Sunday, December 6, 2015

Posts for December 6, 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:

The American Disconnection with the Supreme Court [Brown Political Review, 12/4/15]: “In a 2015 Gallup poll, only 19 percent of respondents said they believe that abortion should be illegal in all circumstances,….”

Showdown': A look at Thurgood Marshall's historic rise to the Supreme Court [Pitts. Post-Gazette, 12/6/15]: An interesting book review.

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:

D.C. Notes: U.S. Supreme Court case pits Oklahoma AG against state's Five Tribes [The Oklahoman, 12/6/15]: Oklahoma's largest Indian tribes are squaring off against state Attorney General Scott Pruitt in a U.S. Supreme Court case that could be a major test of tribal sovereignty.

California's strict gun laws failed to stop mass shooting [AP, 12/5/15]: The deadly shooting in San Bernardino happened in a state with some of the nation's toughest gun laws: California bars assault weapons, blocks the sale of large-capacity magazines and requires universal background checks for all gun purchases. 

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:

GOP candidates leaving Democratic-leaning California [SF Chron, 12/5/15]: When Orange County’s Neel Kashkari, who lost the 2014 governor’s race to Democrat Jerry Brown, said last month he was heading to Minneapolis to take a top job with the Federal Reserve, he joined a list of Republicans who packed their bags rather than making another run for office in California. 

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


US can't access NSA phone records in California terror case [AP, 12/5/15]: Instead, under the new USA Freedom Act, authorities were able to obtain roughly two years' worth of calling records directly from the phone companies of the married couple blamed in the attack. The period covered the entire time that the wife, Tashfeen Malik, lived in the United States, although her husband, Syed Farook, had been here much longer. 

The Death Penalty in Texas and a Conflict of Interest [The New Yorker, 12/3/15]: Robert L. Roberson III was convicted in 2003, in Anderson County, Texas, of murdering his two-year-old daughter. In determining his punishment, the difference between a death sentence and one of life in prison hinged on the demonstration of what Texas law calls a “sufficient mitigating circumstance,” such as a mental illness or impairment.

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:

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