More posts for February 16, 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:

The Next Justice? It’s Not Up to Us [NY Rev. of Books, 2/16/16]: Gary Willis is always insightful. He says here: “One thing the framers of the Constitution set out to prevent was a popular say in who should be a Supreme Court justice….What could be more absurd than for a cultist of Scalia like Senator Cruz to call for a popular referendum on Supreme Court justices?”

http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2016/02/15/next-supreme-court-justice-not-up-to-us/

Continued thoughts on the next nominee [SCOYUS blog, 2/16/16]: A fascinating and thoughtful analysis by Tom Goldstein that comes to the conclusion: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.

http://www.scotusblog.com/2016/02/continued-thoughts-on-the-next-nominee-and-impressions-of-judge-ketanji-brown-jackson/

Scalia's Death Pushes Politically Shy Court Into Partisan Fray [Bloomberg, 2/16/16]:

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-02-16/scalia-s-death-pushes-politically-shy-court-into-partisan-fray

The Way America Picks Judges Is Stupid And Needs To Change [ThinkProgress, 2/16/16]:  As a matter of raw power, Senate Republicans control 54 seats. Absent some absurd event — maybe eight Republican senators will simultaneously quit to pursue their dreams on Broadway — the GOP will retain that majority until the next Congress is sworn in next January.

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/02/16/3749722/the-way-america-picks-judges-is-stupid-and-needs-to-change/

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:

The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]

How Obama Could Win Supreme Court Battle -- Even If Republicans Take the White House [NBC News, 2/16/16]: It could all come down to 17 crucial days in January. If Democrats win back the Senate and lose the White House in November, they would control both branches of government for about two weeks before Obama leaves office. That overlap in the transition of power is set in stone. The Constitution mandates the new Congress begins work on January 3, while President Obama stays in power until January 20. So if Democrats take back the Senate, President Obama could send a Supreme Court nominee to that new Democratic majority, which would have 17 days to change the filibuster rules and ram in a vote before a new President takes power.

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/how-obama-could-win-supreme-court-battle-even-if-republicans-n519121