Posts for January 6, 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.

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:

The Incredible Shrinking Supreme Court [Bloomberg, 1/5/17]: Senate Republicans changed the rules of the U.S. Supreme Court confirmation game by blocking President Barack Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Now it’s the Democrats’ turn to make the next move.

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-01-05/the-incredible-shrinking-supreme-court

The Bill of Rights As A Term of Art [Gerard Magliocca, 1/6/17]: Magliocca challenges “the point of saying that all of these provisions [in Amendments 1-10] are part of a bill of rights when the text ratified in 1791 does not use that phrase.”

http://ndlawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/NDL105.pdf

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 Extraterritorial Constitution and Government Accountability [“Balkinization” blog, 1/5/17]: Next month, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in an important case regarding the Constitution's extraterritorial application. The case, Hernandez v. Mesa, centers on the shooting of an unarmed Mexican teenager by a U.S. Border Patrol agent.

https://balkin.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-extraterritorial-constitution-and.html

The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]

Publishing the President's Role in Advancing Criminal Justice Reform [Harvard Law Review, 1/5/17]: This is an article by President Obama on the urgent need for criminal justice reform and the work this Administration has done to enhance the fairness and effectiveness of the justice system at all phases.

https://medium.com/the-white-house/publishing-the-presidents-role-in-advancing-criminal-justice-reform-24f0c2484c31#.tg1ohgqqk

Nixon Was Evil: Getting the Historical Evidence Right [Justia, 1/6/17]:John Dean comments on H.R. “Bob” Haldeman’s notes from the 1968 presidential campaign, in which it was revealed that Nixon was directly involved in sabotaging efforts by President Lyndon Johnson to end the war in Vietnam. 

https://verdict.justia.com/2017/01/06/nixon-evil-getting-historical-evidence-right

Trump may pursue border wall without new bill [AP / Politico, 1/5/17]: Congressional Republicans and Donald Trump's transition team are exploring whether they can make good on Trump's promise of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border without passing a new bill on the topic, officials said Thursday.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/24cb97b86a2344f9bb596035fa20f551

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/house-gop-trump-border-wall-233237

GOP jams Senate Dems with confirmation blitz [Politico, 1/5/17]:  Senate Republicans have heard the Democrats’ demands for a deliberate confirmation process for Donald Trump’s nominees. But they don’t care.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/senate-confirmation-trump-cabinet-nominees-233247

VP Biden to President-elect Trump: 'Grow up' [AP, 1/5/17]: Vice President Joe Biden told President-elect Donald Trump Thursday to "grow up." Biden dismissed Trump's complaint on Twitter about how the Obama administration has handled the transition. The vice president told "PBS NewsHour" in an interview that it's time for Trump "to be an adult."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TRUMP_BIDEN

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:

Supreme Court wars escalate [CNN, 1/6/17]: The Supreme Court wars escalated this week when Democrats signaled they are ready to fight for the seat they believe should have gone to Merrick Garland, and already the prospect of the nuclear option is being discussed.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/06/politics/supreme-court-wars-escalate/index.html

Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)

Democrats Lose First Skirmish in Health Care Law Fight [CNS, 1/5/17]: enate Democrats’ first attempt to prevent their Republicans colleagues from repealing the federal health care law proved futile Thursday, failing to clear a procedural hurdle in a party-line vote. An amendment offered by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., would have required Senate Republicans to cobble together 60 votes in order to pass a resolution the body is considering that will be used to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

http://courthousenews.com/democrats-lose-first-skirmish-in-health-care-law-fight/

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

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:

Chemerinsky: Free speech on the SCOTUS docket [ABA Journal, 1/5/17]: The January oral argument calendar includes two major cases about freedom of speech. Although they arise in quite different contexts, they each raise questions of how far the First Amendment extends to limit government regulation.

http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/chemerinsky_free_speech_on_the_scotus_docket

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: