Posts for June 20, 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.
For you summer chile-lovers: Dispute over New
Mexico Hatch chile labeling heats up [AP,
7/19/16]: A federal appeals court has sided with a green
chile growers group in southern New Mexico's Hatch Valley in a dispute over what
food can be labeled with the renowned Hatch name. The opinion begins: “The
Hatch Valley may be to chiles what the Napa Valley is to grapes.”
You can find the opinion at:
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:
Divided Supreme Court Lurches to Term's End [WSJ via Google / USA Today / Reuters, 6/19/16]: Ideological
stalemate leaves major legal disputes undecided, with little change in sight. Immigration,
abortion, race rulings are due at the Supreme Court,
End of conservative Supreme Court? ]Washington Examiner, 6/18/16]: Clarence Thomas may
be next to leave. But Thomas’ wife says this report is “bogus.”
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 declines to rule on assault weapons bans [Jurist, 6/20/16]: The US Supreme Court on Monday denied
cert in two separate cases challenging bans on assault-style weapons. The court
denied the appeals without comment, letting stand lower court rulings that had
upheld the bans as constitutional.
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:
Road to 270: GOP's California dream has long proven
elusive [AP, 6/19/16]: Bob Dole thought he could win California with a
"fishhook" strategy. George W. Bush came armed with $15 million. John
McCain was bullish, too. They all lost.
Trump: I can win without support of GOP leaders [Politico,
6/19/16]: Donald Trump wants remaining
Republicans to get on board with his campaign, but the presumptive GOP nominee
says he doesn’t need them to win.
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
High court says gov't can
prosecute drug robbery [AP, 6/20/16]: The
Supreme Court says the government can prosecute a robbery of drug dealers under
federal law without having to show that the drugs were intended for interstate
commerce.
The opinion in Taylor v. U.S. can be found at:
You can access the oral argument at:
SCOTUS OKs Evidence
in Utah Drug Case [CNS, 6/20/16]: Supreme
Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor blasted the high court's majority Monday for
finding that drug-related evidence from an unconstitutional stop was admissible
in light of an outstanding arrest warrant.
The opinion in Utah v. Strieff can be found at:
You can access the oral argument at:
On Monday, June 20, the Court accepted for review Williams v. Louisiana next term. The Court
will decide whether, at step two of the
three-part framework established in Batson v. Kentucky, a trial
judge can assume the responsibility of providing race-neutral justifications
for the State's peremptory challenges. Follow developments at:
The lower court opinion can be found:
The Death Penalty Case Where Prosecutors Wrote the
Judge's 'Opinion' [The Marshall
Project, 6/19/16]: Is that fair? The U.S. Supreme Court could soon decide. The U.S. Supreme Court I now considering whether to
take up the case of Hamm, an intellectually disabled and possibly brain-damaged
man who was sentenced to death in 1987 for killing a motel clerk during a
robbery. Doyle went to his fate after a rushed trial marked by an anemic
defense and constitutionally murky decisions by prosecutors and the judge.
That’s sadly common in Alabama.
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:
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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