Posts for April 18,
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:
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:
Immigration prompts role reversal at Supreme Court [Politico, 4/18/16]: Liberals and conservatives swap
sides on issue of when states can challenge the federal government in court.
The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]
Supreme Court split on
Obama immigration plan [USA Today / Bloomberg / NPR, 4/18/16]:
President Obama's effort to offer
temporary protection from deportation to more than 4 million undocumented
immigrants ran into opposition from conservative justices on the Supreme Court
Monday, but the outcome of the case remained unclear.
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:
George Clooney Puts
Supreme Court at Heart of Fundraising [NBC News, 4/17/16]: George Clooney claimed massive political fundraising is a necessary evil
in order to permanently eliminate the influence of money in politics during an
exclusive interview on Meet the Press.
Clinton allies quietly shape general-election map [Politico,
4/17/16]: Democrats aligned with Hillary Clinton are laying the groundwork for
a general election campaign focused primarily on the same battleground states
that twice elected President Barack Obama, buying up ad time on local TV in an
attempt to quietly shape the playing field before the Republicans choose a candidate.
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
Justices extend ruling on repeat offenders' prison terms [AP, 4/18/16]: The
Supreme Court on Monday voted 7-1 to extend its year-old ruling that makes
people convicted of repeated violent crimes eligible for reduced prison terms.
Justice Anthony Kennedy said last year's decision that threw out part of the
Armed Career Criminal Act applies retroactively to defendants whose convictions
are final.
The decision in Welch v. U.S. can be found at:
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:
Cheerleaders for Christ [The Atlantic, 4/5/16]: The women of Kountze, Texas,
have been fighting for four years to put Bible verses on their banners. Their
case is a look at what's ahead for religious-liberty conflicts in America.
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:
NC Supreme Court rejects
state's repeal of teacher tenure [Raleigh News
& Observer, 4/15/16]: The North
Carolina Supreme Court on Friday ruled unconstitutional a state law that phased
out job protections for teachers who had already earned them.
California Court of
Appeal Deals Legal Assault on Teacher Tenure a Major Blow, Laying Bare Its
Shallow Assumptions [EdLawProfs Blog, 4/18/16]: The plaintiffs' and trial court's reasoning were
riddled with numerous problematic assumptions about the causes of ineffective
teaching and the disproportionate number of uncertified and low quality
teachers in predominantly poor and minority schools. The Court of Appeals
was nicer in its assessment, but reached the same conclusion.
No comments:
Post a Comment