Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Posts for December 9, 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:

Yes, the Justices Read the Headlines [Bloomberg View, 12/8/15]: The court’s actions -- refusing to hear the gun challenge while considering affirmative action -- are case studies of judicial timing that raise a broader question: How is the court influenced by day-to-day headlines and current events? The answer turns out to be more complicated, and more interesting, than you might think.

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:

An Opening for States to Restrict Guns [NY Times’ editorial, 12/9/15]: To listen to the insistent harangues of many gun-rights advocates, one might imagine that the Second Amendment prohibits almost any regulation of firearms.

Constitution Check: Can guns used in mass shootings be banned? [Constitution Daily, 12/8/15]: Lyle Denniston, the National Constitution Center’s constitutional literacy adviser, analyzes the Supreme Court’s refusal to take a case about banning assault weapons.

Mixed Record in Sacramento on Gun Control Laws; New Calls For Further Limits [KQED, 12/9/15]: The Golden State is known for having the strongest gun restrictions in the nation — but efforts in the state Capitol to push those laws even further in recent years have ended with mixed results. 

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:

Supreme Court Hears Arguments Testing 'One Person, One Vote' [Nina Totenberg on NPY, 12/8/15]: The U.S. Supreme Court once again is weighing into a fraught elections case — a case with enormous potential political repercussions. At issue is the meaning of the "one person, one vote" principle.

Argument analysis: The choice -- be bold or practical [SCOTUS blog / Slate, 12/8/15]: The Supreme Court does not shy away from being bold, at least some of the time, but sometimes the temptation is overcome by real-world practicality. That’s the way the Court seemed to be leaning on Tuesday when it considered throwing out the basis for drawing election districts for thousands of state and local legislative seats across the country, and starting over with a new standard. The problem: no one had a solid idea of how to make an alternative approach actually work.

Politics Are Dominating The Supreme Court This Week [Huff Post, 12/8/15]: That's Not Good; If a majority of the justices get their way, the rules of the democratic process could get tougher than ever before.

Trump's Anti-Muslim Plan Is Awful. And Constitutional. [NY Times, 12/9/15]: Would such a proposal be constitutional? The answer is not what you might think — but it also raises the issue of what, exactly, we mean when we say something is “constitutional” in the first place.

The Republican Candidates Show Their Weakness as They Try to Look Strong [Justia, 12/9/15]: Professor Buchanan argues that the Republican presidential candidates fear doing anything risky or unpleasant, such as criticizing the extreme views of Donald Trump or failing to enact meaningful gun control reform.

Republicans condemn Trump but won't rule out backing him if he becomes the nominee [Politico, 12/8/15]: Facing a hail of criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike, Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated his call for a religious test barring Muslims from entering the United States as a way, in his view, to prevent future terrorist attacks.

Ted Cruz Brings Climate Skeptics to the Hill [CNS, 12/8/15]: As world leaders grapple with the threat of climate change in Paris, scientists skeptical of the human impact on climate change made their case to senators at a hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday.

Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)


Congress poised to bury No Child Left Behind [Oak Trib, 12/8/15]: After 13 years of Uncle Sam serving as the national superintendent of public schools, the education pendulum is about to swing back, returning control to states and local school districts.

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


U.S. response to Mohamed Mohamud's appeal sets up surveillance showdown [Portland Oregonian, 12/8/15]: Government lawyers have boldly defended a controversial surveillance law that allows U.S. agents to track phone calls from suspected foreign terrorists to Americans who communicate with them.
You can see the brief for the U.S. in U.S. v. Mohamud here:

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:

Fear and loathing in America [Newseum Op-Ed by Charlie Haynes, 12/8/15]: “Trump’s outrageous, un-American and unconstitutional proposal is the latest escalation of his ongoing campaign to demonize Islam and Muslims. He has already informed us that, if elected, he will consider closing mosques and registering American Muslims.”

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:

Diversity Makes You Brighter [Op-Ed in NY Times / CNN / NPR, 12/9/15]: This is in anticipation of todays Fisher v. Univ. of Texas oral arguments.

Promising Practices in School Integration [EdLawProfs blog, 12/8/15]: For those who missed the National Coalition on School Diversity's recent conference, "21st Century School Integration: Building the Movement for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion," the Poverty and Race Research Action Council has published a set of articles and essays that further detail the major research and practical experiences revealed at the conference.

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