Monday, January 11, 2016

Posts for January 11, 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:

The average age of the Supreme Court is close to a record high [Wash Post blog, 1/10/16]: Now that it is an election year, it is time to play perhaps the most macabre game in Washington politics: When will the Supreme Court retire? And to answer that question, we really want to ask: How old are the justices on the Supreme Court?

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:

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:

Paul Ryan dreams of a kinder, more substantive GOP [Politico, 1/10/16]: As presidential hopefuls slug it out in a nasty primary, the speaker is trying to build a different identity for House Republicans. 

Klein: Trump — The Incoherent Demagogue [Time, 1/10/16]: The Coliseum is not full, but close. The crowd is white, of course. The vast majority, I would guess, are lottery-players; they see Trump as a free ticket. “He’s going to get me a better job,” says the guy who checks me in at the door. “ 

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


A Most Violent Year [The Marshall Project, 1/11/16]: What the left and right got wrong about crime in 2015.

Federal judge dismisses nude protester's claim that police violated his rights by arresting him [Portland Oregonian, 1/10/16]: A year and a half after Matthew T. Mglej stripped naked outside the federal courthouse in downtown Portland, he returned to the scene and accused Portland police of violating his right to free expression for arresting him.

Insight from Oregon [Justia, 1/11/16]: Professor Margulies explains how the peaceful protesters at a federal facility in Oregon could advance the cause for criminal justice reform. Margulies reminds us that that the triggering event for the protest was an order by a federal judge that two ranchers serve a prison sentence mandated by federal statute that was far longer than the judge considered fair.

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:

Firing of New York City Teacher Raises First Amendment and Performance Issues [EdLawProfes blog, 1/11/16]: The story of teachers--or any employee for that matter--who spoke up on a controversial reason only to be later terminated for performance based reasons is an old one. 

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:

High court challenge to required union fees threatens fairness [CTA President Eric Heins in the SF Chron, 1/11/16]: Heins’ take on the Friedrichs case.


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