Posts for April 28,
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:
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:
Sanders to Lay Off
Staff, Make Stand in Calif. [CNS, 4/27/16]: Sen.
Bernie Sanders said Wednesday that he will lay off hundreds of campaign staff
across the country and focus the remainder of his campaign efforts on winning
in California.
Sabato’s Democratic Forecast Model Beats the Polls [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 4/28/16]: Late last week, the Crystal
Ball published a simple forecasting model that they
created to try to predict the results of the Democratic primary. The model is
based on three predictors -- region (South versus North), African-American
percentage of primary voters in 2008, and Democratic percentage of primary
voters in 2008 -- and it outperformed pre-election polls in the five Democratic
primaries held on April 26.
Indiana: #NeverTrump’s Last Stand? [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 4/28/16]: Cruz hopes for Wisconsin repeat in a state that’s more open to voting Trump. One could not be blamed for looking at the Republican primary results over the past 10 days and questioning how someone could stop Donald Trump from being the Republican nominee. But a look at the delegate math suggests that the race is not over yet.
Could Fiorina Help Cruz Win California Delegates? [CPR,
4/27/16]: If there’s any doubt that Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz
needs a strong showing in California’s June 7th primary election, just look at
his newly-named running mate. Carly Fiorina has plenty of California ties – and
now she’ll be asked to help Cruz block Donald Trump, starting at this weekend's
California Republican Party convention.
In Politics, It Isn’t Easy Being Clean [Fox
& Hounds, 4/17/16]: In the political arena, there are few white hats and
black hats. The real work gets done in the grey areas.
The
Seats Democrats Must Win to Retake House [Roll Call, 4/28/16]: It’s not too difficult to see
Democrats gaining 10, or even 20, seats in November, but gaining the 30
required for a majority is more difficult and will require Democrats winning a
large swath of seats where Republicans are currently heavy favorites.
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
Oklahoma court: oral sex is not rape if victim is
unconscious from drinking [The
Guardian, 4/27/16]: The ruling sparked outrage among critics who argue the
judicial system engaged in victim-blaming and upholding outdated notions about
rape and sexual assault.
Dangerous New Uses for Government Eavesdropping [Bloomberg View, 4/27/16]: The U.S. government claims the right to eavesdrop at-will
on your e-mail when you're writing to someone who lives abroad. Now it wants to
be able to use those e-mails to convict you of a crime.
A Death Sentence in
Louisiana Rarely Means You’ll be Executed [The Marshall Project, 4/28/16]: Over the last 40 years, reversals have become
commonplace.
The Other F-word
[The Marshall Project, 4/27/16]: What we
call the imprisoned matters. The other
day Margaret Love, a veteran clemency lawyer, scolded The New York Times for
this front-page headline: “Virginia Governor Restores Voting Rights to Felons.”
She applauded the news — some 200,000 Virginians, most of them
African-American, recovered their voting rights under Governor Terry
McAuliffe’s executive order — but she deplored the word “felons.”
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:
Highest military court hears Marine's religious freedom case [Stars and Stripes / Fox News / McClatchy DC, 4/27/16]: Rare arguments before
the highest military court in the land Wednesday came down to whether a
Marine’s refusal to obey orders to remove signs from her desk containing a
biblical passage were her exercising her right of religious freedom or just
plain insubordination.
Paterson faces possible $2M expense
after Supreme Court ruling in cop's free speech case [Hackensack (MJ) Record, 4/27/16]:
“This decision helps curb threatening behaviors of state employers,” said Ed
Barocas, legal director of the New Jersey chapter of the American Civil
Liberties Union. The ruling also could saddle city taxpayers with almost $2
million in legal fees and damages, lawyers and officials said on Tuesday.
More articles on the Hefferman case:
[NPR, 4/26/16]: http://www.npr.org/2016/04/26/475773241/supreme-court-rules-in-favor-of-police-officer-in-yard-sign-case
[Bloomberg View, 4/26/16]: http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2016-04-26/supreme-court-protects-unspoken-free-speech
[Huff Post, 4/26/16]: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/supreme-court-first-amendment-motive_us_571f77ebe4b0b49df6a8f081
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:
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