Posts for December 29, 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.

The Worst Civil Liberties Betrayals of 2015 [Slate, 12/28/15]: These 10 problems make us less safe and less free.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2015/12/these_are_the_top_10_betrayals_of_civil_liberties_in_2015.single.html

Billionaire’s $50 million contest aims to modernize high schools [SF Chron, 12/28/15]: A national contest with a $50 million prize pool and a billionaire backer has spurred teams across the country to reinvent the American high school, overhauling an antiquated model that hasn’t changed in 100 years.

http://www.sfchronicle.com/education/article/Billionaire-s-50-million-contest-aims-to-6724570.php

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:

U.S. opposes new role for Puerto Rico [SCOTUS blog, 12/26/15]: The Obama administration, relying on legal precedents going back more than a century, has urged the Supreme Court to rule that Puerto Rico remains a dependent U.S. territory and does not govern itself as an independent “sovereign.”  It thus challenged the island commonwealth’s claim that since 1952 it has had the status of a self-governing entity with its people free to have their own legislature write the island’s own laws, including criminal laws.

http://www.scotusblog.com/2015/12/u-s-opposes-new-role-for-puerto-rico/

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]

Pentagon thwarts Obama's effort to close Guantanamo [Reuters, 12/28/15]: Pentagon delays, he said, resulted in four Afghan detainees spending an additional four years in Guantanamo after being approved for transfer. In other cases, the transfers of six prisoners to Uruguay, five to Kazakhstan, one to Mauritania and one to Britain were delayed for months or years by Pentagon resistance or inaction, officials said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-gitmo-release-idUSL1N14H0PP20151228

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:

History in Red and Blue (and Green and Purple) [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 12/18/15]: The evolution of the Electoral College from 1824-2012. Simple maps can teach a lot. Sabato’s analysis highlights the use of Dave Leip’s superb “Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.” Check it out. 

http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/history-in-red-and-blue-and-green-and-purple/

Massive trove of US voter data discovered on Web [C|Net, 12/28/15]:  More than 191 million voter records, including personal information and voting activity, have been exposed. It's not clear who owns the server.

http://www.cnet.com/news/massive-trove-of-voters-election-data-discovered-on-web/

Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)

Politically, 2015 is a wrap — almost [Capitol Weekly, 12/28/15]: It was, as always, a mixture of hope and disappointment, deals made and unmade, the bizarre and the mundane. For the Capitol community, 2015 was also a year of anticipation. 

http://capitolweekly.net/year-2015-political-hope-disappointment/

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

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:

High school principal and yearbook editor battling over right to publish teen pregnancy photos [SPLC, 12/28/15]: The Mount Vernon High School’s principal in Virginia has halted the publication of a yearbook spread on teen pregnancy — and has blocked students from appealing her decision.

http://www.splc.org/article/2015/12/high-school-yearbook-pregnancy

These plaintiffs argue derogatory words can't hurt them [ABA Journ., 1/1/16]: In this most disputatious of eras, maybe it’s time to look at the subject of derogatory words. Some see anger at their use as political correctness; others see acceptance of them as abusive and insulting. And then there are those who take those insults and embrace them.

http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/these_plaintiffs_argue_derogatory_words_cant_hurt_them

Appealing and Unappealing Peeling: Two Takes on Nudity [Jurist, 12/29/15]: Professors Grossman and Friedman comment on the changing attitudes toward nudity over time in the United States from a social and legal standpoint.

https://verdict.justia.com/2015/12/29/appealing-and-unappealing-peeling-two-takes-on-nudity

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:

Nonunion teachers seek relief from paying fees for collective bargaining [Mark Walsh in the ABA Journ., 1/1/16]: or more than 40 years, the power of public employee unions has been built in part on money paid by those who refuse to join the union but are still represented as part of the bargaining unit. In 23 states, those state and local government workers—teachers, law enforcement officers, firefighters and others—who decline to become members of the union must pay fees that cover the costs of collective bargaining.

http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/nonunion_teachers_seek_relief_from_paying_fees_for_collective_bargaining