Posts for December 30, 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.

A year of change: The top five education stories of 2015 [EdSource, 12/30/15]: EdSource's top stories of the year. They include a robust economy that added billions of dollars to boost per-pupil funding, a new statewide assessment, passage of a new federal education law guiding K-12 schools, and two new California laws, one that requires students to be vaccinated and one that allows high school students who failed the exit exam to get their diplomas.

http://edsource.org/2015/a-year-of-change-the-top-five-education-stories-of-2015/92540

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:

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:

Republican Pataki drops 2016 presidential bid [Reuters, 12/30/15]: His withdrawal is likely to have little impact on the Republican race, which still has 12 candidates. Billionaire businessman Donald Trump leads the field ahead of the opening contest on Feb. 1 in Iowa. Pataki has vowed not to support Trump if he is the Republican nominee for the November 2016 election, saying the real estate magnate is unfit to be president.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-pataki-idUSKBN0UC1T320151230

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

San Quentin: Inside California's death row [SJ Merc / SF Chron, 12/29/15]: A dozen years ago, state prison officials opened up this infamous death row for a tour to demonstrate the crumbling, overcrowded cells housing the 600 killers then awaiting execution. Puddles of water sat on the cold, dank floors, as California leaders worried that the nation's largest death row would run out of space. On Tuesday, prison officials unlocked death row for media inspection once again -- and it seemed time had stopped.

http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_29323310/inside-californias-death-row

http://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/A-look-at-the-hard-life-inside-San-Quentin-s-6727171.php

Some of Our Best Work of 2015 [The Marshall Report, 12/30/15]: Happy New Year from The Marshall Project.

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/12/29/some-of-our-best-work-of-2015?ref=hp-1-121#.JGG1dDzsy

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:

2015: The Year in Review, including “the best of” [Concurring Opinions, 12/30/15]: This is the 50th FAN post for 2015. Others are listed by month. Also listed are some highlights of the past year along with a few “best ofs” of 2015:

http://concurringopinions.com/archives/2015/12/fan-91-first-amendment-news-2015-the-year-in-review-including-the-best-of.html

Those Demanding Free Speech Limits to Fight ISIS Pose a Greater Threat to U.S. Than ISIS [The Intercept, 12/29/15]: In 2006 – years before ISIS replaced Al Qaeda as the New and Unprecedentedly Evil Villain – Newt Gingrich gave a speech in New Hampshire in which, as he put it afterward, he “called for a serious debate about the First Amendment and how terrorists are abusing our rights–using them as they once used passenger jets–to threaten and kill Americans.”

https://theintercept.com/2015/12/29/those-demanding-free-speech-limits-to-fight-isis-pose-a-greater-threat-to-u-s-than-isis/

Oyama v. Univ. of Hawaii [Ca;.App.blog, 12/29/15]: “But seriously. Just learn to keep your mouth shut. Sometimes discretion is an important part of getting what you want.” This 9^th circuit decision went against the student who asserted that his free speech rights were violated.

http://calapp.blogspot.com/2015/12/oyama-v-university-of-hawaii-9th-cir.html

http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2015/12/29/13-16524.pdf

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:

Transgender Protections Spur Suit in Virginia [CNS, 12/29/15]: Worried that he will get suspended for confronting transgender students in the boys' bathroom, a Virginia teenager has taken his school board to court for barring sexual-orientation and gender-identity discrimination.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2015/12/29/transgender-protections-spur-suit-in-virginia.htm