Thursday, June 23, 2016

Posts for June 23, 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:

Supreme Court justices juggle cases, conflicts [USA Today / The Hill, 6/22/16]: Three Supreme Court justices continue to own extensive stock and bond portfolios that can cause financial conflicts unless they recuse themselves from cases.

The Most Difficult Case for the Supreme Court to Write This Term May Not Be What You Think [Bloomberg, 6/22/16]: The case almost no one is tweeting about is Dollar Gen. Corp. v. Miss. Band of Choctaw Indians. Oral arguments were held December 7 and at least two people Are. Still. Waiting. Until today (6/23/16).
The Dollar General Corp. v. Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians ended up a 4-4 tie (so the 5th Circuit decision holds). The per curiam note can be found at:

SCOTUS for law students: Indian cases at the Court [SCOTUS blog, 1/4/16]: Few things confound the Supreme Court more than Indian law, but the Justices keep wading into a relatively steady stream of cases. This article discusses the importance of Dollar General.

The Supreme Court's Post-Scalia Term [Linda Greenhouse in the NY Times, 6/23/16]: Justice Antonin Scalia’s death more than four months ago, just as the term was gathering momentum, certainly accounts to some degree for the court’s less than robust performance. When the full term is in view, presumably by this time next week, it will be clear enough how hard the justices worked to avoid 4-to-4 tie votes, whether by deft compromise or clumsy contortion.

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:

Making a Killing [The New Yorker, 6/27/16]: The business and politics of selling guns.

Constitution Check: Where do gun rights stand now? [Constitution Daily, 6/22/16]: Lyle Denniston, the National Constitution Center’s constitutional literacy adviser, looks at how the Supreme Court is letting the law of gun control develop without being closely managed by the Justices.

The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]

Obama immigration plan blocked by 4-4 tie at Supreme Court [AP / USA Today / Slate / Jurist, 6/23/16]: The Supreme Court deadlocked Thursday on President Barack Obama's immigration plan that sought to shield millions living in the U.S. illegally from deportation, effectively killing the plan for the rest of his presidency. The 4-4 tie vote sets no national precedent but leaves in place the ruling by the lower court.

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:

Trump: Nation’s infrastructure can be fixed 'only by me' [The Hill, 6/22/16]: Presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump says he is the only presidential candidate who can restore the nation’s crumbling roads and bridges. Trump’s Wednesday comments seem to represent an effort to separate himself from Democratic presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton on infrastructure issues – one area where the two candidates generally agree.

Is this the new Trump? [Politico, 6/22/16]: Trump branded Clinton a “world class liar,” attacking her for supporting the Iraq war, the war in Libya and the Obama administration’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq — all of which Trump has expressed support for.

The Electoral College Map #2 [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 6/23/16]: Some of our readers may recall that the Crystal Ball published its first 2016 Electoral College map at the end of March. It was somewhat controversial -- at least judging by many of the reactions we received. Here’s the latest.

Get Ready: The Next 'Citizens United' Is Coming [Politico, 6/22/16]: Jim Bopp, the lawyer who spearheaded the blockbuster decision, wants to open another floodgate for unrestricted campaign money.

Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)

Democrats Disrupt House to Force Gun Vote [CNS, 6/22/16]:  In a rare move, more than 50 Democratic lawmakers seized the House floor Wednesday afternoon to demand a vote on gun control in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

C-SPAN uses social media feeds to cover protest [AP, 6/22/16]: With the cameras it uses to cover Congress shut off, C-SPAN turned to social media feeds on Wednesday to beam live coverage of the House Democrat's sit-in to demand votes on gun control legislation "No bills, no break," the Democrats chanted in between a succession of speeches. 

House to recess until July 5, pre-empting guns sit-in [Politico, 6/22/16]: After a chaotic, daylong occupation of the House floor, Republican leaders moved in the wee hours of the night to cut off House Democrats' gun control "sit-in" by adjourning the House through the July 4 recess — without a gun vote.

Bay Area Democrats join House sit-in seeking to force vote ]EB Times, 6/22/16]: As Democratic lawmaker held the floor of the House of Representatives in an extremely rare, all-day protest Wednesday, Bay Area members were among those who spoke out against gun violence and in favor of a vote on new regulations. 

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

Implied consent laws:
The Court held that the Fourth Amendment permits warrantless breath tests incident to arrests for drunk driving but not warrantless blood tests. Motorists may not be criminally punished for refusing to submit to a blood test based on legally implied consent to submit to them.
The decision in Birchfield v. North Dakota can be found at:

Sonia Sotomayor's devastating defense of civil liberties [The Week, 6/22/16]: Snia Sotomayor's opinion Monday in the Supreme Court's Utah v. Strieff ruling was a masterpiece. It will be widely and deservedly quoted for years for its deep understanding of why Fourth Amendment violations matter. Unfortunately, her opinion was a dissenting one, in part because Stephen Breyer, a fellow Democratic nominee, doesn't really get the Fourth Amendment.

What Montgomery v. Louisiana Portends for Future Juvenile Sentencing [Justia, 6/22/16]: Colb considers the changing meaning of the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in Miller v. Alabama, which held that mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole. Colb discusses specifically the Court’s decision earlier this year in Montgomery v. Lousiana, which held that Miller must be applied retroactively on state collateral review.

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:

Supreme Court upholds affirmative action in university admissions [USA Today / Jurist, 6/23/16]: A deeply divided Supreme Court upheld the use of racial preferences in admissions at the University of Texas Thursday, giving an unexpected reprieve to the type of affirmative action policies it has allowed for nearly four decades. The 4-3 ruling did not address all programs designed to attract a diverse student body at colleges and universities. But Justice Anthony Kennedy and the court's more liberal justices said Texas' unique method of singling out some minority students for admission to its flagship campus in Austin was constitutional. The court previously upheld the use of race in college admissions in 1978, then again in 2003.
The decision in Fisher can be found at:

Gay marriages up 33% in year since Supreme Court ruling [USA Today, 6/22/16]: Nearly 1 million U.S. adults are in same-sex marriages, a 33% increase in the year since the Supreme Court's landmark ruling last June.

Transgender students updates:
Philadelphia School District adopts policy protecting the rights of transgender students [NSBA Legal Clips, 6/23/16]:

DOJ opposes advocacy group’s attempt to consolidate its suit with North Carolina governor’s suit against federal government over expansion of ant-discrimination laws to cover gender identity [NSBA Legal Clips, 6/22/16]:

South Carolina district settles OCR complaint by agreeing to allow transgender student access to facilities on the basis of gender identity [NSBA Legal Clips, 6/22/16]:

Federal district court allows ACLU and LGBTQ advocacy group to intervene in suit brought by students and parents challenging Illinois district’s decision to allow transgender student to use student facilities based on gender identity [NSBA Legal Clips, 6/20/16]:

Kansas State Board of Education declines to issue policy guidance on transgender students, stating decision is best left to local districts [NSBA Legal Clips, 6/20/16]:

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

Fueling the dreams of the undocumented [CalMatters, 6/22/16]: Amid this election year's highly charged debate over immigration policies, California stands out for the many rights state lawmakers have granted to an estimated 3 million undocumented residents. The suite of policies goes far beyond driving privileges, providing freedom of movement, work opportunities and protections, access to healthcare coverage and financial assistance for higher education.



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