Posts for August 11, 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 (5^th ed.) student textbook.

I. Introduction to Law, the Constitution, and the Supreme Court [See TOPICS 1-10 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

Fill Supreme Court vacancy [USA Today editorial, 8/9/16]: Give Judge Merrick Garland a hearing and a vote.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2016/08/08/supreme-court-trump-clinton-garland-senate-nomination-confirmation/87976590/

II. Defining the Political System: Federalism and Checks and Balances [See TOPICS 11-15 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

The Libertarian Case for Originalism [Fed Soc blog, 8/10/16]: Amongst proponents of limited government—be they conservatives or libertarians—originalism is the theory of constitutional interpretation to beat. Thus, when Libertarian Presidential candidate Gary Johnson recently declared that he would want to appoint Supreme Court Justices “that look at the Constitution of original intent,” he surprised no one. 

http://www.fed-soc.org/blog/detail/the-libertarian-case-for-originalism

III. The Political System: Voting and Campaigns [See TOPICS 16-20 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

Forecasting the 2-16 Presidential Election: Will Time for Change Mean Time for Trump? [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 8/11/16]: The Time for Change forecasting model has correctly predicted the winner of the national popular vote in every presidential election since 1988. 

http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/forecasting-the-2016-presidential-election-will-time-for-change-mean-time-for-trump/

The Electoral College: Penn. Moves Toward Clinton [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 8/11/16]: Key to Trump’s chances, the Keystone State looks less promising for him.

http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/the-electoral-college-pennsylvania-moves-toward-clinton/

House Update: Handful of Races Move Towards Dems [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 8/11/16]: Republicans continue to be favored to hold the House, but there are signs that Democrats could make significant gains and even challenge for the majority itself.

http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/house-update-handful-of-races-move-toward-democrats/

Is Trump Guilty of Inciting Violence Against Clinton? [The Atlantic, 8/10/16]: Trump's comments don't appear to have broken any laws, but assaulted the very concept of free speech.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/08/did-trump-incite-violence-against-clinton/495302/

Donald Trump Calls Obama ‘Founder of ISIS’ and Says It Honors Him [Politico, 8/10/16]: A day after remarks that appeared to suggest that gun rights advocates harm Hillary Clinton, Donald J. Trump sprayed his fire at President Obama on Wednesday, accusing him of creating the Islamic State and saying the terrorist group “honors” him.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/trump-obama-clinton-founded-isis-226893

Trump's long dalliance with violent rhetoric [Politico, 8/10/16]: In May, the Secret Service investigated Donald Trump’s butler over a Facebook post saying that President Barack Obama “should be shot as an enemy agent.” Secret Service agents also interviewed a Trump campaign adviser last month, after he said that Hillary Clinton “should be put in the firing line and shot for treason.” 

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/trump-violent-rhetoric-history-226873

As voter rights cases churn through courts, rights are uncertain; But confusion is guaranteed [Wash Post blog / Politico / CNN, 8/11/16]:  Things are very much in flux, and the possibility of disenfranchisement through confusion or reversals of recent gains remains. Indeed, just Wednesday an appeals court put on hold a softening of Wisconsin’s voter ID law imposed a few weeks ago by a trial court.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/08/11/the-latest-court-victories-for-voter-rights-may-not-mean-much-in-november/

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/wisconsin-voter-id-law-block-226876

http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/10/politics/wisconsin-voter-id-law-injunction-stay/

IV. Criminal Law and Procedure (4^th, 5^th, 6^th, and 8^th amendments) [See TOPICS 21-28 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to this unit

DOJ: Baltimore Police Department engages in discriminatory practices [Jurist, 8/11/16]: he Baltimore Police Department has engaged in tactics that violate the First and Fourth Amendments and numerous anti-discrimination laws, according to a report released by the US Department of Justice Wednesday.

http://www.jurist.org/paperchase/2016/08/doj-baltimore-police-department-engages-in-discriminatory-practices.php

V. 1^st Amendment (Speech, Religion, Press and Assembly) [See TOPICS 29-33 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

Trump's 'Second Amendment' Line Is Protected. Barely. [Bloomberg View, 8/10/16]: A century ago, Donald Trump might have gone to prison for suggesting that “the Second Amendment people” might find a way to stop Hillary Clinton’s agenda as president. Today, the First Amendment protects him -- barely. It’s still a federal crime to threaten the life of the president, and people go to jail for it all the time, despite the apparent abridgment of free speech. But while Trump’s words would probably get him a Secret Service visit if he were an ordinary crazy person, they wouldn’t lead to prosecution.

http://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-08-10/trump-s-second-amendment-line-is-protected-barely

Have your students look up 18 U.S. Code § 879 – “Threats against former Presidents and certain other persons.” Play the video of him making his “2^nd Amendment statement.” Is Trump guilty of this crime? Why or why not?

See U.S. v. Watts (1969) at:

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/394/705.html

'Second Amendment People' Solutions [Slate, 8/10/16]: Trump's Clinton 'joke' was no coincidence; The GOP espouses a right to bear arms whose logical conclusion is political assassination.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2016/08/trump_s_assassination_joke_is_the_logical_endpoint_for_the_gop.html

The Freedom of Speech and Bad Purposes [Article by Eugene Volokh in UCLA Law Review, 8/11/16]: Can otherwise constitutionally protected speech lose its protection because of the speaker’s supposedly improper purpose? The Supreme Court has sometimes said “no”—but sometimes it has endorsed tests (such as the incitement test) that do turn on a speaker’s purpose. 

http://www.uclalawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Volokh-63-5.pdf

'Sister Wives' planning polygamy petition to U.S. Supreme Court [Salt Lake City’s Fox 13, 8/8/16]: Reality TV polygamist Kody Brown and his wives have been given more time to pursue an appeal to the nation's top court in their lawsuit against the state of Utah over polygamy.

http://fox13now.com/2016/08/08/sister-wives-planning-polygamy-petition-to-u-s-supreme-court/

Appeals Court Revives Suit Challenging Ten Commandments at Pa. High School [Pittsburgh Trib-Review, 8/9/16]:  The federal 3rd Circuit appeals court in Philadelphia reinstates a lawsuit challenging a 60-year-old monument displaying the Ten Commandments at a Pennsylvania high school.

http://triblive.com/news/valleynewsdispatch/10935545-74/court-district-monument

The ruling can be found at:

http://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/153083p.pdf

Glenn Beck suggests revealing sources could get them killed [Politico, 8/10/16]: One day after a federal judge ordered Glenn Beck to divulge the names of two sources he relied on for reporting about the Boston Marathon bombing, the conservative media personality is suggesting that doing so might get them murdered.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2016/08/glenn-beck-boston-marathon-sources-226883

4^th Circuit upholds school district in Mexican pledge dispute: Here’s the recent Circuit Court of Appeals decision [8/9/16]:

http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/15/15-40160-CV0.pdf

McAllen student who sued over Mexican pledge and flag loses lawsuit [San Antonio Express-News, 1/7/15]: Here’s some background from the original event.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Judge-dismisses-First-Amendment-suit-over-Mexican-6000259.php

http://www.themonitor.com/news/local/mexican-pledge-suit-against-mcallen-isd-dismissed/article_3af5395a-99ee-11e4-b40f-4383c4ed5e83.html

Ventura says he'll ask the Supreme Court to hear his defamation case, plus seek a new trial [Minneapolis Star Trib, 8/10/16]: The former Minnesota governor declared that the legal battle to clear his name has made the past four years 'hell' for him and his wife.

http://www.startribune.com/ventura-says-he-ll-ask-the-supreme-court-to-hear-his-defamation-case-plus-seek-a-new-trial/389802561/

VI. 14^th Amendment, Discrimination, Privacy, Working, Citizenship & Immigration [See TOPICS 34-41 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to this unit: