Posts for October 31, 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:

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:

Abortion by prescription now rivals surgery for U.S. women [Reuters, 10/31/16]: American women are ending pregnancies with medication almost as often as with surgery, marking a turning point for abortion in the United States, data reviewed by Reuters shows.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-healthcare-abortion-exclusive-idUSKBN12V0CC

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:

Polls show battleground map tightening [Politico, 10/30/16]: Hillary Clinton's once-decisive Electoral College advantage is narrowing.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/battleground-polls-clinton-trump-230507

How AP rates the presidential race and the Road to 270 [AP, 10/30/16]: Hillary Clinton appears to have expanded her likely electoral college advantage amid strong early vote numbers in key stat s and national polling that, while tightening, consistently shows her leading Republican rival Donald Trump.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/bf4313168038417f97f78c438b540c8b/how-ap-rates-presidential-race-and-road-270

What the FBI Director’s letter about the Clinton emails really says [ThinkProgress, 10/29/16]: It’s a good idea to read the letter before you report on it.

https://thinkprogress.org/the-fbi-directors-letter-about-the-clinton-emails-says-a-lot-less-than-the-media-wants-you-to-aa61e81e5a97#.ga81okghb

Lynch objected to Comey's decision to notify Congress of email review [CNN, 10/29/16]: Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates objected to FBI Director James Comey's decision to notify Congress about his bureau's review of emails related to Hillary Clinton's personal server, law enforcement officials familiar with the discussion said.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/28/politics/fbi-reviewing-new-emails-in-clinton-probe-director-tells-senate-judiciary-committee/index.html

Intimidation Nation [Amicus podcast, 10/31/16]: Lawyers challenging punitive voting restrictions in Ohio are making an eleventh hour appeal to the Supreme Court.

http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/amicus/2016/10/will_trump_supporters_try_to_intimidate_minority_voters_on_election_day.html

Court OK’s Arizona Criminalizing Ballot Collection Law [Trial Insider, 10/28/16]: Arizona criminalized one of the most popular and effective methods for minority voters to cast ballots and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused Friday to block the 2016 law over challenges by Native Americans and Democrats. 

http://www.trialinsider.com/?p=6517

Who Will Protect the Constitution? [Slate, 10/31/16]: Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton, amendment by amendment.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2016/10/who_will_protect_the_constitution_donald_trump_or_hillary_clinton.html

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

Clear Thinking About the Ferguson Effect [Justia, 10/31/16]: Professor Margulies discusses the so-called “Ferguson Effect,” a hypothesis that increased public scrutiny of police violence correlates to higher rates of violent crime. Margulies argues that even if the Ferguson Effect is real—which he does not concede—the alternative of Zero Tolerance and other similar policies wreak havoc on poor communities of color. Margulies makes the case for communities having their own say in how they are policed.

https://verdict.justia.com/2016/10/31/clear-thinking-ferguson-effect

Relief for Juvenile Killers Divides Supreme Court [CNS, 10/31/16]: Two conservative justices voiced criticism Monday as the Supreme Court ordered trial courts to reconsider the life sentences imposed on five Arizona killers, all of whom were under 18 when the committed their crimes. Finding the sentences constitutional, the dissenting justices said precedent requires only that states do not make life-without-parole sentences mandatory for juvenile offenders.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2016/10/31/relief-for-juvenile-killers-divides-supreme-court.htm

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:

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:

The 'Loving Analogy' in the New SCOTUS Trans Case [Dorf on the Law, 10/30/16]: Among the law nerds in whose circles I move, there is a developing view that the public will misunderstand the trans school restroom case of Gloucester County School Board v. G.G, in which the Supreme Court just granted cert. In the law-nerdy view, the public will view the case as fundamentally about trans equality, but in fact it's mostly about administrative law. In this post, I'll explore the possibility that the uninformed public are mostly right and the law nerds are mostly wrong. If so, then the administrative deference issue is secondary: the core question is whether anti-trans discrimination is sex discrimination.

http://www.dorfonlaw.org/2016/10/the-loving-analogy-in-new-scotus-trans.html