Posts for January 1, 2016--Happy New Year!

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.

20 California laws that go into effect in 2016 [SF Chron / Marin I-J, 1/1/16]: In total, California gets 807 new laws in 2016, covering a range of hot-button issues from gun control to vaccination to sex education in schools.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/20-California-laws-that-go-into-effect-in-2016-6730622.php

http://www.marinij.com/general-news/20151231/vaccination-mandate-among-slew-of-new-laws-in-marin-statewide-in-2016

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:

The Supreme Court Had A Landmark Year [Huff Post, 12/31/15]: Here Are Its Greatest Hits; And some sorry stumbles.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/supreme-court-2015-review_567aed1be4b06fa6887fb8d7

Why the next Supreme Court vacancy will favor liberals, no matter who retires [Wash Post, 12/31/15]: If the Supreme Court follows the election returns, as the old saying goes, the 2016 election will set the court’s path for a generation. But, “it’s very likely that that seat just stays vacant,” Ian Millhiser of the liberal Center for American Progress Action Fund told USA Today.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-the-next-supreme-court-vacancy-will-favor-liberals-no-matter-who-retires/2015/12/31/12828dce-978b-11e5-8917-653b65c809eb_story.html

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:

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

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:

A Valuable Lesson in Protected Speech [Bloomberg, 12/31/15]: Here’s the issue in a real free-speech case just decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit: Can someone be refused a teaching certification because of his otherwise protected social or political views? The answer sounds like it should be no, doesn’t it?

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-12-30/a-valuable-lesson-in-protected-speech

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: