Posts for October 9, 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:

Four Specific Indicators to Look for (As Distinguished From Cases to Watch) This Supreme Court Term [Justia, 10/9/15]: Professor Amar identifies four key issues to watch in the Supreme Court’s 2015-2015 Term. As Amar discusses here, these issues center around: (1) public labor unions, (2) affirmative action, (3) abortion rights, and (4) the death penalty.

https://verdict.justia.com/2015/10/09/four-specific-indicators-to-look-for-as-distinguished-from-cases-to-watch-this-supreme-court-term

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:

Constitution Check: If a particular gun is widely popular, does that put it under the Second Amendment? [Constitution Daily, 10/8/15]: Lyle Denniston, the National Constitutional Center’s constitutional literacy adviser, looks at an appeal at the Supreme Court about a local Illinois ordinance banning popular semi-automatic weapons.

http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2015/10/constitution-check-if-a-particular-gun-is-widely-popular-does-that-put-it-under-the-second-amendment/

The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]

Obama weighs expanding background checks through executive authority [Wash Post, 10/8/15]: In response to the latest mass shooting during his presidency, President Obama is seriously considering circumventing Congress with his executive authority and imposing new background-check requirements for buyers who purchase weapons from high-volume gun dealers.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-weighs-expanding-background-checks-through-executive-authority/2015/10/08/6bd45e56-6b63-11e5-9bfe-e59f5e244f92_story.html

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:

Socialist Fights to Get Party Name on Ballot [CNS, 10/9/15]: The ACLU challenged the constitutionality of California voting regulations that forced a socialist politician to state on ballots that he is not affiliated with any party.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2015/10/09/socialist-fights-to-get-party-name-on-ballot.htm

Behind McCarthy's decision to bail [Politico, 10/8/15]: The doubts haunted Kevin McCarthy. Publicly, he projected an air of confidence, the appearance of the man who would be the next speaker of the House. But in private, his allies told him the pursuit for power was changing him and he wasn't himself. Some said that even if he won, he couldn't govern.

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/10/kevin-mccarthy-behind-decision-bail-house-speaker-214573

Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)

The Beat Goes On: California Politics Podcast [KQED, 10/8/15]: There was a steady drum beat of political news this week, led on the California front by Gov. Jerry Brown passing final judgment on some closely watched pieces of legislation. 

http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/10/08/the-beat-goes-on-california-politics-podcast

Calbuzz: How the GOP Became the Occupy Congress Party [CalBuzz, 10/9/15]: The Occupy Wall Street movement was fatally flawed: it had no principles of unity, no structure, no leadership and, as a consequence, no chance to effect real change. Which almost exactly describes what has happened to the congressional Republicans. 

http://www.calbuzz.com/2015/10/how-the-gop-became-the-occupy-congress-party/

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

 

Jerry Brown signs electronic search warrant law [CPR, 10/8/15]: Gov. Jerry Brown has rebooted his thinking on protecting personal digital information from police searches.

http://www.capradio.org/58635

 

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:

MBTA's acceptance, rejection of ads may land before Supreme Court [Boston Herald, 10/9/15]: The free-speech dispute ison court's radar.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2015/10/mbtas_acceptance_rejection_of_ads_may_land_before_supreme_court

Copyright Lesson: Guru denied copyright protection for Bikram yoga sequence of postures; brushing teeth, pushing lawnmowers, shaking Polaroids also not copyrightable [Ars Technica, 10/8/15]: Sure, DC Comics can copyright the Batmobile. However, Yoga guru Bikram Choudhury, infamous for his hot yoga, cannot copyright his popular 26-posture sequence that also contains two breathing exercises, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/10/guru-denied-copyright-protection-for-bikram-yoga-sequence-of-postures/

Read the 9^th Circuit decision:

http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2015/10/08/13-55763.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:

Despite Sweeping ‘Death-With-Dignity’ Law, Few Will Have That Option [KQED, 10/8/15]: But the law still leaves out a wide range of people who might want to be covered: people with progressive debilitating diseases that don’t have an obvious six-months-to-live prognosis and people with dementia, the fastest-growing health threat in the U.S. That’s also true of similar laws in Oregon, Washington, Montana and Vermont.

http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2015/10/08/despite-sweeping-death-with-dignity-law-few-will-have-that-option/