Posts for October 23, 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:
Ed Whelan vs. George Will on
'judicial restraint'
[Volokh Conspiracy, 10/23/15]: The intellectual debate on a recent George Will
column is analyzed.
How Supreme Court Justices Check for Conflicts of
Interest [Tony Mauro in the NLJ,
10/22/15]: U.S. Supreme Court justices, aided by their staff, do their own
manual checking for potential conflicts of interest, unlike lower federal
judges who use more systematic methods that include computer software.
http://www.nationallawjournal.com/id=1202740445014/How-Supreme-Court-Justices-Check-for-Conflicts-of-Interest?cmp=share_twitter&slreturn=20150923120334
http://www.nationallawjournal.com/id=1202740445014/How-Supreme-Court-Justices-Check-for-Conflicts-of-Interest?cmp=share_twitter&slreturn=20150923120334
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:
Supreme Court battle on assault
weapons looms; But do bans do anything? [CSM, 10/21/15]: A federal court upheld assault weapons
bans in New York and Connecticut; But there's debate over what the laws
actually accomplish.
The
American Presidency
[TOPIC 15]
Obama vetoes defense spending bill with rare ceremony [LA Times, 10/22/15]: President Obama vetoed the 2016 defense spending bill Thursday afternoon, fulfilling his promise to block Congress’ plan to increase the budget for a war account that has evolved into a broader source of funding while leaving spending caps in place on other government programs.
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:
Clinton, back in the
Benghazi hot seat, withstands Republicans’ grilling [Politico, 10/22/15]: Hillary Rodham Clinton easily
parried barbed Republican questioning Thursday about the deaths of four
Americans in Benghazi, Libya, emerging unscathed from a high-stakes
congressional hearing with a smooth and sometimes poignant account of her role
in the event that has loomed as among her largest political liabilities.
Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)
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
Exclusive:
Obama Calls the Death Penalty “Deeply Troubling” [The Marshall Project, 10/23/15]: A
One-On-One Interview With the President
Doubts About Police Custody Fracture 9th Circuit [CNS, 10/22/15]: The
case of a then-16-year-old high school student who confessed to killing his
daughter at the end of a four-hour police interrogation has cracked a rift
among Ninth Circuit judges over when police custody actually begins.
Prosecuting Online Threats After Elonis [Northwestern
Univ. Law Rev., 10/20/15]: The decision left
lower courts to face a seemingly broad decision between the two remaining
options: whether to require the government to prove defendants threatening
individuals online were reckless regarding their choice of
words, or whether they specifically intended their words be
interpreted as threats.
ACLU sues Mississippi
city over 'debtors' prisons' [Jurist, 10/22/15]: The plaintiffs were arrested for failing to pay traffic
fines and held in jail for up to seven days without a hearing and were not
informed of their right to counsel.
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:
'Minion of Satan' asks to give
invocation in Lake
[Orlando Sentinel, 10/22/15]: A South Florida man who describes himself as a
'minion of Satan' has requested to give a satanic invocation before a Lake
County Commission meeting.
Mormons
Say Duty to Law on Same-Sex Marriage Trumps Faith [NY
Times, 10/22/15]: Despite
its deep opposition to same-sex
marriage, the Mormon Church is setting itself apart from religious conservatives
who rallied behind a Kentucky county clerk, Kim Davis, who cited her religious
beliefs as justification for refusing to grant marriage licenses to same-sex
couples.
Indiana district responds to parents’ suit claiming
it improperly allowed coach led prayers before athletic events [NSBA Legal Clips, 10/16/15]: River Forest Community School Corporation and a number
of current and former coaches have responded to a suit filed by Jim and
Nichole Bellar, on behalf of their son identified in the suit as J.B., claiming
the parents are attempting to bypass the administrative process in place to
address their objections to prayers before school events.
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:
Report calls for big
changes in educating state’s English learners [EdSource, 10/22/15]: Researchers studying a group of
California school districts are highly critical of the state’s system for
providing services to English language learners in a report released this
week.
America's richest (and poorest) school districts [USA Today, 10/1/15]: Many
factors determine the quality of education in a particular state, including
federal, state, and local funding levels, the curriculum, and teacher and staff
quality. A district's wealth, however, is often a very good indicator of how
well the area's students are likely to perform.
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