Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Posts for June 8, 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.

Cornell Saves the Oyez Project [LII, 6/8/16]: That was the headline of a recent post regarding the arrangement between the LII and Justia Inc. to assume operations of Oyez, the online home of Supreme Court oral argument transcripts and audio files.

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:

Are American Samoans American? [NY Times Op-Ed, 6/8/16]: The Supreme Court will soon decide whether to hear an appeal in Tuaua v. United States, which poses the question of whether the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment applies to American Samoa. That this is a question at all is puzzling, and not just because it’s called American Samoa.

Trump's Attack on Judge Curiel Is Not Only Racist [Slate / Politco, 6/6/16]:  It threatens an independent judiciary.

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:

Prisoner Case Underscores Justice Scalia’s Legacy [Justia, 6/8/16]: Professor Dorf discusses a recent unanimous decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that illustrates the lasting impact Justice Scalia had on the Court’s approach to statutory interpretation. Dorf describes the shift from purposivism to textually constrained purposivism over the past half century, and explains how they differ from the textualism Justice Scalia espoused.

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:

Hillary Clinton Makes History, Locks Up Democratic Nomination [CNS, 6/7/16]: After three decades as a bold-faced name in politics, Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday became the first woman in American history to become the presumptive presidential nominee of a major political party.

President 2016: The Lazy, Hazy Crazy Days of Summer Politics [Sabato’s Crystal Ball., 6/8/16]: As we find ourselves at the end of the primary season, we can all look back in wonder: What hath the voters wrought? 

Kamala Harris advances in U.S. Senate race, Loretta Sanchez claims second [AP, 6/8/16]: Kamala Harris easily clinched a spot in the fall runoff to succeed U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer Tuesday, while fellow Democrat Loretta Sanchez claimed a second-place finish. Republican Duf Sundheim, running in third place, was not prepared to concede the race.

Clinton: There is 'no ceiling too high to break' [Politico, 6/7/16]: Eight years to the day since the former first lady delivered her trademark speech announcing the end of her 2008 campaign — and 96 years since the passage of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote — Clinton finally achieved a goal she has pursued with grit, resiliency and plodding determination, becoming the first woman in the 240-year history of the Republic to secure the nomination of a major party.

Trump passes the point of no return [Politico, 6/7/16]: With Tuesday’s victories, Donald Trump now has enough bound delegates to clinch the GOP nomination, and will no longer need to rely on unbound delegates who, though they had pledged to support him, could theoretically have changed their minds and their votes at the convention.

Calbuzz: Why Donald Trump Won’t Beat Hillary Clinton [CalBuzz, 6/8/16]: As Hillary Clinton made history Tuesday, let us recall that Calbuzz was first to report — in midsummer 2015 — that Donald Trump categorically manifests Narcissistic Personality Disorder. This was long before big thinkers, hotshot writers posing as online journalists and even Psychology Today jumped on The Donald clinical diagnosis bandwagon.

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

How Easy Would It Be to Recall the Judge in the Brock Turner Case?
[The Marshall Project, 6/6/16]: A high-profile sexual-assault case provokes demands for pulling the judge off the bench, but such a remedy is rare.

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:

Free Speech on College Campuses [C-SPAN video, Jan. 2016]: Attorney Howard Bashman spoke about the threats to free speech on college campuses and the consequences restriction on free speech could have for the future.

“I Am America” [Newseum, 6/8/16]: “I am America,” Muhammad Ali famously declared. “I am the part you won’t recognize. But get used to me – black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own. Get used to me.”

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:

School board heads to Court on transgender rights [SCOTUS blog, 6/7/16]: Arguing that a local dispute over transgender rights in public schools “is one of national significance,” a school board in Virginia said on Tuesday that it will ask the Supreme Court to clarify that federal civil rights law on sex discrimination does not apply to such controversies. The case is G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board.

New Civil Rights Data Shows Just How Misguided Attack on Tenure Is; Teacher Quality Problems Run Much Deeper [EdLawProfs blog, 6/8/16]: Race aside, about 800,000 student attended a school where one out of five teachers lacked the required state license.  

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