Saturday, June 18, 2016

Posts for June 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:

The 2016 election’s effect on the Supreme Court [Constitution Daily, 6/15/16]: Insulation from the winds of political change. Protection of minorities from the majority’s tyranny. Such is the jargon describing the United States Supreme Court’s role in government. Once a judge ascends to our highest court, firmly seated to exercise life-long power, the judge is expected to embrace a duty of impartiality, rendering decisions reflecting “neutral” legal principles, not partisan politics. The reality of judging presents something quite different from this pristine vision.

Judicial Independence: The Unintended Consequences of the Stanford Rape-Case Recall [The New Yorker, 6/17/16]: When the Supreme Court refused to overturn Roe v. Wade, in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, in 1992, a plurality of the Justices famously explained that doing otherwise would look like surrender to the intense political protests directed at the Court.

Top Obama Lawyer: Obamacare Fight Over, Muslim Ban Unlikely [NBC News, 6/16/16]: hen Don Verrilli wins at the Supreme Court, he wins big. In his five years as the top lawyer representing the United States, Verrilli won cases on marriage equality, immigration law and the legality of President Barack Obama's health care law -- twice. He has also lost in big ways.

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:

The Legal Residue of American Empire [The Atlantic, 6/17/16]: Imperialism has left tricky sovereignty questions with which the U.S. Supreme Court is only now reckoning. The result in three recent cases has been a decision that strengthens the hand of Congress. Empire, the Court is suggesting, belongs to politicians, not lawyers.

What's Really Standing in the Way of Gun Control [Jeffrey Toobin in The New Yorker, 6/13/16]: It’s political will, not the Supreme Court’s 2008 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, that’s blocking gun-control efforts.

Is there a constitutional right to have a rapidly firing assault gun? [Constitution Daily / USA Today, 6/14/16]: Lyle Denniston, the National Constitution Center’s constitutional literacy adviser, looks at the latest legal developments related to assault weapons bans, including one case to be considered by the Supreme Court at its private Conference on Thursday.

Time for a 'No Buy' List on Guns: Point and Counterpoint [NY Times / Nat. Rev., 6/14/16]: The massacre in Florida is a horrifying reminder that terrorists don’t need airplanes to kill scores of people: All they need are commonplace firearms. Gun-control groups are already issuing calls to do more to keep suspected terrorists from buying guns, while those against stricter gun laws say we shouldn’t deny people their constitutional rights on the basis of mere suspicion. They are both correct. But there is a solution. But, is it constitutionally reckless?

The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]

Obama laces into Trump for whipping up terrorism fears [Politico, 61416]: President Barack Obama ripped into Donald Trump on Tuesday for criticizing him for not using the phrase "radical Islam" and for renewing his proposed Muslim ban, warning about the danger that the presumptive Republican nominee would pose as president.

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:

Donald Trump’s Criticism of Judge Curiel Was Racist, but Precisely How? [Justia, 6/17/16]: Professor Amar discusses Donald Trump's public criticism of Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is currently presiding over the federal fraud lawsuit against Trump University.

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

California death penalty repeal qualifies for November vote [AP, 6/18/16]: California voters will be asked to do away with the nation's largest death row after the secretary of state's office said the repeal measure qualified for the November ballot on Friday.


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:

Pear v. U.S. [Newseum, 6/17/16]: The issues involved in the “Apple-FBI” iPhone controversy were argued Wednesday before a panel of First Amendment, cybersecurity, civil liberties and national security experts — and the verdict from audience members watching the mock Supreme Court session was split. 
You can watch the video (36 minutes) of this presentation at:

Free Speech—Not Always What We Want to Hear [Newseum, 6/16/16]: We need to hear things that we don’t agree with, if only to be better prepared to argue against such ideas. A free exchange of views is a foundational element of the First Amendment and its metaphorical home ground, the “Marketplace of Ideas.” 

Seventh Circuit panel rules that teacher’s in-class speech, which involved use of a racial epithet for educational purposes, was not speech protected by the First Amendment [NSBA Legal Clips, 6/16/16]: Read the NSBA analysis of Brown v. Chicago Bd. of Educ. The court rejected the teacher’s argument that the holding in Garcetti v. Ceballos (2006), which indicates that speech pursuant to one’s employment duties is not protected, does not apply when the speech in question is related to scholarship or teaching.
The Brown ruling can be found at:

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:

Ohio district mounts legal challenge to federal government’s transgender student guidance [NSBA Legal Clips, 6/14/16]: Highland Local School District has filed suit against the federal government in federal court after the U.S. Department of Education threatened to begin an enforcement action unless the school district allows a transgender grade school student to use the restroom that reflects the student’s gender identity by June 28. 

U.S. transgender woman's journey turns into constitutional fight [Reuters, 6/16/16]: Kate Lynn Blatt once lived as a woman at home but went to work in a battery factory as a man, a painful phase in her gender transition that would later propel her to the forefront of a constitutional battle for transgender rights in America.

Kansas lawmakers to debate schools, lessening court's power [AP, 6/17/16]: Kansas legislators were discussing a short-term education funding fix Thursday to satisfy a state Supreme Court order while also debating longer-term proposals for curbing the court's power to force school finance changes.


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