Posts for January 5, 2016

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:

Objections raised as courtrooms go digital [Boston Globe, 1/2/16]: In the cast of courtroom characters, they are as familiar as judges in black robes and bailiffs in uniform. Fingers fluttering on a keyboard, court reporters dutifully record every utterance, as they create the official transcripts of trials for murders, rapes, and other heinous crimes. Now, court reporters, already a dwindling guild in Massachusetts, could become the latest American workers replaced by the inexorable advancement of technology.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/01/01/courtrooms-digital-concern-that-court-reporters-may-phased-out/Z4LI3sawdbZiGhxwiwNqEO/story.html

Unions, Abortion, Obamacare: 3 Supreme Court Cases to Watch in 2016 [Reason.com, 1/4/16]: The 2015-2016 SCOTUS term heats back up.

https://reason.com/blog/2016/01/04/unions-abortion-obamacare-3-supreme-cour

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:

Christian pharmacists appeal 'conscience' case to Supreme Court [Wash Times, 1/4/16]: Christian pharmacists in Washington state asked the Supreme Court Monday to review a ruling that seeks to force them to dispense Plan B or other emergency contraceptives.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jan/4/christian-pharmacists-appeal-conscience-case-to-su/

The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]

Obama to announce expanded background checks as he aims to limit gun deaths [LA Times, 1/4/16]: President Obama will announce Tuesday that he’ll act on his own authority to expand background checks for would-be gun buyers and increase enforcement of existing laws, a culmination of his effort to curb gun violence that nonetheless falls short of sweeping change he had long sought. 

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-obama-gun-actions-20160104-story.html

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:

Elias: California takes its political back seat [SB Sun, 1/4/16]: If the history of the last 11 presidential elections means anything, by the time Californians get ready to vote in June, the outcome in both major parties will be determined by people in other places.

http://www.sbsun.com/article/20160104/LOCAL1/160109852

Donald Trump's first TV ad shows migrants 'at the southern border,' but they're actually in Morocco [PolitiFact, 1/4/16]:  In a new television ad -- his campaign’s first -- Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump shows footage of dozens of people swarming over a border fence. But the footage isn’t as it seems.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jan/04/donald-trump/donald-trumps-first-tv-ad-shows-migrants-southern-/

Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)

California Supreme Court backs advisory ballot measures [SJ Merc / Cal.App.blog, 1/4/16]: California voters might want to brace for even fatter ballot pamphlets landing at their homes in future elections. The California Supreme Court on Monday for the most part upheld the state Legislature's power to put nonbinding, advisory measures on the ballot -- allowing state politicians to essentially test the waters on issues with voters without actually enacting new laws. The justices left some questions unanswered as to how far the Legislature can go in using such measures in the future.

http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_29341777/california-supreme-court-backs-advisory-ballot-measures

http://calapp.blogspot.com/2016/01/howard-jarvis-taxpayers-assn-v-padilla.html

Fox: 2016: The Year of the Initiative [Fox & Hounds, 1/4/16]: The legislature is back in town this week but in the major policy issues department the legislature is likely to be a sideshow in what can be labeled the Year of the Initiative.

http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/2016/01/2016-the-year-of-the-initiative/

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

This Boy's Life [The Marshall Project, 1/4/16]: At 16, Taurus Buchanan threw one deadly punch -- and was sent away for life; Will the Supreme Court give him, and hundreds like him, a chance at freedom?

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2016/01/04/this-boy-s-life#.g1i7iEanu

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:

The First Amendment, the right of publicity, video games and the Supreme Court [The Volokh Conspiracy, 1/4/16]: The “right of publicity” gives people considerable exclusive control over the commercial use of their name, likeness and other identity attributes. But obviously, that control can’t be complete: To take the clearest example, no one can stop newspapers from writing accurate stories that use their names or likenesses. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2016/01/04/the-first-amendment-the-right-of-publicity-video-games-and-the-supreme-court/

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:

Get ready for Friedrichs [Legal Information Institute, 1/4/16]: Here is the preview of the case to be argued on January 11^th. Thanks to the wealth of information from the LII’s Supreme Court Bulletin.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/cert/14-915