Posts for August 21, 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:
Don't bet on Ruth Bader
Ginsburg retiring if Clinton becomes president [Wash Post, 8/20/16]: For those
envisioning a line of moving vans at the Supreme Court and a new president
immediately reordering life at the marble palace, this small splash of cold
water: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 83, has already hired the four clerks who
will assist her through June 2018.
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:
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:
Willie Brown: Trump team will hit hard to reap rewards of
split votes [SF Chron, 8/20/16]: All of you who have been counting
Donald Trump out of the presidential race, remember, the real race doesn’t
begin until Sept. 1. What we’ve seen up until now, including the Donald’s
missteps, misspeaks and mistakes, is the political equivalent of spring
training.
Koch network building a senate wall against Trump [NPR,
8/20/16]: Four years after Charles and David Koch's political network opened
its bank accounts to promote Republican nominee Mitt Romney, it's now spending
millions to save the Republicans' Senate majority from their presidential
candidate.
Clinton campaign makes inroads with small donors [Politico,
8/20/16]: For the first time in July, more than half of her fundraising haul
came in checks under $200.
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
Civil rights group
releases scorecard on police body camera policies [Jurist, 8/20/16]: The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and data
analysis company Upturn released the Body
Worn Cameras Scorecard on Saturday, a report which concluded that the policies
concerning civil rights and the use of body cameras varied widely in more than
50 police departments that were evaluated.
Va. Supreme Court decision rooted in a dark past [Richmond Times-Dispatch, 8/12-/16]: The Commonwealth
of Virginia, like the country as a whole, has a difficult and troubling history
that has been easier to ignore or sanitize than to face squarely.
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:
Supreme Court may reconsider landmark libel law decision [FAC,
8/18/16]: he Supreme Court may take on a review
of New
York Times v. Sullivan in the case of Armstrong v. Thompson. Armstrong contended that as a criminal investigator
for the Treasury Department he had been improperly categorized as a “public
figure” making it difficult to win a defamation case against a colleague who
made complaints about him that caused him to be fired.
See the petition for writ of cert here:
Trump misreads First Amendment in criticizing unfavorable
content in New York Times article [FAC, 8/16/16]: Kristen Powers of USA TODAY writes that Donald Trump is confused in
claiming that a New York Times article about him was not free press since it
was “completely false.” Powers quotes a First Amendment lawyer, Ken White, who
refuted Trump, “Political arguments, characterizations, opinions based on
disclosed facts, and interpretations can’t be ‘false’ for First Amendment
purposes.”
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:
Connecticut man fired for smoking
marijuana at work wins appeal [Reuters, 8/19/16]: Connecticut's highest
court said on Friday a state employee who was fired for smoking marijuana at
work deserves his job back, rejecting the state's argument that suspending the
employee rather than firing him violated public policy.
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