Posts for March 20, 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:

Garland would move Supreme Court to left, but how far? [AP, 3/19/16]: The real question, to be answered definitively only if Garland wins Senate confirmation, is how far to the left would the court shift if a new liberal majority were in place.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SUPREME_COURT_GARLAND_HOW_LIBERAL

What Do You Need to Do to Be a Supreme Court Justice? [NY Times, 3/18/16]: If someone could weaponize credentials — if a person could have a résumé so impressive that the mere sight of it could turn the tide of a war — that person would be Merrick B. Garland. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/20/opinion/sunday/what-do-you-need-to-do-to-be-a-supreme-court-justice.html?_r=0

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:

Obamacare Again? [The Weekly Standard / “Bill of Health” blog, 3/29/16]:A second chance for the Little Sisters.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/obamacare-again/article/2001634

http://blogs.harvard.edu/billofhealth/2016/03/16/zubik-v-burwell-part-1-why-paperwork-does-not-burden-religious-exercise/

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:

How Trump vs. Clinton would reshape the electoral map [Wash Post, 3/19/16]: A prospective general election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton could significantly alter what states are in play this fall and heighten more than in any recent election the racial, class and gender divisions within the national electorate. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-trump-vs-clinton-would-reshape-the-electoral-map/2016/03/19/783a834c-ed35-11e5-b0fd-073d5930a7b7_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_swingstates-505pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

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

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:

Judge Garland on the First Amendment: Opinions & Votes [Concurring Opinions, 3/19/16]: Here is an early snapshot of some of Chief Judge Merrick Garland’s opinions and votes in First Amendment free speech cases

http://concurringopinions.com/archives/2016/03/fan-101-2-first-amendment-news-judge-garland-on-the-first-amendment-opinions-votes.html

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: