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.
http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/284532-trump-nations-infrastructure-can-be-fixed-only-by-me
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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