Monday, December 5, 2016

Posts for December 5, 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:

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 Confirms Carson Is Choice to Be HUD Secretary [CNS, 12/5/16]: President-elect Donald Trump formally nominated Dr. Ben Carson on Monday as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, ending speculation that had been simmering for more than a week that the retired neurosurgeon would take the job.

Trump's Threat to the Constitution [NY Times’ Op-Ed, 12/5/16]: His objective is to weaken the democratic institutions that limit their power. Eroding confidence in voting, elections and representative bodies gives them a freer hand to wield more power.

Trump has broad power to implement immigration policies: legal experts [Reuters, 12/4/16]: President-elect Donald Trump will be able to make many of his promised changes in immigration policy unilaterally by exercising the same kind of executive powers he criticized President Barack Obama for using. fully implementing them would require funding that Congress would have to approve, legal experts said.

In House Majority Leader's Home District, Many Depend On Health Law He Wants To Scrap [NPR, 12/4/16]: House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act first and replace it sometime later. That doesn't sit well with Victoria Barton, who lives in McCarthy's rural California district.

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:

Questions Of Race And Redistricting Return To The Supreme Court [Nina Totenberg on NPR’s Morning Edition / AP / The Atlantic, 12/5/16]: For more than a quarter century, two legislative districts in North Carolina have been ground zero in a fight over race and redistricting. In the course of that time, Republicans have taken control of the state Legislature, and the two political parties have reversed their legal positions regarding the use of race and drawing district lines.

The Electoral College Works Fine, Just as it Is [Justia, 12/5/16]: Professor Rotunda explains the basis for the electoral college and argues that it continues to serve the very purpose it was created to serve, namely to promote efficiency and protect against “tyranny by the majority.”

Ryan won't repudiate Trump's false illegal voter claims [Politico, 12/5/16]: Paul Ryan says he doesn’t know if millions of Americans voted illegally for Hillary Clinton, and he refused to repudiate Donald Trump’s groundless claims of a vast voter-fraud conspiracy.

Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)

Democrats to give Trump Cabinet picks the Garland treatment [Politico, 12/5/16]: Delay tactics could sap momentum from the president's first 100 days; 'What goes around comes around,' one lawmaker says.

Ryan Says He and Trump Have Not Discussed Cutting Medicare [Roll Call, 12/4/16]: Since the election, Democrats have rung constant alarms about Republican designs on cutting Medicare. But Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Sunday that’s an option he hasn’t even discussed with President-elect Donald J. Trump.

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

Court Set to Overturn Texas Death Penalty Case [Jost on Justice, 12/3/16]: Texas leads the nation in executions by a country mile, but the state seems on a path to seeing two of its death penalty cases reversed by the Supreme Court following separate arguments in the first two months of the court's new term. 

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:

With Trump's Title IX stance unknown, video aims to educate about sexual harassment at school [EdSource, 12/4/16]: National experts on sexual harassment in K-12 schools have teamed up to create a new educational video about gender equality, intended to inform students that they have a legal right to attend a school where nobody is harassed because of their gender.

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