Posts for October 5, 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:

The 4 Types of Supreme Court Justices [Politico, 10/4/15]: How heroes, soldiers, minimalists and mutes explain America's judicial system.

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/10/mag-supreme-court-sunstein-213198

On high court's docket: Race, labor, politics -- and abortion? [USA Today, 10/5/15]: The Supreme Court embarks on a new term Monday that would make Yogi Berra proud: It truly is déjà vu all over again. See the variety of views on the 2015 docket:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/10/04/supreme-court-race-immigration-labor-abortion/73033868/

[C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal,” 10/5/15]:

http://www.c-span.org/series/?washingtonJournal

For Court's Conservatives, New Term Starts Now [Jost on Justice, 10/2/15]: For conservatives, this may be the new season that diehard sports fans are always told to wait for.

http://jostonjustice.blogspot.com/2015/10/for-courts-conservatives-new-term.html

The New SCOTUS Term: What's Law Got to Do With It? [Dorf on Law blog, 10/5/15]: Perhaps the most important case this term, or maybe any term since Bush v. Gore, is Evenwel v. Abbott.

http://www.dorfonlaw.org/2015/10/the-new-scotus-term-whats-law-got-to-do.html

The Supreme Court's Next Landmark Cases [Bloomberg View, 10/4/15]: The court may finally prohibit government affirmative action, and it may effectively cripple unions by stripping them of the power to collect fees from nonmembers. The common thread in both cases is that precedent from the 1970s could be overturned by flipping a favorite liberal principle, one that progressives believe underpins the vary practice at issue. Affirmative action could die in the name of equality. And unions could lose in the name of free association.

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-10-04/the-supreme-court-s-next-landmark-cases

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:

Former Justice Stevens on the 2^nd Amendment [Wash Post, 4/11/14]: This is 1½ years old, but it is worth reviewing.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-five-extra-words-that-can-fix-the-second-amendment/2014/04/11/f8a19578-b8fa-11e3-96ae-f2c36d2b1245_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:

Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)

California lawmakers, activists anxiously await Gov. Jerry Brown action on legislation [CC Times, 10/4/15]: With less than a week to go before Sunday's deadline for Gov. Jerry Brown to act on a bevy of bills, lawmakers and activists are anxiously awaiting word about the fate of some of the year's highest-profile legislation. 

http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_28922070/california-lawmakers-activists-anxiously-await-gov-jerry-brown?source=rss

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

 

Dignity as an Indispensable Condition of Criminal Justice [Justia, 10/5/15]: Professor Margulies discusses the inviolable right of human dignity and its essential role as a condition of criminal justice.

https://verdict.justia.com/2015/10/05/dignity-as-an-indispensable-condition-of-criminal-justice

 

Richard Glossip and the End of the Death Penalty [The New Yorker, 9/30/15]: If the Supreme Court abolishes the death penalty soon, which Justice Antonin Scalia said, last week, that he “wouldn’t be surprised” to see, the case of Richard Glossip is likely to be a significant point of reference in accounts of how it happened.

http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/richard-glossip-and-the-end-of-the-death-penalty

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:

The Roberts Court and the Future of Free Speech [Professor Joel Gora in Concurring Opinions, 10/5/15]: “In my view, “the Roberts Court” may well be the most speech-protective Court in a generation – if not in the Nation’s history – reaffirming and expanding extraordinary protection for free speech in a variety of settings.” 

http://concurringopinions.com/archives/2015/10/joel-gora-the-roberts-court-the-future-of-free-speech.html

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:

Court dismisses “Bain v. CTA” [CTA, 9/30/15]: Read the Teacher’s Association take on this case on which we reported last week.

http://www.cta.org/en/About-CTA/News-Room/Press-Releases/2015/09/20150930_2.aspx