Posts for October 26, 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:
Clarence Thomas’s 25
Years Without Footprints [Jeffrey Toobin in The New Yorker, 10/25/16]: “…Thomas is not a conservative
but, rather, a radical—one whose entire career on the Court has been devoted to
undermining the rules of precedent in favor of his own idiosyncratic
interpretation of the Constitution… His
vision is more reactionary than that of any Justice who has served on the Court
since the nineteen-thirties, and his views are closest to those of the Justices
who struck down much of the New Deal during that era.”
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:
Trump looms large in California congressional races [AP,
10/25/16]: Republican Donald Trump’s presidential campaign plays large in a
number of California’s most competitive congressional campaigns. Democrats
already hold a 39-14 advantage in the nation’s largest congressional delegation
and they are looking to add to it in November by hammering any GOP candidate
who doesn’t reject Trump.
Justin Timberlake's ballot selfie highlights mixed laws [AP,
10/26/16]: Now even Justin Timberlake has been forced to deal with the question
of whether a ballot selfie is legal.
Trump asks team to trim back transition efforts, focus on
race: sources [Reuters, 10/25/16]: Trailing in opinion polls, Republican
presidential nominee Donald Trump has asked his campaign to cut back on work
identifying candidates for key jobs in his would-be administration and focus
instead on bolstering his chances on Election Day, according to two people
familiar with the campaign's inner workings.
Donald Trump as an Anti-Precedent [Gerard Magliocca in Concurring Opinions, 10/26/16]:
People may look back on this election and say for years to come things like
“You can’t say that–you’ll end up like Trump” or “That guy is just like Trump,”
or “that proposal sounds just like Trump.”
Clinton Staffer Calls
Wall St. Speeches 'Accommodationist' [CNS,
10/25/16]: With Hillary Clinton looking increasingly likely to secure the
presidency, her full speeches to Wall Street bankers show a willingness to
accommodate the moneyed interests that diverges sharply from her campaign
statements in the past few months.
http://www.courthousenews.com/2016/10/25/clinton-staffer-calls-wall-st-speeches-accommodationist.htm
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
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:
Does the First
Amendment End at the Prison Gate? [The Marshall Project, 10/25/16]: An inmate’s novel is the latest test.
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:
Utah Schools Sued for
'Odious' Rules on Gays [CNS, 10/26/16]: Utah
schools unconstitutionally subject homosexual students to harassment and
bullying, censor their speech, violate their right to association and won't
even let them mention gay issues in a positive way, parents claim in Federal
Court.
Federal district
court in Texas affirms that its preliminary injunction barring the federal
government from enforcing its guidance on accommodating transgender students
applies nationwide [NSBA Legal Clips, 10/25/16]: The court order could also affect several other lawsuits
in which U.S. attorneys are involved, including United States v. North Carolina, the case that kicked off a
national debate over transgender rights earlier this year.
9th Circuit
panel rules that student with qualifying disabilities was entitled to special
education services under IDEA even though his academic performance was
satisfactory [NSBA Legal Clips, 10/25/16]: It rejected the argument that the student was not entitled to
such services because his academic performance was satisfactory without
the services. It concluded that the federal district court had
mischaracterized the individualized accommodations and services the student
received as general education available to all students. The panel also found
the school district had committed procedural violations of the IDEA by
failing to disclose school records to the parent and failing to conduct a
health assessment.
The case is L.J. v. Pittsburg Unif. Sch.
Dist. and can be found at:
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