Friday, December 16, 2016

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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