Posts for September 29, 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.
LII/Cornell Legal
Resources: Subscribe to the LII Supreme Court bulletin and preview their
previews!! Great resources.
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:
Supreme Court on Verge of Historic Shift Is Stuck in Limbo
for Now [Bloomberg, 9/28/16]: The
U.S. Supreme Court opens its new term next week in a holding pattern while
waiting for a ninth justice. After the next president takes office in January,
it may be on the cusp of a historic transformation. A victory in November for
Democrat Hillary Clinton would give the court a majority of Democratic
appointees for the first time since 1969, at the end of the liberal era under
Chief Justice Earl Warren.
Pondering the Supreme Court's Future [Linda Greenhouse in the NY Times, 9/29/16]: Anyone
interested in the future of the Supreme Court might ponder a three-sentence
order the court issued on the last day of August. It announced the court’s
denial of North Carolina’s emergency request to reinstate the voter ID and two
other provisions of its election law that a federal appeals court struck down
this summer as intentionally discriminatory.
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:
Obama's Clean Power Plan gets court
showdown [USA Today / The Guardian / CNN, 9/27/16]: The nation's second most powerful court spent nearly
seven hours Tuesday trying to decide whether President Obama's signature plan
to fight global warming represents a transformative environmental initiative or
tramples on the prerogatives of Congress and the states.
The Climate-Change Countdown
[The New Yorker, 9/29/16]: Why a Donald Trump Supreme
Court pick could destroy progress in the fight against global warming.
The
American Presidency [TOPIC 15]
Congress overrides veto of 9/11 bill allowing suits
against Saudi Arabia [Jurist, 9/28/16]: Obama vetoed
the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) last Friday,
stating that such a bill violates international standards of foreign sovereign
immunity and may set a dangerous precedent for allowing the US to be held
liable by foreign private courts.
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:
Felons in county jails to be allowed to vote in
California elections [LA Times / CNS, 9/28/16]: Despite widespread
opposition from law enforcement, Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed a bill
that will allow thousands of felons in county jails to vote in California
elections as part of an effort to speed their transition back into society.
Trump launches 'follow the money' attack [Politico,
9/28/16]: In an effort to go steady his campaign after this week’s shaky debate,
Donald Trump on Wednesday launched a coordinated attack casting Hillary Clinton
as a corrupt pawn of major donors and special interests.
Clinton Erases Trump
Lead in New National Poll [CNS, 9/28/16]: Hillary
Clinton has erased Donald Trump's lead in the latest Rasmussen poll, another
sign Monday night's presidential candidate debate at Hofstra University in New
York has given the Democrat a nice bump in support.
Legislation and the Legislative
Process (TOPIC 20)
Senate Passes Bill to
Avoid Government Shutdown [CNS, 9/28/16]: The
U.S. Senate broke through a week-long stalemate Wednesday to pass a short-term
government funding bill that includes money to fight against the Zika virus
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
Criminal Justice
Reform: An Obituary [The Marshall Project, 9/29/16]: Obama and Newt Gingrich. Koch Industries and the
ACLU. With friends like that, how could it lose?
Statute of limitations for rape eliminated in California
after Gov. Brown signs bill prompted by Cosby allegations [AP,
9/28/16]: California has ended its statute of limitations for rape cases after
Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed legislation filed in the wake of sexual
assault allegations against comedian Bill Cosby.
Will end of death penalty bring campaign against life
imprisonment? [SF Chron, 9/28/16]: If California voters abolish the
death penalty this fall, its foes will go after life imprisonment next,
proponents of a measure to speed up the capital punishment process warned
Wednesday.
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:
Religion in the 2016
Election Cycle: Where Did It Go?
[Justia, 9/29/16]: Professor Hamilton
discusses the decreased emphasis on affiliation with organized religion this
election cycle. Although this may seem unusual in light of a more dedicated
focus on religion in past elections, Hamilton explains that this lack of
attention in the 2016 election harkens back to an earlier era of American
history when many of our constitutional framers professed a Deist view of
religion—and is ultimately a positive development for our country.
5th Circuit ponders New
Orleans' Confederate monuments [New Orleans T=P, 9/29/16]: Activists supporting the removal of Confederate
monuments said the skepticism that three U.S. Court of Appeals judges expressed
Wednesday (Sept. 28) about blocking removal of the monuments bodes well for a
plan to take the monuments down.
You Can't Strip Dancers of
the Right to Bare All [Bloomberg, 9/28/16]: Strippers
have constitutional rights too -- or at least that’s the claim of three New
Orleans women challenging a Louisiana law that requires erotic dancers to be 21
to expose their breasts or buttocks. It may sound absurd, but the legal
argument is pretty powerful. The law facially discriminates on the basis of
sex, and arguably infringes on that classic First Amendment right to express
yourself by dancing without clothes.
Supreme Court to hear
challenge over offensive trademarks [AP, 9/29/16]: The Supreme Court is taking up a First Amendment clash
over the government's refusal to register offensive trademarks, a case that
could affect the Washington Redskins in their legal fight over the team name.
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:
Supreme Court says it will hear special education case
[AP, 9/29/16]: he Supreme Court says it'll decide the minimum that public
schools must do to help learning-disabled students. The court agreed Thursday
to resolve differences among federal appeals court over the standards schools
must meet under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Orange
County Sikhs and Muslims welcome new school anti-bullying law [OC Register, 9/29/16]:
Amarjit Dhillon understands the burden of being a Sikh in America. The
president of Gurdwara Buena Park, a Sikh temple, has been called “bin Laden”
while walking in downtown Los Angeles. And about five years ago, he helped a
local Sikh family change schools for a child who was bullied for wearing a
turban.
International Law, Citizenship and
Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]
Supreme Court to hear case
over deportations [AP, 9/29/16]: The
Supreme Court will take up the Obama administration's appeal of lower court
rulings making it harder to deport immigrants who've been convicted of crimes.
Obama administration settles lawsuits with Native
American tribes [Jurist, 9/28/16]: The US
government is trustee to a large portion of tribal land and manages almost 56
million acres on behalf of tribes. Under the trust agreement, the US government
must ensure the tribe receives "just compensation for the use of their
land and resources."
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