Posts for December 13, 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.
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:
My wife and I went to see
“In the Heart of the Sea,” a movie pre-saging the Moby Dick novel, based on the events of the Essex which was lost in 1820 and the resulting survivors on small
rowboats that ran afoul of an angry assertive whale. For those of you who teach
the Regina
v. Dudley and Stephens (1886) case (and/or the U.S. v. Holmes (1843) case at the beginning of the student
text), you will be intrigued by the similarities. Check it out!
Justice
Stephen Breyer On What The Court Does Behind Closed Doors, And Hamilton [NPR
podcast, 12/13/15]: One
of the members of the nation's highest court dropped by the NPR Politics
Podcast last week for a wide-ranging conversation about the inner workings of
the Supreme Court, and Washington, changing global realities and why he loved
the musical Hamilton.
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:
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:
One Person, One Vote [Slate podcast, 12/12/15]: The
Supreme Court sets its sights on the bedrock principle that has shaped electoral
maps for the past half-century.
2 Supreme Court cases to determine fate of Arizona
legislative map [Ariz. Capitol
Times, 12/11/15]: Depending on the outcome of two U.S. Supreme Court cases,
Arizona’s legislative districts could see a radical makeover in the coming
year, and either or both could spell trouble for Democrats.
Rubio Pledges To Appoint Supreme Court
Justices Who Will Overturn Marriage Equality [ThinkProgress, 12/13/15]: In the
landmark case of Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court found that same-sex marriage is a
Constitutional right protected by the 14th Amendment. Sunday on NBC’s
Meet The Press, Marco Rubio pledged, as President, to change that.
Trump,
Carson have time to toy with possible third-party runs but deadlines loom in
the spring [US News,
12/12/15]: Donald Trump and Ben
Carson could dangle the possibility of independent runs for president well into
the primary season next year. But they can't wait forever.
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
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:
What’s a Trigger Warning? [Concurring Opinions,
12/13/15]: “The public, media, and academic panic over trigger warnings
has struck me as a bizarre overreaction.”
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:
Scalia's comments on race draw ire,
but he's not alone in his concerns [CSM, 12/11/15]: Justice Scalia received a range of rebukes
for comments suggesting black students might do better at less competitive
universities, an opinion that has also been expressed by the high court's only
black justice.
Black
scientists respond to Scalia's suggestion that 'less advanced' classes are more
suitable [LA Times, 12/12/15]: Scalia's words drew a sharp rebuke from black scholars who felt stung by
the thought that they were somehow unprepared for the rigors of math and
science and that affirmative action was just code for a lack of quality.
White privilege: Has our
racial divide shifted from Jim Crow to 'microaggressions'? [SJ Merc, 12/12/15]: The election of Barack Obama was
supposed to lead America to a "post-racial society," but no such
arcadia of contented colorblindness ever materialized. That Over-Promised Land
has given way in recent weeks to protesters on college campuses across the country
insisting that all black lives matter -- not just the one in the White House.
http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_29241382/white-privilege-has-our-racial-divide-shifted-from
Affirmative Action May Be Doomed --
But It's Already a Confused Mess [Daily Beast, 12/13/15]: This week's Supreme Court arguments
cast a harsh light on the confused jurisprudence of using race as a factor in
college admissions; Forty years of compromises have created a gigantic mess.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/12/13/affirmative-action-may-be-doomed-but-it-s-already-a-confused-mess.html
International Law, Citizenship and Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]
Muslim ban? A legal
analysis [AP, 12/8/15]: There's no legal or historical precedent for closing U.S.
borders to the world's 1.6 billion Muslims, but neither is there any Supreme
Court case that clearly prevents a president or Congress from doing so.
Ashcroft Denied En Banc Stage in Abuse Case [CNS, 12/11/15]:
The landmark class action accuses Ashcroft and other high-ranking
officials in the President George W. Bush administration of endorsing the
government "dragnet" created by then-FBI chief Robert Mueller, which
led hundreds of men into abusive custody at Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC)
in Brooklyn and Passaic County Jail in New Jersey.
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