Posts for November 1, 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 the Questioner
[SSRN, 11/1/16]: What has been overlooked in the
debate about his lack of questions during oral argument, however, is the fact
that Justice Thomas is talented at asking questions. Indeed, in many ways, he
is a model questioner. This is an interesting article.
If Clinton wins, more in
GOP say no to 9 on Supreme Court [AP / New Yorker, 11/1/16]: The Supreme Court has existed with its full complement
of nine justices for close to 150 years, no matter who occupied the White
House. Now some Republican lawmakers suggest they would be fine with just eight
for four years more rather than have Hillary Clinton fill the vacancy.
Election Offers Stark Choices on Supreme Court's
Future [The Telegraph (UK) / WSJ,
11/1/16]: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have laid out differing visions for
who they would name to fill open seats.
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 Jumps Ahead in
Latest ABC/Wash Post Poll [CNS, 11/1/16]:
Donald Trump woke up Tuesday morning not only to find himself in the lead in
the latest ABC News/Washington Post tracking poll, but also learning that he's
surged ahead of Hillary Clinton in terms of the relative enthusiasm of their
supporters.
|
The Comey Effect
[Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 10/31/16]: FBI director throws a curveball into the
presidential race with a week to go; Clinton slips in ratings but retains
clear edge.
|
Nov. 8: The Democrats’ quest for a supermajority in
California [Capitol Weekly, 10/31/16]: Asked about the prospect of a
Democratic supermajority in the state Legislature, leaders of both parties are
being supercautious. With a Democratic supermajority, which means majorities of
two-thirds or greater in each house, Republicans could go from marginalized to
irrelevant.
California Republicans in trouble, but it's not all
Trump's fault [Politico, 10/31/16]: With Donald Trump cratering in
California and Republicans across the state returning mail ballots at lower
rates than in 2012, former California Republican chairman Mike Schroeder winced
at the numbers coming in last week.
4 states to weigh tougher gun control in Nov. 8 election [AP, 10/30/16]: The
last time voters in Maine were asked about gun rights, they easily passed a
constitutional amendment creating a right to own firearms that "shall
never be questioned." Three decades later, the state known for its hunting
tradition will vote on whether to tighten restrictions on gun sales and
transfers.
Calbuzz: Yo, Panicked Dems: Hillary Still Headed For
Victory [CalBuzz, 10/31/16]: Not since J. Edgar Hoover’s nefarious
‘60s program, code named COINTELPRO – designed to “expose, disrupt, misdirect,
discredit, neutralize or otherwise eliminate” the activities of civil rights,
anti-war and social justice movements and leaders (including Martin Luther King)
— has an FBI director used his power to manipulate politics in America as has
James Brien Comey.
Election-Cheating
Lawsuits Filed in 7 States [CNS, 11/1/16]:
Both major parties have taken swings at each other in Nevada: Democrats
accusing the Republican Party and Trump campaign of intimidating voters, and
Republicans accusing the Clark County registrar of letting voters register
after the deadline and vote. The suits are two of seven voting-related lawsuits
filed around the country this week.
ACLU Sues to Speed
Lift of Calif. Ballot-Selfie Ban [CNS, 11/1/16]: Calling
a soon-to-expire law that bans ballot selfies unconstitutional, the American
Civil Liberties Union sued California on Monday to ensure voters can legally
take photos of their filled-in ballots this election season.
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
San Francisco calls on state to abolish cash bail for
poor [AP, 11/1/16]: San Francisco's city attorney joined a growing
nationwide call to abolish cash bail for poor defendants.
The last death penalty appeal, or just
another one before a flood, or business as usual [“At the
Lectern” blog, 10/31/16]: On Nov. 1 the California
Supreme Court will hear argument in People v. Winbush, an automatic appeal from a 2003 death penalty
judgment. It could be an historic proceeding; not because of the argument
itself, but because of its timing. Winbush will be the last death penalty argument the court will
hear before the election next week at which voters will weigh in on two
competing death penalty initiatives, either one of which could have a dramatic
effect on the Supreme Court’s docket.
Ballot-Box Tests on Death Penalty in States [Jost on Justice, 10/31/16]: Public support for the
death penalty has fallen to its lowest level in decades as measured not only in
public opinion polls but also in the number of executions and newly imposed
death sentences. And yet, if public opinion polls are reliable indicators,
Californians are poised to reject a ballot measure to abolish the death penalty
for the second time in four years and Nebraskans are about to vote to override
the legislature’s decision in May 2015 to abolish capital punishment in their
state.
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:
Is giving your ex-wife the
middle finger salute illegal in Pa.? [Harrisburg (PA.) Patriot-News,
11/1/16]: A man who flipped his ex-wife the bird
in front of their children may have been rude and disrespectful, but he
shouldn't have been convicted of disorderly conduct, a state appeals court
panel has concluded.
Ga. High Court
Strikes Verbal Abuse of Educators Law [School Law Blog, 11/1/16]: Georgia’s highest court unanimously struck down a
state statute that criminalized "upbraiding, insulting, or abusing" a
public school teacher, administrator, or bus driver in the presence of a
student while on a school bus or school premises. The measure was overly broad
in violation of the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech, the court said.
Read the decision in West v. The State at:
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 Hears
Arguments Regarding Student's Service Dog Request [EdLawProfs blog / NSBA Legal Clips, 11/1/16]: Yesterday,
the Court heard oral arguments regarding the dispute over whether Ehlena Fry, a
12-year-old Michigan girl with cerebral palsy, can bring her service dog to
school.
US. Supreme Court has
granted Cert to Virginia School District in G.G.
v. Gloucester [NSBA Legal Clips, 10/31/16]: The Court has granted Gloucester County School Board’s petition for
certiorari in G.G. v. Gloucester
(G.G.), which asked the Court to review the decision of a U.S.
Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit’s three-judge panel holding
that the U.S. Department of Education’s interpretation of Title IX, indicating
that Title IX applies to gender identity, should be accorded deference by the
courts. The justices most likely will not hear oral argument until
the Spring of 2017.
U.S. Supreme Court
Hears Arguments in Case on Service Dog and Special Education [School Law
Blog, 10/31/16]: The justices have tough
questions for both sides about whether a family must exhaust administrative
remedies before suing for damages over the denial of a service dog at school. Even
if the justices seemed sympathetic to the Frys’ situation, their ruling will
extend far beyond that family’s case. The justices therefore puzzled over how
to draw the line for future cases. One recurring concern, voiced early in the
oral argument by Justice Anthony Kennedy, but also by Chief Justice John
Roberts, was the prospect that strategic pleading in a complaint would allow
families to bypass the exhaustion requirement in true IDEA cases simply by
tacking on a request for damages under the ADA and Rehabilitation Act.
The case is Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools
and info can be found at:
Transgender-Rights Case
Moves Too Quickly [Bloomberg View, 10/31/16]: Transgender
rights could benefit from a longer lead time for the lower courts to explore
the different aspects of the question -- and for the American people to develop
a consensus.
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