Posts for December 7, 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:
Bench Brackets: The Battle
for the Next SCOTUS Justice (Part 1) [Bloomberg, 12/6/16]: Twenty-one contenders. One spot. Bloomberg BNA’s
Kimberly Robinson and Patrick Gregory narrow down who will take home the title
of Next Supreme Court Justice.
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]
U.S. courts look ahead to Trump as Obama cases fizzle [Reuters, 12/6/16]:
President Barack Obama's legal defense of some key
initiatives including his signature healthcare law is collapsing as courts put
cases on hold until after President-elect Donald Trump, hostile to the policies,
assumes office on Jan. 20.
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:
Federal, state courts duel over Michigan's
recount [Detroit News, 12/6/16]: A
Michigan Court of Appeals panel has ordered the Board of State Canvassers to
reconsider and reject a recount petition filed by Green Party candidate Jill
Stein, ruling she did not meet the qualifications for the request because she
has no chance at winning the presidential election.
Clinton Landslide in California Offers Glimpse Into
Future of Politics [CNS, 12/6/16]: With the 2016 presidential election over, political
doctors are trotting out their diagnoses for why everyone was so wrong and it’s
Donald Trump planning his transition into the White House instead of Hillary
Clinton.
Legislation and the Legislative
Process (TOPIC 20)
Repealing Obamacare to be first on Senate agenda in 2017 [Reuters, 12/6/16]: Repealing Obamacare will be the first order
of business in the U.S. Senate in January, Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell, a Republican, said on Tuesday. Republicans will replace President
Barack Obama's signature health insurance program that provides coverage to
millions of Americans "step by step," said Senator John Thune,
another member of the Republican leadership.
California's new Legislature has biggest gender gap in
quarter century [KPCC, 12/7/16]: As California's state legislators began a
new session this week, data shows the 120-member Legislature is far more male
and white than the state it represents.
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
Oakland fire: Legal experts say criminal charges are a
given [EB Times, 12/7/16]: As
investigators in hazmat suits sort “bucket by bucket” through the charred
debris of the Ghost Ship warehouse fire in search of clues as to how and why 36
people’s lives were lost, legal experts say it’s almost certain someone will be
criminally charged no matter what the cause.
In Alabama, You Can
Be Sentenced to Death Even if Jurors Don’t Agree [The Marshall Project,
12/7/16]: Judges have uniquely uncommon
power in the 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:
When free speech comes at
a cost
[Phily Inquirer, 12/6/16]: Freedom-of-speech
protection under the First Amendment, experts point out over and over, does not
extend to the private sector, and that's a tough lesson to learn following a
divisive presidential campaign of unusually coarse discourse.
Lee v. Tam: Offensive Trademarks at the Supreme Court -- Speech
Rights and Government Prerogative (A Series); Part Three [“In a Crowded Theater” blog, 12/6/16]: The Best
Arguments for Allowing the Denial of Registration to Disparaging Trademarks.
California’s Defeated
Condom Initiative and the First Amendment [Justia,
12/7/16]: Professor Colb discusses California’s Proposition 60, a ballot
initiative that recently failed in that state that would have required male
actors in pornographic movies to wear condoms during performances. Colb
considers both a First Amendment challenge to the ballot initiative, as well as
a possible response to that challenge, and she argues the law would likely pass
muster under the First Amendment.
“Anti-Semitism Awareness Act” ignites First Amendment controversy [Concurring Opinions / FAC, 12/7/16]: The bill was proposed
by Senators Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, and Tim Scott, a South Carolina
Republican, to “ensure the Education Department has the necessary statutory
tools at their disposal to investigate anti-Jewish incidents,” according to
a news release. The senators say the act is not meant to infringe on any
individual right protected under the First Amendment, but rather to address
a recent uptick in hate crimes against Jewish students.
Censorship: Author withdraws satirical book after heated
criticism [FAC, 12/7/16]: Inundated by angry
messages, an author of a book satirizing children book covers asked the
publisher to withdraw the book. The book which was comprised of parodies of
notable covers was widely panned for distasteful content and racial and
cultural stereotypes.
California
U.S. congressman sues defeated opponent for libel [FAC, 12/6/16]: The day before
the election, Re. Darrell Issa sued his democratic opponent Doug
Applegate for two campaign ads he claims were libelous.
https://firstamendmentcoalition.org/2016/12/california-u-s-congressman-sues-defeated-opponent-libel/
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:
Court paves way for
Gay-Straight Alliance at middle schools [Leesburg (FL) Daily Commercial / Volokh
Conspiracy, 12/6/16]: The United States Federal Court of Appeals for the
11th Circuit overturned a lower court's ruling that kept a group of Lake County
students from establishing a Gay-Straight Alliance at Carver Middle School,
according to a press release from the American Civil Liberties Union.
The opinion in Carver
Middle School Gay-Straight Alliance v. School Board of Lake County Florida
can be found at:
International Law, Citizenship
and Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]
Will Trump slam the door on Obama's Dreamers? [Politico,
12/6/16]: President-elect Donald Trump’s get-tough stance against illegal
immigration faces a key test on his first day in office: whether to follow
through on his campaign trail pledge to revoke President Barack Obama’s 2012
directive that gave undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as
children a chance to work here legally without getting deported.
Ugandan Warlord Faces Reckoning at The Hague [CNS, 12/6/16]: A former commander with a Christian
extremist group went to trial in The Hague on Tuesday for crimes against
humanity involving the murder, rape and torture of thousands of Northern
Ugandans.
Broken Contract [CNS, 12/7/16]: Fidel Castro was
the embodiment of a great notion that has been crumbling for some time, the
idea that the state should help the farmers, the regular people, the poor,
should liberate and lift them, and protect them against the rich and powerful.
It is hard to see now but once upon a time there was a sweetness and a soaring
quality to that notion.
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