Posts for February
4, 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:
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on judges: 'We don't
work as Democrats or Republicans.' [MassLive.com, 2/4/16]: A recent survey of U.S.
college students found almost 10 percent believe Judith Sheindlin of
"Judge Judy" fame sits on the Supreme Court.
That prompted New England Law Boston dean John O'Brien to ask Supreme Court
Chief Justice John Roberts, "So, how is she doing?"
The Supreme Court vs. the
President
[Linda Grenhouse in the NY Times, 2/4/16]: Hard-wired
into the Supreme Court’s DNA is the notion that the court doesn’t reach out to
decide a constitutional issue if it can resolve a case by interpreting a
statute. “The court will not anticipate a question of constitutional law in
advance of the necessity of deciding it,” is how Justice Louis D. Brandeis
expressed this principle of judicial restraint 80 years ago in a concurring opinion to which the court often makes reference.
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:
The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]
Constitution Check: What
does the 'Take Care Clause' mean? [Constitution Daily, 2/4/16]: Lyle Denniston, the National Constitution Center’s
constitutional literacy adviser, looks at a big constitutional question in
front of the Supreme Court in the case about President Obama’s immigration
orders.
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:
Godly Rhetoric in
Presidential Campaigns: Cruz, Rubio, and Reagan [Justia, 2/4/16]: Professor Hamilton comments on the use of religious
terms in among the Republican presidential candidates, particularly terms that
refer to a specific religio-political world view. Hamilton especially critiques
Cruz’s and Rubio’s invocation of Ronald Reagan’s name, pointing out that Reagan
tried to bring Americans together in his speeches, even in his references to
God.
https://verdict.justia.com/2016/02/04/godly-rhetoric-in-presidential-campaigns-cruz-rubio-and-reagan
What we learned from
Iowa [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 2/4/16]: Iowa
is in the books, and we already have our first surprise: Ted Cruz confounded
late polls showing him sliding and Donald Trump rising. Meanwhile, Hillary
Clinton and Bernie Sanders battled to a near-tie. Last week, we asked
five questions about what the Iowa results might tell us. What did we learn?
Sanders, Trump Still Favored in New Hampshire [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 2/4/16]: But fickle New
Hampshire has a way of confounding the experts.
The Modern Histgory
of the Democratic Presidential Primary, 1972-20108 [Sabato’s Crystal Ball,
2/4/16]: Most political observers consider 1972 the beginning of the
“modern era” of presidential politics.
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
We thought he was the same
guy -- never mind that 9-inch height difference [SF Chron, 2/4/16]: When Mario A. Garcia was arrested for drunken driving
in Riverside County in 2012, his jailers ran a warrant check and rushed him to
Los Angeles, where a man named Mario Garcia, with the same birth date, had been
wanted in a drug-dealing case since 1994.
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:
First Five: The Marrakesh Declaration, the politics of
Silicon Valley, and a new bill that would bar the censorship of student
journalists [Newseum, 2/4/16]: News roundup from the Newseum.
Montana school district’s
recall of controversial “Free the Nipple” edition of student newspaper met with
criticism [SP:C, 2/3/16]: The principal who allowed the issue to be published was
suspended for three days without pay and the newspaper adviser was given a
formal reprimand after the student newspaper containing topless photos and
explicit language was printed.
Christian school
threatens to file suit against Florida High School Athletics Association
(FHSAA) after FHSAA denies school’s request to broadcast pre-game prayer over
stadium PA system [NSBA Legal
Clips, 2/3/16]: The school, with assistance from the Liberty Institute (LI), a nonprofit
law firm that specializes in religious liberty rights, has sent a letter to
FHSAA demanding an apology for unlawfully censoring the school’s private
speech, as well as formal recognition from the FHSAA that students in Florida
schools have a right to pray in public. The letter warns that if the FHSAA
doesn’t respond in 30 days, CCS will file suit in federal court.
Phoenix City Council votes
to end prayers at meetings [Ariz. Republic, 2/4/16]: A
sharply divided Phoenix City Council voted 5-4 Wednesday to stop having an
opening prayer at council meetings and instead observe a "moment of silent
prayer," a move that blocks a group of
Satanists from giving the invocation at
its next formal meeting.
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:
Parents of student
expelled for “immature conduct” stemming from an off-campus, non-school
sponsored activity file suit against Nebraska district [NSBA Legal Clips,
2/2/16]: The McCook Gazette reports that parents of a Cambridge Public Schools
(CPS) student have filed suit in Furnas County District Court against CPS claiming
the school district violated the student's due process when it expelled him for
alleged conduct that occurred off-campus during a "non-school-sponsored
wrestling camp" at Hastings College.
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