Posts for February 2, 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.

Future of Oyez Supreme Court Archive Hangs in the Balance [Law Blog / Google News from Nat. Law Journ., 2/1/16]: For Sale: 61 years of Supreme Court oral arguments, including audio, transcripts and a suite of multimedia tools.

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2016/02/01/future-of-oyez-supreme-court-archive-hangs-in-the-balance/

http://www.nationallawjournal.com/id=1202748476368/Future-Unclear-for-Oyez-Source-for-Supreme-Court-Audio-History?slreturn=20160102142252

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:

After 10 Years, Sam Alito Is The Most Important Conservative On The Supreme Court [Above the Law blog, 2/1/16]: January 31, 2016 marked the ten-year anniversary of Justice SamuelAlito  joining the Supreme Court.

http://abovethelaw.com/2016/02/after-10-years-sam-alito-is-the-most-important-conservative-on-the-supreme-court/

Harry Truman and the Bill of Rights [Gerard Magliocca in “Concurring Opinions,” 2/2/16]: My research on the Bill of Rights is at a new stage, and I thought I’d talk about where that is going.

http://concurringopinions.com/archives/2016/02/harry-truman-and-the-bill-of-rights.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:

The GOP Race for Delegates: an Interactive Tool [Real Clear Politics, 2/2/16]: To help make this easier to visualize and understand, we’ve created the widget below that will allow you to walk through the GOP selection process yourself. The process is fairly simple.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2015/11/17/the_gop_race_for_delegates_an_interactive_tool.html

See also:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2015/11/16/rcp_primary_calculator_--_data_and_assumptions__128726.html

and:

https://ballotpedia.org/2016_presidential_nominations:_calendar_and_delegate_rules

and one more:

http://www.270towin.com/

Donald Trump, 2016's first loser [Politico / SF Chron, 2/2/16]:  Even as his team expressed confidence about next week’s primary, Republican operatives and Trump allies saw what his critics had long predicted -- a campaign that was not equipped to capitalize on its candidate’s popularity and momentum.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/donald-trump-iowa-caucus-loser-218604

http://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Now-that-Trump-is-a-loser-how-does-he-react-6799975.php?t=8aa8bc93ac5133445b&cmpid=twitter-premium

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

Protecting Children Vs. Protecting Privacy [Bloomberg View, 2/1/16]: Can Wisconsin make a sex offender who's completed his sentence wear a GPS monitor on his ankle for the rest of his life? Reversing a lower court judgment last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit said the answer is yes. The opinion, by the influential Judge Richard Posner, presents itself as an exercise in cost-benefit analysis and legal common sense. But the decision is wrong nonetheless, because the right to privacy can't be balanced away by statistics.

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2016-02-01/protecting-children-vs-protecting-privacy

What’s Justice for Kids Who Kill? [The Marshall Project, 2/2/16]: Kahton Anderson and the raging raise-the-age debate.

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/06/18/what-s-justice-for-kids-who-kill?ref=hp-2-121#.EOr9h1rF9

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:

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:

The Deceptive Promise of Vergara: Why Teacher Tenure Lawsuits Will Not Improve Student Achievement [EdLawProfs Blog, 2/2/16]: Michele Aronson's student note, The Deceptive Promise of Vergara: Why Teacher Tenure Lawsuits Will Not Improve Student Achievement, 37 Cardozo L. Rev. 393, 394-96 (2015), is available on westlaw. She situations Vergara within the historical context of courts as a vehicle for carrying out social reform.  

http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/education_law/2016/02/the-deceptive-promise-of-vergara-why-teacher-tenure-lawsuits-will-not-improve-student-achievement.html

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

India high court to review decision banning gay sex [Jurist, 2/2/16]: The Supreme Court of India Tuesday to review its 2013 decision reinstating an 1861 law prohibiting sex between consenting adults of the same sex. 

http://jurist.org/paperchase/2016/02/india-high-court-to-review-decision-banning-gay-sex.php

Tuaua Plaintiffs To Seek Supreme Court Review [“Equally American” blog on “We the People,” 12/14/15]: Does Congress have the power to switch the Constitution's guarantee of birthright citizenship on and off in U.S. territories? 

http://www.equalrightsnow.org/tuaua_plaintiffs_to_seek_supreme_court_review