Posts for June 9, 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:
Conservatives Say They Want Another Antonin Scalia;
They Really Want Another Sam Alito
[Mother Jones, May-June 2016]: His rulings on issues from abortion to unions to
affirmative action never deviate from the conservative line.
Justices Find
Judicial Bias in Penn. Death Row Case [AP / CNS, 6/9/16]: The Supreme Court ruled 5-3 Thursday that a state
judge was wrong to participate in the case of a death row inmate whose
prosecution he personally approved nearly 30 years earlier.
The opinion in Williams v. Pennsylvania can be
found at:
Justice Clarence Thomas's
Solitary Voice [Linda Greenhouse in the NY Times, 6/8/16]: In Foster v. Chatman, in an opinion by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.,
the Supreme Court overturned a 30-year-old murder conviction, ruling that
racial discrimination infected the selection of the all-white Georgia jury that
found a black man guilty of a white woman’s murder. The vote was 7 to 1. The
dissenter was Justice Thomas. His vote,
along with the contorted 15-page opinion that explained it, was one of the most
bizarre performances I have witnessed in decades spent observing the Supreme
Court.
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:
Justices Rule Against
Puerto Rico in Fight Over Criminal Law [AP / CNS, 6/9/16]: The Supreme
Court on Thursday ruled against Puerto Rico in a politically charged dispute
over the island's power to enforce its own criminal laws. The justices ruled
6-2 that the U.S. territory can't prosecute people for local crimes if they've
already been convicted of similar charges in federal court.
The decision in Puerto Rico v. Sanchez Valle
can be found at:
Why the Supreme Court Won't Impact Gun
Rights [The Atlantic, 6/8/16]: The
Second Amendment has been vigorously protected by the elected branches of
government -- don't look for the next Court to change that.
The
American Presidency [TOPIC 15]
Resolved: The President
Has Usurped the Constitutional Power of Congress [National Constitution
Center, 6/8/16]: You can view the video
of last night's Intelligence Squared U.S. Debate, co-hosted by the National
Constitution Center.
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:
GOP shut out in California's top-two primary system [East
Bay Times, 6/8/16]: The California Republican Party has been steadily shrinking
and losing clout for years now, but the results of Tuesday's "top
two" primary election marked a new low for the state party.
Analyst: Surge in Younger Voters Failed to Materialize in
California Primary [KQED, 6/8/16]: Turnout for the California primary,
which some expected to be pumped up by a surge in registrations among younger
voters, fell short of analysts’ expectations. One major factor in that
lower-than-anticipated turnout: For the most part, an analysis of vote-by-mail
ballots suggests, those younger voters simply didn’t participate.
Legislation and the Legislative
Process (TOPIC 20)
GOP Passes Bill Dems
Say Will 'Gut Clean Air Act' [CNS, 6/8/16]: Sidestepping
protests from Democrats that their efforts would "gut the Clean Air
Act," GOP lawmakers capitalized on their majority Wednesday to delay ozone
limitations by eight years, or two presidential cycles.
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
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:
International Law, Citizenship and
Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]
UN report: Eritrea committing crimes against humanity
[Jurist, 6/9/16]: Crimes against humanity, including
enslavement, imprisonment, torture, rape and murder have been widespread in
Eritrea, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea said in a report
Wednesday. The commission has been collecting testimony of these harsh
conditions since 2014.
Judges must ask about
youths' tribal status under new rule [AP, 6/9/16]: A
new federal rule will require judges in every state to ask whether a child is a
Native American during foster-care and adoption proceedings - especially when
there's reason to believe a child is a tribal member.
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