Posts for January 1, 2017

These are the posts that are accumulated in our weekly newsletter which goes out throughout the school year. The posts are organized by the major units in our Constitutional Law (5^th ed.) student textbook.

The 6 Types of Lawyers You See in the Movies [ABA Journal]: All professions are given their life-affirming, redemptive, good-triumphing-over-evil screen tests from time to time: the press in Spotlight; teachers in Mr. Holland’s Opus; doctors in Patch Adams, dying baseball players in The Pride of the Yankees; even prostitutes in Pretty Woman. Yet with all that sugarcoated predictability and the inevitable Hollywood plotlines, law films are not without their own unique charms—the various subgenres and artistic tropes that make such movies both familiar and entertaining.

http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/6_lawyer_movie_tropes

“Welcome to the Movies”:

http://www.abajournal.com/gallery/lawyer_movie_tropes/

Top 100 Law Sites to Follow [ABA Journal, 12/1/16]: The tally of law blogs in our directory has topped 4,000. We present to you our latest roundup of the 100 most compelling ones.

http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/10th_annual_blawg_100/

I. Introduction to Law, the Constitution, and the Supreme Court [See TOPICS 1-10 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

Will "Funny Brief" Backfire at Supreme Court? [Tony Mauro in the NLJ, 12/31/16]: The Cato Institute’s Ilya Shapiro has done it again. For the third year in a row, he has filed what he calls one of Cato’s “funny briefs” with the U.S. Supreme Court, an amicus curiae brief that celebrates, more or less, the objectionable speech at issue in a First Amendment case.

http://www.law.com/sites/almstaff/2016/12/30/will-funny-brief-backfire-at-supreme-court/?cmp=share_twitter&slreturn=20161131165944

10 Supreme Court Novels [ABA Journal]: The Supreme Court is back in the spotlight. It’s not the first time, and won’t be the last. If you’re interested in the high court, but want an escape from the pundits and political theater of the coming months, several novels have explored the mysteries of 1 First Street. Here are 10 notables.

http://www.abajournal.com/gallery/scotus_novels

II. Defining the Political System: Federalism and Checks and Balances [See TOPICS 11-15 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]

Kellyanne Conway's Husband Could Become Donald Trump's Top Supreme Court Lawyer [Huff Post, 12/31/16]: The solicitor general is the country's top appellate attorney.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kellyanne-husband-george-conway-trump-solicitor-general_us_5867ac2ae4b0d9a5945b9004

III. The Political System: Voting and Campaigns [See TOPICS 16-20 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

IV. Criminal Law and Procedure (4^th, 5^th, 6^th, and 8^th amendments) [See TOPICS 21-28 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to this unit

50-year story of the Miranda warning has the twists of a cop show [ABA Journal, 8/1/16]: In Miranda, the Warren court had ruled that statements made by a suspect during the course of a custodial interrogation by the police could not be used in court unless the suspect had been warned of his or her right to remain silent and to have counsel present during the questioning.

http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/miranda_warning_history

The Growing Gap Between the U.S. and the International Anti-Death-Penalty Consensus [New Yorker, 12/31/16]: Last week, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution calling for a worldwide “moratorium on the use of the death penalty”—the sixth that the U.N. has approved in the past decade. Each one has gained the support of more of the organization’s members. 

http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-growing-gap-between-the-u-s-and-the-international-anti-death-penalty-consensus

V. 1^st Amendment (Speech, Religion, Press and Assembly) [See TOPICS 29-33 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

VI. 14^th Amendment, Discrimination, Privacy, Working, Citizenship & Immigration [See TOPICS 34-41 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to this unit: