Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Posts for January 27, 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:

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:

Trump will skip Thursday's GOP debate [Politico, 1/26/16]: Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski told reporters that Trump would not join Thursday’s debate and that plans are instead in the works for a competing event.

Twelfth Amendment Follies [Gerard Magliocca in Concurring Opinions, 1/27/16]: We should pause to consider how poorly the Twelfth Amendment was designed to handle situations where no presidential or vice-presidential candidate receives a majority in the Electoral College. 

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


Suit challenging bail system runs into snag [SF Chron, 1/26/16]: A lawsuit claiming the bail system in San Francisco and elsewhere is unconstitutional, because it keeps poor people in jail while wealthier people charged with the same crimes can go free, hit a wall in federal court Tuesday.

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:

How Un-rule-y is the First Amendment? [Justia, 1/27/16]: Professor Dorf considers an issue on which the U.S. Supreme Court recently heard oral argument: whether the First Amendment protects a government employee from adverse action based on the government’s mistaken belief that the employee was engaged in speech or association. Dorf highlights the nuances of the case and whether there is a meaningful difference between rule-guided conduct and reason-guided conduct.

Seventh Circuit: Secret use of Stingray technology challenged in Wisconsin [FAN, 1/26/16]: Civil rights groups are arguing that police in Wisconsin concealed their use of Stingray technology in tracking the location of a man suspected of illegally possessing a firearm. A friend-of-the-court brief asked the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to suppress evidence they claim was been obtained without warrant.

Trump no fan of free speech [FAN, 1/26/16]: The British Parliament recently rejected the idea of banning Trump from the UK many voicing the opinion that it was more proper to treat his hate speech against Muslims with ridicule according to British practice. 

Critics pound publisher’s decision to lift children’s book on slavery [FAN, 1/27/16]: The book publisher Scholastic has withdrawn a book about George Washington and his slaves for showing sunny images of Washington’s cook and his daughter. Scholastic said it was acting because the book may give readers a distorted view.

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:

Vergara: Plaintiff in lawsuit updates costs of inadequate funding [EdSource, 1/26/16]: The California School Boards Association has updated spending numbers from studies published a decade ago to support the argument its attorneys will make Wednesday in an appeal of a lawsuit claiming the state is violating students’ rights by inadequately funding public schools.

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


HRW releases report on human rights issues worldwide [Jurist, 1/27/16]: World Report 2016, the rights group's twenty-sixth edition of the report, which spans 659 pages, includes short summaries of important rights topics before breaking down rights concerns by country. One major theme of this report is the treatment of refugees worldwide, especially those driven out of Syria by the Islamic State, calling Europe's approach to refugees counter productive. 





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