Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Posts for August 23, 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:

The summer of Sandra Day O'Connor, then and now [CNN, 8/20/16]: She always insisted it was luck that led to her appointment as the first woman on the US Supreme Court. But Sandra Day O'Connor was ready for her luck. She demonstrated that 35 years ago this summer when Reagan administration lawyers flew to Arizona to interview her as one of several candidates for a court vacancy.

Supreme Court to Consider Legal Standard Drawn From 'Of Mice and Men' [Adam Liptak in NY Times, 8/22/16]: In 2002, the Supreme Court barred the execution of the intellectually disabled. But it gave states a lot of leeway to decide just who was, in the language of the day, “mentally retarded.” Texas took a creative approach, adopting what one judge there later called “the Lennie standard.” That sounds like a reference to an august precedent, but it is not. The Lennie in question is Lennie Small, the dim, hulking farmhand in John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men.”

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:

Inside the Conservative Push for States to Amend the Constitution [NY Times, 8/22/16]: Taking advantage of almost a decade of political victories in state legislatures across the country, conservative advocacy groups are quietly marshaling support for an event unprecedented in the nation’s history: a convention of the 50 states, summoned to consider amending the Constitution.

Constitution Check: Has the U.S. war against ISIS in Syria been illegal from the start? [Constitution Daily, 8/22/16]: Constitution Daily Supreme Court correspondent Lyle Denniston looks at a lawsuit from an Army officer that contests the legality of military actions against taken against the Islamic State.

Federal Judge Won't Block Guns From Texas College Classrooms [CNS, 8/23/16]: Texas college students will carry concealed guns into classes when the fall semester begins Wednesday, as a federal judge Monday refused three University of Texas at Austin professors' request for an injunction to keep concealed handguns out of their classrooms. 

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:

Differences aside, Supreme Court unites Trump, Senate GOP [AP / Slate, 8/23/16]: Differences aside, Donald Trump and Senate Republicans are strongly united on one issue - ideological balance on the Supreme Court.

Trump's stamina attack on Clinton stirs talk of gender bias [AP, 8/23/16]: Intent on undermining his Democratic rival, Trump and GOP backers are increasingly relying on rhetoric that academics and even some Republican strategists say has an undeniable edge focused on gender.

Hillary Clinton’s historic free-pass on the airwaves [Politico, 8/23/16]: Trump attacks the Democrat in the media but she’s coasted through 2016 facing almost no paid negative ads.

Restored voting rights sought for California disabled people [AP, 8/23/16]: As the November presidential election neared, it looked like David Rector would once again be unable to vote. Five years ago, a judge ruled that a traumatic brain injury disqualified him.

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 Did Justice Scalia Shape American Policing? [The Atlantic, 8/20/16]: Donald Trump wants a Supreme Court appointee like the formidable late judge; But Scalia had a controversial and sometimes conflicted opinion on law enforcement.

Ohio inmate who survived '09 execution appeals to high court [AP, 8/23/16]: A condemned Ohio killer who survived a 2009 botched execution is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to declare that a second attempt to put him to death would be unconstitutional.
Here was the 4-3 Ohio Supreme Court decision in question:

35 Years Lost to Frame-Up? [CNS, 8/23/16]: Homophobic Reno police officers, believing a paranoid schizophrenic woman was a lesbian, fabricated evidence that sent her to prison for 35 years for a murder committed by a man, making her the "longest-ever wrongfully incarcerated woman in U.S. history," her attorney says.

Where the Death Penalty Still Lives [NY Times’ Sunday Mag, 8/23/16]: As capital punishment declines nationwide, a tiny fraction of the country generates an alarming number of death sentences; What this new geography tells us about justice in America.

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:

Federal judge temporarily blocks transgender bathroom access guidelines [Jurist, 8/22/16]: A judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas on Sunday temporarily blocked federal guidelines that allowed transgender students to use the bathroom according to the gender with which they identify.

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:

California Supreme Court allows teacher tenure laws to stand [EdLawProfs blog / SF Chron / Bloomberg / CNS, 8/22/16]: Tenure laws that provide job security for 277,000 California schoolteachers were preserved Monday when a divided state Supreme Court rejected a challenge by opponents who said the laws shielded incompetent instructors and harmed low-income and minority students.
You can access the order denying review with the dissents therefrom at:





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