Monday, May 16, 2016

Posts for May 16, 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:

Without Scalia, Justices Takes Small Steps -- or No Steps at All [WSJ Law blog, 5/16/16]: In opinions and orders, justices tread lightly on an 8-member high court

Why the Senate Doesn't Have to Act on Merrick Garland's Nomination [The Atlantic, 5/16/16]: The Constitution doesn't require the chamber to hold hearings or a vote.

Justice Clarence Thomas encourages Hillsdale graduates to lead by example [MLive, 5/15/16]: Even as the culture continues to shift around them, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas urged Hillsdale College's Class of 2016 to stand firm in their principles and take seriously their duties as U.S. citizens. Thomas, 67, admitted he felt a little out of touch in front of the 353 graduates who sat before him at Hillsdale's 164th Commencement on Saturday, describing himself as "from another time" and "unapologetically Catholic, patriotic and a Constitutionalist."

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:

Supreme Court sends Obamacare case back to lower court [CNN / Politico / USA Today, 5/16/16]: The Supreme Court on Monday avoided issuing a major ruling on a challenge brought by religiously affiliated non-profit groups to the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive mandate. The justices, in a unanimous decision, wrote that they were not deciding the case on the merits but instead sent the case back down to the lower courts for opposing parties to work out a compromise.
The per curium opinion is at:

The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]

Obama to graduates: Building walls won't make world better [AP, 5/15/16]: President Barack Obama used the Trump-sized audience at the Rutgers University graduation ceremony on Sunday to launch his first anti-Trump rally of the campaign season.

Obama: Likely Trump nomination a reason to vote on Garland [Politico, 5/16/16]: President Barack Obama is trying to use Donald Trump's apparent victory in the race for the Republican presidential nomination to give a boost to the stalled Supreme Court nomination of Judge Merrick Garland.

Court clashes put Obama's enviro legacy in limbo [Greenwire, 5/16/16]: When President Obama moves out of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. next January, his environmental legacy won't be entirely clear.

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:

Courts may play pivotal role on voting rights in 2016 election pUSA Today, 5/15/16]: The Supreme Court decided a presidential election 16 years ago based on how votes were counted. This year, a shorthanded court seeking to avoid the limelight may help decide who can vote in the first place.

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

For Juvenile Lifers, Wheels of Justice Grind Slow [Jost on Justice, 5/15/16]: enry Montgomery has lived behind prison walls for 53 years now, but even so he is a “little bit antsy” according to his lawyer while waiting to learn when he will get a chance at freedom under a new Supreme Court decision. 

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:

What’s Wrong with the “Redskins”? [The New Yorker, 5/15/16]: In this country we don't ban 'Mein Kampf,' Ku Klux Klan screeds, or objectionable terms for racial groups. It is clear that the government cannot disallow offensive or hateful speech. But the federal trademark law, known as the Lanham Act, has since 1946 barred the registration of marks that may disparage 'persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols, or bring them into contempt, or disrepute.

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:

The Bittersweet Victories of Women [Linda Greenhouse in the NY Rev. of Books, 5/26/16 issue]: Because of Sex: One Law Ten Cases, and Fifty Years That Changed American Women's Lives at Work.

SCOTUS won't review precedent key to transgender ruling [Politico, 5/16/16]: The Supreme Court announced Monday, over the dissent of one conservative justice, that it will not review a legal precedent key to an appeals court ruling last month requiring public schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms corresponding to their gender identity.

International Law, Citizenship and Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]


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