Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Posts for November 24, 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.

California Schools Suspending Fewer Students [CPR, 11/23/15]: Student suspension rates in California school districts are falling – and a new study suggests that schools issuing fewer suspensions see stronger student achievement. 

There’s more to a ‘growth mindset’ than assuming you have it [EdSource, 11/23/15]: Stanford University psychology professor Carol Dweck coined the phrase “growth mindset” as the belief that you can develop your abilities, and then watched as the term took hold as a meme for motivation on playgrounds and in classrooms across America. 

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:

Constitution Check: Why all the interest in Article III 'standing'? [Constitution Daily, 11/24/15]: Lyle Denniston, the National Constitution Center’s constitutional literacy adviser, says the Supreme Court has already agreed to review three cases involving significant questions of standing to sue, and more are on the way.

Redistricting case brings partisan politics, immigration and federalism before SCOTUS [ABA Journal, Dec. 2015]: Mark Walsh writes about the various issues in these cases.

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:

Federal court rules Wisconsin abortion law unconstitutional [AP, 11/23/15]:  A Wisconsin law that requires abortion providers to get admitting privileges at nearby hospitals is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court panel ruled Monday.

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:

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


70 Years for an $80 Robbery Overturned [Trial Insider, 11/20/15]: A jury convicted Darryl Shirley of burglarizing an unoccupied house and grabbing $80 from a Subway sandwich shop’s cash register in 2005. No weapons were used and no one got hurt, but it wasn’t Shirley’s first offense.

U.S. Supreme Court will hear Kansas sex offender case [KC Star, 11/23/15]: Convicted sex offenders Lester Ray Nichols and Robert Dean Lunsford share a similar, sordid past. But it’s where the stories of the two men diverge that has drawn the scrutiny of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Police Get 'Super Powers' From High Court [Jost on Justice, 11/22/15]: Jost summarizes the trend over the past two decades.

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:

Former porn star loses appeal in PB school lawsuit [South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 11/24/15]: A former porn star turned math tutor didn't have a free speech right to hang a sign advertising his tutoring business, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.
Read the 11th Circuit opinion in Mech v. School Board of Palm Beach County, Florida at:

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:

FBI Must Release Files on Its Muslim Spying [CNS, 11/23/15]: U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg in March ordered the FBI to disclose thousands of files on its domestic spying program, finding the bureau improperly invoked a law enforcement exemption to withhold requested records.

Supreme Court ruling could spark more unintentional-discrimination cases [ABA Journ., Dec. 2015]: A recent U.S. Supreme Court opinion that addressed unconscious discrimination in a low-income housing case could have far-reaching effects on future civil rights and criminal cases involving implicit bias. (The case is summarized in the latest edition of our Con Law student text.)
The decision in Texas Dept. of Housing can be found at:

Mt. Diablo school district argues that former teacher Joseph Martin did not abuse kids [CC Times, 11/24/15]: s former Woodside Elementary School teacher Joseph Martin sits in a Central Valley cell serving a 12-year prison sentence for molesting seven boys, his former school district is denying that any abuse occurred as part of a surprising strategy to fight civil lawsuits filed against it on behalf of the students.

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