Posts for October 22, 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:

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:

Constitution Check: Are driver's licenses the answer to voter ID laws? [Constitution Daily, 10/22/15]: Lyle Denniston, the National Constitution Center’s constitutional literacy expert, looks at the debate in two states about the role of the driver’s license as a ticket to the right to vote.

http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2015/10/constitution-check-are-drivers-licenses-the-answer-to-voter-id-laws/

Joe Biden decides against presidential bid, a big boost to Hillary Clinton [Politico, 10/21/15]: Biden’s announcement, with both his wife, Jill, and President Obama at his side, signals the approaching end of a four-decade career in elected office and a quest for the presidency that stretched for more than a generation.

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/10/biden-215013

Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)

Ryan wins GOP hard-liners’ backing for speaker of the House [McClatchy, 10/21/15]: The conditions have been laid out and the dates have been set. Now that Rep. Paul Ryan has spelled out his terms to run for House speaker, what will his Republican colleagues do? 

http://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article40790541.html

Gripping power for the long term? [CalMatters, 10/21/15]:  Changes to legislative term limits approved by voters three years ago have now taken hold, creating the potential for a period of stability unseen since Willie Brown – the self-proclaimed “ayatollah of the Assembly” – left the speaker’s office in 1995. In the 20 years before that, California had just two assembly speakers. In the 20 years since, there have been 11.

http://calmatters.org/articles/gripping-power-for-the-long-term/

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

A Conversation About Criminal Justice with President Obama [The Marshall Project, 10/22/15]: Editor-in-Chief Bill Keller moderates a White House talk with law enforcement leaders.

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/10/22/watch-president-obama-and-the-marshall-project-in-a-conversation-today-about-criminal-justice?ref=hp-1-100

The Soft Evidence Behind the Hard Rhetoric of 'Deterrence' [NY Times Sunday Mag, 10/22/15]: In early November, the Supreme Court will hear Timothy Foster’s appeal, to address whether he should have a new trial because racial bias infected the selection of jurors — and ultimately their decision to vote for execution. Itinvolves the application of the rule from Batson v. Kentucky.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/25/magazine/the-soft-evidence-behind-the-hard-rhetoric-of-deterrence.html?_r=0

The case is Foster v. Chatman:

http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/foster-v-humphrey/

The secret US prisons you've never heard of before [TED Talk by Will Potter, 10/21/15} Investigative journalist Will Potter is the only reporter who has been inside a Communications Management Unit, or CMU, within a US prison.

http://willpotter.com/cmu/

Oral Argument in Hurst v. Florida: Old Divisions, Fraying Alliances? [National Rev., 10/21/15]: Last Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments (audio here) in Hurst v. Florida, a case challenging Florida’s application of the death penalty for brutal murder. 

http://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/425884/oral-argument-hurst-v-florida-old-divisions-fraying-alliances-jonathan-keim

Listen to the audio:

http://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/425884/oral-argument-hurst-v-florida-old-divisions-fraying-alliances-jonathan-keim

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:

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: