Monday, March 21, 2016

Posts for March 21, 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:

Court Politics [Jeffrey Toobin in The New Yorker, 3/20/16]: Presidents reveal themselves, and often replicate themselves, in the Justices they nominate to the Supreme Court. 

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:

Will The Supreme Court Nomination Fight Cost This Senator His Seat? [NPR, 3/20/16]: If Republicans don't hold hearings on the nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court, Democrats believe the issue could help them win the Senate this November.

Trump bump could mean good news for California Republicans [SF Chron, 3/20/16]: With no statewide officeholders, little pull in the Legislature and a dwindling number of registered voters, California Republicans have teetered on the brink of irrelevancy for years.

Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)


Feud over Supreme Court pick puts Senate leaders on defensive over old remarks [Politico, 3/20/16]: Both Republicans and Democrats on Sunday defended their previous comments about whether the Senate should consider Supreme Court vacancies in an election year.

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


The Puzzle of Reform [Justia, 3/21/16]: In this first of a two-part series of columns, Professor Margulies begins to explain why criminal justice reform is happening. Margulies articulates three propositions toward which it is moving: (1) vulnerable populations should not be treated like “ordinary criminals”; (2) offenders deserve an opportunity to redeem themselves; and (3) the police should be monitored, but not closely regulated.

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:

FAN: Supreme Court Denies Review in Right of Publicity Case [Concurring Opinions, 3/21/16]: In its order list today, the Supreme Court denied review in Electronic Arts, Inc. v. DavisThe issue in the case was whether the First Amendment protects a speaker against a state-law right-of-publicity claim that challenges the realistic portrayal of a person in an expressive work.

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:

As Transgender Rights Spread at the Federal Level, So Too Do State Level Efforts to Block Them [EdLawProfs Blog, 3/21/16]: The Obama Administration has taken consistent and progressive steps to protect the rights of LGBTQ youth, including policy guidance and most recently filing a brief in favor of Gavin Grimm in his Fourth Circuit appeal seeking equal access to facilities at his school.  But as these progressive steps occur at the federal level, some states are attempting to move backward. 

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