Posts for December 17, 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:
How Well Do You Know Your U.S. Supreme Court? [From
Street Law, NCSS convention 2015]:
Constitutional
Check: Will the Supreme Court clarify birthright citizenship?
[Constitution Daily, 12/16/15]: Lyle Denniston, the National Constitution Center’s constitutional
literacy adviser, looks at a petition on its way to the Supreme about
birthright citizenship for American Samoans.
This
is a fascinating (and complicated) topic for students—and for everyone. Have
students brainstorm what “citizenship” means and what rights/obligations it
comes with. For example, in the movie and novel Starship Troopers, the society involved maintains that the rights of a full Citizen (to vote and hold public office) must be earned
through voluntary Federal service. Those who do not perform this Service retain
the rights of free speech, assembly, etc., but cannot vote or hold public
office. Worth discussing.
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:
A
do-over on D.C. gun law [SCOTUS blog, 12/16/15]: Reaching back seventy-eight years to
find a limit on the Chief Justice’s power to assign visiting judges, the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Tuesday wiped out a judge’s
ruling on the scope of gun rights under the 2md Amendment. The ruling will
require a new judge to conduct a new trial on the constitutionality of a
District of Columbia gun law.
Obama
admin. urges high court to reject marijuana lawsuit [AP, 12/16/15]: The
Justice Department's top courtroom lawyer said in a brief filed Wednesday that
the interstate dispute over a measure approved by Colorado voters in 2012 does
not belong at the high court.
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:
The Fifth Republican Debate Ends In A Nine-Way Draw [538, 12/16/15]: The Republican
debate in Las Vegas on Tuesday night had the feeling of a soccer match that
ended in a nil-nil draw. It was a tactical and defensively minded affair, full
of technically competent but predictable performances. The only candidates who
broke form were those who didn’t have much to lose.
Fact checking the debate
[NBC News, 12/16/15]::
10 Factors that will determine the next President [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 12/17/15]: Here’s a thought
experiment: What if Republicans nominated the 2012 version of Mitt Romney --
same fundraising, same baggage, same everything -- at their 2016 convention?
What sort of odds would that candidate have in 2016?
Trump’s Biggest Obstacle [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 12/17/15]: His actual level of support among likely Republican
voters is too low.
At This Point, Would Any Republican Ever Leave the
Party? [Justia, 12/17/15]: Professor
Buchanan considers whether any Republican would
ever leave the party in light of the increasingly extremist views of the
influential party leaders. Buchanan concludes that it is highly unlikely, for a
number of reasons, that even Donald Trump could drive away moderate Republicans
from the GOP in any permanent sense.
Calmatters: What happens
when a legislator quits? [CalMatters,
12/16/15]: Shortly after the new year begins, Gov. Jerry Brown will declare a
special election to fill a vacant spot in the Legislature. The election will
cost Fresno County, one of the poorest areas of the state, more than $500,000.
A small fraction of voters will likely participate, creating the potential that
the seat flips parties or the winner does not reflect a heavily Latino,
low-income population.
Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)
Greenhut: Dems quash GOP
teacher reform bills [San Diego
U-Y, 12/16/15]: California Republicans are increasingly irrelevant in the
Capitol given their small numbers and failure to champion many issues that
resonate widely.
2,200 pages, $1.8
trillion, dead of night [Politico
/ Roll Call, 12/16/15]: What’s really in the year-end tax and spending bill?
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 Best Reporting on Rape [The Marshall Project, 12/17/15]: The Marshall
Project and Pro Publica offer a selection of the most important recent
journalism on how police and society at large deal with this most invasive and
misunderstood crime.
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:
Japan high court upholds
law requiring married couples to share surname [Jurist, 12/17/15]: The
court held that the law was not discriminatory because the law allows the
couples to choose which surname to use, even though it was shown that the
majority of couples choose the husband's last name. The court found the law
reflected the deep values of society and there was no need to change it. However
the court held that another nineteenth
century law requiring a divorced woman to wait at least six months before
marriage was discriminatory and should be shortened to 100 days.
No comments:
Post a Comment