Posts for November 3, 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:

A 'view' from the Courtroom: Let's do the Time Warp again [SCOTUS blog, 11/2/15]: The Supreme Court is usually a stickler for time. The Justices take the bench promptly at 10 a.m. on Court days. White and red lights on the lectern alert arguing counsel when they have five minutes left and when their time is up, respectively. And clocks around the building buzz from time to time, such as the five-minute warning before a Court session starts and after the Justices have left the bench.

http://www.scotusblog.com/2015/11/a-view-from-the-courtroom-lets-do-the-time-warp-again/

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:

The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]

Obama: Republicans who say they can handle Putin can't handle CNBC [Reuters, 11/2/15]: President Barack Obama poked fun at Republican presidential candidates on Monday for promising that they could stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin when they couldn't "handle" the moderators from last week's debate on cable network CNBC.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/03/us-usa-politics-obama-republicans-idUSKCN0SS05P20151103?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews#dgSv7TaKjgRe8wil.97

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:

Bay Area lawmaker wants to legalize ‘ballot selfies’ [CC Times, 11/2/15]: A Bay Area lawmaker will introduce a bill making it legal for Californians to take “selfies” of their voting ballots and post them on social media. 

http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2015/11/02/bay-area-lawmaker-wants-to-legalize-ballot-selfies/

GOP debate talks in disarray as consensus collapses [Politico, 11/3/15]: A day after roughly a dozen Republican presidential campaigns came together in a show of force Sunday night to protest the debate process, their fragile consensus collapsed on Monday, with a number of candidates refusing to sign on to a group letter intended to compel TV networks to bow to their demands.

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/chris-christie-debate-complaints-215432

Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)

Drive Begins to Legalize Recreational Pot in California [CNS, 11/3/15]: A former board member of the California Medical Association is spearheading an initiative effort to legalize recreational marijuana and create a 15 percent tax on retail sales of pot.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2015/11/03/drive-begins-to-legalize-recreational-pot-in-california.htm

Brown consistent with legislation he signs and vetoes [EdSource, 11/2/15]: In the education bills that he vetoed last month, Gov. Jerry Brown made his “don’t” priorities clear to legislators: Don’t tamper with the Local Control Funding Formula; don’t mess with charter schools; don’t create new state mandates; don’t push new spending; and don’t create new state commissions and agencies to examine the limited state data that he does allow.

http://edsource.org/2015/brown-consistent-with-bills-he-signs-vetoes-protects-charters-lcff-local-control/89581

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

Supreme Court Weighs 1987 Conviction By All-White Jury [NPR’s “A;; Things Considered” with Nina Totenberg, 11/2/15]: Jury selection, in the end, boils down to how prosecution and defense lawyers use their so-called peremptory strikes. These are the set number of prospective jurors who can be eliminated by each side without any stated reason.

http://www.npr.org/2015/11/02/454051704/supreme-court-weighs-1987-conviction-by-all-white-jury

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:

H.S. Football Coach Placed on Paid Leave After Praying on Field [Schooled in Sports blog, 11/2/15]: In September, the Bremerton (Washington) district learned assistant coach Joe Kennedy, the assistant coach for Bremerton High School, was leading prayers with students on school property. Superintendent Aaron Leavell intervened, allowing Kennedy to continue on in his role as assistant football coach so long as he stopped leading prayers with students. Now he has been put on administrative leave.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/schooled_in_sports/2015/11/hs_football_coach_placed_on_paid_leave_after_praying_on_field.html

Supreme Court Landmark Case Schenck v. U.S. [C-Span, 11/2/15]: Beverly Gage and Thomas Goldstein talked about the 1919 case Schenck v. U.S., in which the Court unanimously ruled that the Espionage Act of 1917 was constitutional, even when used to punish speech that would be permissible in times of peace, establishing that the First Amendment was not absolute.

http://www.c-span.org/video/?327714-1/supreme-court-landmark-case-schenck-v-united-states

Who Pays the Price for the First Amendment? [The Atlantic, 11/2/15]: The Constitution protects the hateful speech, but the burdens of such speech are unequally distributed.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/11/first-amendment-troubling-shadow/413611/

Justice Kennedy Invokes Time-Honored First Amendment Doctrine [Newseum, 11/3/15]: Another in the periodic Newseum Institute series about U.S. Supreme Court justices and their memorable comments on our First Amendment freedoms.

http://www.newseuminstitute.org/2015/11/03/justice-kennedy-invokes-time-honored-first-amendment-doctrine/

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: