Posts for December 3, 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:

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 Price We Pay for Liberty? [Slate, 12/2/15]: America must not value the liberty to own a gun over the liberty to live free from violence.

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

The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]

Obama's Resigned Anger After San Bernardino [The Atlantic / Politico, 12/2/15]:  The president holds a mirror up to America, and finds the U.S. exceptional in grotesque ways.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/12/obama-san-berardino-mass-shootings-american-exceptionalism/418533/

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/san-bernardino-mass-shooting-barack-obama-216357

White House Rejects Pentagon Plan to Close Guantanamo as Too Costly [WJ, 12/1/15]: President Barack Obama asks for revised blueprint for building detainee facility in U.S. as time runs down on one of his longtime priorities

http://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-rejects-pentagon-plan-to-close-guantanamo-as-too-costly-1449016628

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:

Three’s Company [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 12/3/15]: Who will join the Democrat and Republican on 2016’s presidential ballot?

http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/threes-company/

House 2016: Finally, a New Map in Florida [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 12/3/15]: Democrats positioned but not guaranteed to net an extra seat or more from the Sunshine State

http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/house-2016-finally-a-new-map-in-florida/

Clinton makes gun control a defining cause [Politico / The Hill, 12/2/15]: Eight years after shying away from the firearms issue, the Democratic front-runner takes a more forceful stance. 

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/hillary-clinton-gun-control-san-bernardino-216372

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/261834-clinton-on-san-bernardino-shooting-i-refuse-to-accept-this-as

Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)

As San Bernardino Shooting Unfolds, Reid Pushes Guns Measure [Roll Call, 12/2/15]: As details from a mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., were still emerging Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid was laying the groundwork for at least a narrow debate over gun control.

http://blogs.rollcall.com/wgdb/as-california-shooting-unfolds-reid-pushes-guns-amendment/?dcz=

House approves bill revising No Child Left Behind [Jurist, 12/3/15]: The Student Success Act would revise the controversial 2001 No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and remove the accountability measures for standardized test scores that had been set by the federal government.

http://jurist.org/paperchase/2015/12/house-passes-bill-revising-no-child-left-behind.php

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

The San Bernardino shooting is the second mass shooting today and the 355th this year [Wash Post, 12/2/15]: This is at least the third mass shooting since the rampage in Colorado Springs last Friday. An interesting definition about what constitutes a “mass shooting.” Worthy of a class discussion.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/12/02/the-san-bernardino-mass-shooting-is-the-second-today-and-the-355th-this-year/

Some thoughts on “Restorative Justice” [Jim Gerl’s Special Ed Law Blog, 11/24/15]: Students may be interested in this concept. It is mentioned, albeit quite briefly, in TOPIC 28.2 of the Con Law student text.

http://specialeducationlawblog.blogspot.com/2015/11/lessons-from-cadre-symposium-part-iv.html

How Judicial Elections Impact Criminal Cases [Brennan Ctr. for Justice, 12/2/15]: State courts adjudicate the vast majority of criminal cases. Nearly all felony convictions— 94 percent — occur in state courts, including 99 percent of rape cases and 98 percent of murder cases. The arbiters of these cases, state court judges, are mainly elected. Nationwide, 87 percent of state judges face elections, which occur in 39 states.

https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/publications/How_Judicial_Elections_Impact_Criminal_Cases.pdf

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:

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:

Education Department Faults Illinois School District for Excluding Transgender Girl from Locker Room Changing Area [Justia, 12/3/15]: Professor Colb comments on a finding by the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights that an Illinois school district had violated anti-discrimination laws by barring a transgender girl from showering and changing in the girls’ locker room without restrictions. 

https://verdict.justia.com/2015/12/03/education-department-faults-illinois-school-district-for-excluding-transgender-girl-from-locker-room-changing-area