Monday, November 28, 2016

Posts for November 28, 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 Republican Assault On The Integrity Of The Supreme Court [Huff Post, 11/27/16]: By refusing to confirm President Barack Obama’s appointment of Chief Judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court, Senators Mitch McConnell, Charles Grassley, and their Republican cronies betrayed our constitutional traditions and undermined a central principle of American democracy.

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:

The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]

Trump's Next Battle: Keeping These Republican Senators Happy [”On Washington,” in the NY Times, 11/25/16]: While much of the attention in Washington is on who will fill the Trump cabinet, it is already clear who some of the most important people will be when it comes to fulfilling the Trump agenda. One group will be particularly well positioned to either accommodate or infuriate Donald J. Trump: a handful of independent-minded Republican senators who have shown a willingness to break with the president-elect and have readily split with their own party on issues in the past.

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:

Opportunity for Justices on Partisan Gerrymandering [Jost on Justice, 11/27/16]: Wisconsin Republicans gained control of the state legislature and the governor's office in 2010 for the first time in 40 years and then set about drawing up legislative districts to secure a Republican majority for the rest of the decade. As the legislature was about to act, an aide to the Senate's Republican leader told the GOP caucus they had "an opportunity and an obligation to draw these maps that Republicans haven’t had in decades."

Trump's baseless assertions of voter fraud called 'stunning' [Politico, 11/27/16]: Donald Trump on Sunday used the platform of the presidency to peddle a fringe conspiracy theory to justify his loss of the popular vote, claiming without evidence that millions of people voted illegally Nov. 8. 

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

Update: Incidents of Hateful Harassment Since Election Day Now Number 701 [Southern Poverty Law Center, 11/18/16]: This is the second update from the Southern Poverty Law Center's effort to collect reports of hateful incidents of harassment around the country.

The Many Faces of Backlash [Justia, 11/28/16]: Professor Margulies considers how the politics of quiescence and backlash might manifest itself in the areas of criminal justice and national security. As to national security, Margulies predicts that backlash will be particularly potent, but as to criminal justice, his poor decisions that disproportionately affect poor people of color will unable to generate the same political resonance.

The Attorney Fighting Revenge Porn [The new Yorker, 11/5/16]: Carrie Goldberg is a pioneer in the field of sexual privacy, using the law to defend victims of hacking, leaking, and other online assaults.

Death penalty, the mentally disabled at issue for justices [AP, 11/27/16]: The U.S. Supreme Court is set to examine whether the nation's busiest state for capital punishment is trying to put to death a convicted killer who's intellectually disabled, which would make him ineligible for execution under the court's current guidance.

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:

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:

Lawyer who argued for landmark SCOTUS privacy decision says Trump 'is a moron' [Ars Technica, 11/27/16]:  Pivotal judge in 1967 Katz case says privacy will be a 'tough ride' from here.

International Law, Citizenship and Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]

Taliban fighter case stirs question on law of armed conflict [AP, 11/28/16]: A former Russian army officer who defected to fight alongside Taliban-affiliated forces is now arguing he should never have been prosecuted at all.



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