Posts for August 12, 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.
Report says 1 in 5
charter schools in California “illegally” screens applicants [NSBA Legal
Clips, 8/10/16]: A report from the American
Civil Liberties Union of Southern California (ACLU-SoCal) and Public Advocates
(PA) concludes that one in five charter schools in California are requiring
applicants and their families to meet criteria not required under state law.
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:
What Would Clinton Win
Mean for SCOTUS? [Bloomberg, 8/11/16]: A
left-leaning court with at least one appointment from potential President
Hillary Clinton would mean a big shift in areas of the law such as voting
rights and gun control, but panelists making predictions at the American Bar
Association annual meeting doubted the new court would overturn major
precedents.
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:
The
American Presidency [TOPIC 15]
Reid predicts Clinton will
choose Garland for Supreme Court [AP / Politico, 8/11/16]: Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid says he is
convinced that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will nominate
Judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court if she is elected president.
The Obama Criminal
Justice Reforms That Trump Could Undo [The Marshall Project, 8/10/16]: A close look at the “executive actions” that the
sweep of a pen could end.
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 team, RNC to meet at pivotal moment [Politico,
8/11/16]: Donald Trump’s campaign and top Republican Party officials plan what
one person called a “come to Jesus” meeting on Friday in Orlando to discuss the
Republican nominee’s struggling campaign, according to multiple sources
familiar with the scheduled sit-down.
Clinton eagerly cedes the spotlight to Trump [Politico,
8/11/16]: Her economic speech attacks the GOP nominee but reflects a strategy
that lets the Republican hog national headlines.
Clinton Releases 2015
Income Tax Information [CNS, 8/12/16]:
Hillary Clinton's campaign on Friday released income tax information that shows
the Democratic nominee and her husband paid a federal tax rate of 34.2 percent
and donated 9.8 percent of their income to charity last year.
Legislation and the Legislative
Process (TOPIC 20)
California Legislature Kills Fentanyl, Whistleblower
Protection Bills [CPR, 8/11/16]: California lawmakers churned through more
than 500 bills one-by-one in the blink of an eye Thursday. The Senate and
Assembly appropriations committees froze some measures while advancing and
amending others – all without any debate or explanation.
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
South Carolina Bd. of
Ed. recommends rules limiting police officers’ involvement in school discipline [NSBA Legal Clips / EdLawProfs blog, 8/11/16]: The
South Carolina Board of Education (SCBE) tentatively approved new rules
limiting school resource officers’ (SROs) involvement with student discipline.
It also unanimously recommended new classifications for student misbehavior.
The proposed rules indicate that officers should not get involved until
offenses become criminal, which is defined as posing a “direct and serious
threat” to safety, such as assault, drug sales or gun possession.
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:
Military court rejects religious angle in Marine's discharge [AP, 8/11/16]: The U.S. military's highest court is upholding the
bad-conduct discharge of a Marine who argued that the disciplinary action
violated her religious beliefs.
The decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed
Forces in U.S. v. Monifa Sterling can be found here:
First Amendment Has the Teeth to Help Consumers [Bloomberg, 8/11/16]: The First Amendment was called in to do the dirty work last
week on an Ohio rule that bans dentists from advertising their specialties
while continuing to practice general dentistry.
Pennsylvania mom
keeps trying to get Ten Commandments statue removed from school grounds
[McClatchy DC, 8/10/16]: A lawsuit over a
60-year-old monument of the Ten Commandments in front of a school in
Pennsylvania is back on.
You can read the 3rd Circuit opinion in Freedom
From Religion Found. v. New Kensington Arnold Sch. Dist. at:
The Vexing Nature of California’s Attempt to Protect Free
Speech Through its Anti-SLAPP Statute [Justia, 8/12/16]: Professor Amar
comments on a recent case that highlights the challenging nature of
California’s attempt to protect free speech through its anti-SLAPP statute.
Amar describes the background of the case as well as the larger problems that
arise when applying the Anti-SLAPP law to discrimination and harassment
lawsuits.
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:
Due Process? South
Carolina Law on Disrupting School Faces Legal Challenge [NY Times, 7/11/16]: The video was startling and soon went viral: A
white sheriff’s deputy in a South Carolina high school drags a black girl from her desk,
slams her to the floor and then handcuffs her. The girl’s crime? She had
refused a teacher’s order to put away her cellphone, then refused an order to
leave the classroom.
7th
Circuit panel rules that Title VII does not prohibit sex discrimination based
on sexual orientation [NSBA Legal Clips, 8/9/16]: It stated that it could not uphold a Title
VII claim based on sexual orientation despite a recent administrative ruling by
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission holding that Title VII does apply
to claims of sex discrimination based on sexual orientation.
The
decision in Hively v. Ivy Tech Cmty. College can be found at:
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