Posts for December 16, 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:
Supreme Court adds 4 cases to docket [Jurist / CNS,
12/15/16]: The US Supreme
Court granted certiorari in four cases
Wednesday.
What the Women of SCOTUS Know [Slate, 12/15/16]: In these troubled times, Justices
O'Connor, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Kagan are all the role models we need.
Sykes, Pryor among top contenders for Supreme Court vacancy –
sources [CNN / AL.com, 12/15/16]: It
will be some time before Donald Trump announces a nominee to fill the vacancy
left by Antonin Scalia, according to transition insiders. But two names continue to
emerge to the top of the president elect's list of potential Supreme Court
justices. Judges Diane Sykes and William Pryor are among the top contenders,
according to multiple sources familiar with the process.
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:
Federal judge temporarily blocks Texas fetal burial rule
[Jurist, 12/16/16]: A judge for the US
District Court for the Western District of Texas on Thursday temporarily
blocked new Texas regulations that would require the burial or cremation of
aborted fetal remains. The new regulations, approved last week by the Texas
Department of State Health Services, were set to take effect December 19 but
were challenged earlier this week by the Center for
Reproductive Rights (CRR), which claimed that they placed an undue burden on
women seeking abortions.
The
American Presidency [TOPIC 15]
Obama on Russian hacking: 'We need to take action, and we
will' [NPR, 12/15/16]: President Obama says the United States will
respond to Russian cyberattacks that the intelligence community has concluded
were part of an effort to influence the 2016 presidential election.
To Combat Trump, Democrats Ready a G.O.P. Tactic: Lawsuits [NY Times, 12/14/16]: One attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, is already
investigating Donald J. Trump over
possible violations of New York State law at his charity foundation. Another,
Maura Healey of Massachusetts, has joined Mr. Schneiderman in an investigation
into whether Exxon Mobil — whose chief executive, Rex W. Tillerson, is Mr.
Trump’s choice for secretary of state — lied to investors and the public about
the threat of climate change.
Trump Should Work
With Democrats on an Infrastructure Plan [Justia, 12/16/16]: uchanan explains why President-elect Donald Trump
should work with Democrats to achieve the infrastructure plan he described
during his campaign. As Buchanan argues, Trump can benefit politically from an
infrastructure spending bill in ways that he would not if he were to focus
instead on regressive tax cuts or changing international trade policy.
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:
California
electors favor changing Electoral College [AP, 12/15/16]: They're the chosen few — the 55
California residents who will directly cast votes for president. But many of
California's presidential electors don't think they or anyone else should have
that right. As the
Electoral College prepares to meet in state capitols around the country on
Monday, many of California's electors say they'd prefer to reform or eliminate
the body that formally elects U.S. presidents.
Democratic donors call for Clinton campaign post-mortem [Politico,
12/15/16]: When Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine greet the very top fundraisers
and donors to their failed campaign at New York’s Plaza Hotel on Thursday
evening, many of them will have one question in mind: Where’s the autopsy?
North Carolina GOP Seeks to Strip Power of Incoming
Democratic Governor [CNS, 12/16/16]: Republican
lawmakers in North Carolina remained unbowed Friday in their quest to strip
power from the incoming Democratic governor despite public opposition and
statehouse protests Thursday night that led to at least 25 arrests.
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
Why Congress May
Bring Criminal Justice Reform Back to Life [The Marshall Project,
12/15/16]: Four reasons a bipartisan bill
has a better chance than you think.
Delaware court says death
penalty ruling is retroactive [AP, 12/15/16]: A Delaware Supreme Court ruling
earlier this year declaring the state's death penalty law unconstitutional is
retroactive, meaning an inmate convicted of killing a police officer must be
resentenced to life in prison, the justices said in a follow-up decision
Thursday.
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:
Efforts to attack
fake news pick up steam [FAC, 12/15/16]:
Craigslist founder Craig Newmark is fighting fake news with a $1 million grant
to The Poynter Institute for a new initiative to promote and standardize ethics
in journalism. Newmark said that fake news was a threat to
democracy.
Excommunication,
Buddhists, and temple control: An interesting new Supreme Court petition [Volokh Conspiracy, 12/15/16]:
Disputes over who gets to run a religious organization — and thus to
control the organization’s property — are subject to interesting, complicated,
controversial and often surprising rules.
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:
Transgender Student Can
Continue To Use Girls' Bathroom, Federal Appeals Court Rules [Buzzfeed, 12/15/16]: “Doe, a vulnerable eleven year old with special needs,
will suffer irreparable harm if prohibited from using the girls’ restroom,” the
court held.
International Law, Citizenship
and Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]
Supreme Court Foreshadows Big Constitutional Ruling In
Immigration Case [Huff Post /
Constitution Daily, 12/15/16]: An unusual order indicates that the justices may
not be willing to split 4-to-4.
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