Monday, January 18, 2016


Posts for January 18, 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 (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:

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:

Appeals court reins in judge in Sagebrush Rebellion case [SF Chron, 1/17/16]: Criticism of the government’s management of federal lands in the West isn’t limited to the Sagebrush Rebellion — the Nevada rancher who has refused to pay cattle grazing fees, and his kinfolk leading an armed occupation of a wildlife refuge in Oregon. There’s also a federal judge who has ruled that ranchers with nearby water rights can graze their cattle on federal land without a permit.

The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]

Giving Obama His Due [NY Times, 1/15/16]: On policy Obama has been a remarkable doer. But on the mastery of changing hearts and minds, the “ability to astonish and inspire,” he falls short. His presidency, as of now, has not been transformational.

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 establishment hoping strong rival to Trump, Cruz emerges [SF Chron, 11/18/16]: After months of predicting a comeback for their preferred candidates, Republican establishment leaders now concede the first two contests of the presidential race, in Iowa and New Hampshire early next month, are Donald Trump’s and Ted Cruz’s to lose.
http://www.sfchronicle.com/nation/article/GOP-establishment-hoping-strong-rival-to-Trump-6765892.php?t=a65f147ce4

Cruz first drew conservative attention at Supreme Court [San Antonio Express-News, 1/17/16]: Conservative traits shown as young solicitor general.

New issue in Trump-Cruz battle: John Roberts [USA Today, 1/17/16]: Trump is now attacking the Texas senator for endorsing the 2005 confirmation of Roberts. even though Cruz has renounced his support of the chief justice in the wake of two cases upholding President Obama's health care law.

Why Democrats Should Stop Dabbling With Bernie [CalBuzz, 1/18/16]:  The Democrats who are pushing Bernie Sanders are dangerously naïve. Because Sanders has a shot at beating Hillary Clinton in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, and because some polls show him running better against the GOP candidates than she does, they imagine he could actually win the White House.

Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)




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


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:

Decades Since His Death, MLK’s Shadow Still Shapes Today’s Activism [NPR, 1/17/16]:  The country remembers the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday. More than four decades after his death, many people see the Black Lives Matter movement as the modern incarnation of the drive for human dignity and legal standing that Dr. King embodied.

Case Could Widen Free-Speech Gap Between Unions and Corporations [NY Times “Sidebar,” 1/18/16]:  The Citizens United decision, which amplified the role of money in American politics, also promised something like a level playing field. Both corporations and unions, it said, could spend what they liked to support their favored candidates. But last week’s arguments in a major challenge to public unions illuminated a gap in the Supreme Court’s treatment of capital and labor. The court has long allowed workers to refuse to finance unions’ political activities. But shareholders have no comparable right to refuse to pay for corporate political speech.

International Law, Citizenship and Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]


Kosovo war crimes court to be established in The Hague [Jurist, 1/17/16]: The Dutch government on Friday announced the establishment of a special court being set up in The Hague to investigate and try alleged war crimes committed by ethnic Albanian rebels during and after Kosovo's 1998-99 guerilla war. 

No comments:

Post a Comment