Posts for December 1, 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:

Both parties agree: 'We are one justice away.’ [MSNBC, 11/30/15]: MSNBC’s Irin Carmon explained late last week that Republicans, arguably more than Democrats, are acting as if the Supreme Court itself is “essentially on the ballot.”

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/both-parties-agree-we-are-one-justice-away

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:

Texas Warns of Suit for Aiding Syrian Refugees [CNS, 11/30/15]: Texas has threatened to kill funding and sue social services organizations if they defy Gov. Greg Abbott's refusal to accept Syrian refugees -- an order Abbott issued without the legal power to do so.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2015/11/30/texas-warns-of-suit-for-aiding-syrian-refugees.htm

The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]

How Obama learned from 'a mess' of a climate deal to forge a new agreement in Paris [LA Times, 11/30/15]: Hoping to salvage a faltering international climate deal, President Obama’s team roamed the halls of a Copenhagen convention center in 2009 “hunting for the Chinese,” as then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently put it. 

http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-climate-leaders-lessons-learned-20151130-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:

The Angry Americans [Justia, 11/30/15]: Professor Margulies calls on us to reflect on the intensifying attacks in the United States against Islam and against the Black Lives Matter movement. Margulies argues that the attacks derive from a common source and that much can be learned from examining them together.

https://verdict.justia.com/2015/11/30/the-angry-americans

GOP donors wrestle with possibility of Trump nomination [The Hill, 11/30/15]: When asked who he would vote for if the presidential race comes down to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the former mayor of Los Angeles and a longtime Republican establishment figure, Dick Riordan, says: "I would probably go find a deserted island." 

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/261227-gop-donors-wrestle-with-possibility-of-trump-nominationhttp://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/261227-gop-donors-wrestle-with-possibility-of-trump-nomination

Next Chance To Gut Campaign Finance Law Heads For Supreme Court [Huff Post, 11/30/15]:The ban on 'soft money' donations to state parties is on the line.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/campaign-finance-supreme-court-soft-money_565ca969e4b079b2818b3c57

Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)

Seven Years in the Waiting: A Bill to Reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act [EdLawProfs Blog, 12/1/15]: Well, I suppose that the day on which we are technically waiting is the day the President affixes his signature to a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, but we have not even seen legislative language that had a chance of getting to the President's desk since No Child Left Behind was first passed in 2001.

http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/education_law/2015/12/seven-years-in-the-waiting-a-bill-to-reauthorize-the-elementary-and-secondary-education-act.html

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

Confusion Abounds in Supreme Court Arguments [CNS, 12/1/15]: The confusion that plagued a jury in a computer hacking trial has followed the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where hypotheticals and technical questions abounded during oral argument Monday.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2015/12/01/confusion-abounds-in-supreme-court-arguments.htm

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:

'Vulgar is not violent' -- Posner enjoins sheriff in online classified advertising case [Concurring Opinions, 11/30/15]: Judge Richard Posner was again at his best in Backpage.com v. Dart. It took him but seventeen days after oral argument in the case (to say he was forceful would be an understatement ) to issue his opinion for the Court.

http://concurringopinions.com/archives/2015/11/fan-86-2-first-amendment-news-vulgar-is-not-violent-posner-enjoins-sheriff-in-online-classified-advertising-case.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:

Color Blind Constitution [Slate, 11/30/15]: A half-century after Brown v. Board, should the Supreme Court still be in the business of integrating public schools and universities?

http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/amicus/2015/11/how_the_supreme_court_debate_about_affirmative_action_stretches_all_the.html

How Long Must an Employee Endure Discrimination? [Slate, 12/1/15]: Chief Justice John Roberts is a surprise working-class hero.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/supreme_court_dispatches/2015/12/supreme_court_hears_green_constructive_discharge_racism_case.html

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

More Secret Law [Concurring Opinions, 12/1/15]: Last Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit released a decision furthering insulating from public disclosure and accountability, the secret law governing the government’s targeted killing program.

http://concurringopinions.com/archives/2015/12/103103.html