporal punishment as a form of
student discipline.
Parents
Fight Nevada's School Vouchers [CNS / EdLawProfs Blog, 9/18/15]: Nevada's school voucher program - "the most
expansive voucher program ever instituted in the United States" -
unconstitutionally diverts tax money from public schools, parents of 10
children claim in court.
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