Monday, November 30, 2015

Posts for November 30, 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.

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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:

In Scalia lecture, Kagan discusses statutory interpretation [Harvard Law Today, 11/25/15]: On Nov. 17, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Elena Kagan, former dean of Harvard Law School, discussed statutory interpretation in a conversation with Professor John Manning as part of the Scalia lecture series at Harvard Law School.
You can view it on YouTube:

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:

Argument preview: States' legal immunity at stake [SCOTUS blog, 11/30/15]: One of the constitutional puzzles that never seems to get decided once and for all is how much sovereignty the states kept when they became part of the Union.  One of the true hallmarks of a sovereign is that it cannot be sued without its consent.  A California state agency, supported by most of the other states, is trying to persuade the Supreme Court to immunize states from being haled into other states’ courts, against their will.

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


The Execution of Joseph Wood [CBS 60 Minutes, 11/29/15]: An execution of a man in Arizona with a new cocktail of drugs was supposed to take about 10 minutes; It took almost two hours, the longest execution in U.S. history. View the 60 Minutes segment:

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:


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:

Supreme Court should learn from Prop. 209 mistake [Fresno Bee editorial, 11/20/15]: It has been nearly 20 years since California voters banned affirmative action in college admissions. Campus diversity here has never recovered from the chain saw that was Proposition 209.

When the mother is a soldier [USA Today, 11/27/15]: Supreme Court needs to correct a 1950 ruling resulting in military gender discrimination.

International Law, Citizenship and Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]


Gay marriage is legal but not on tribal lands [AP, 11/27/15]: Cleo Pablo married her longtime partner when gay weddings became legal in Arizona and looked forward to the day when her wife and their children could move into her home in the small Native American community outside Phoenix where she grew up. American Indian reservations are not bound by the decision and many continue to forbid gay marriages and deny insurance and other benefits.


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