Posts for February 27, 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 (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:
President Trump,
conservatives united on U.S. Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch [Wash Times, 2/26/17]:
The U.S. Supreme Court is proving to be a bonding agent between
President Trump and conservatives, who despite their misgivings during the
campaign say his pick of Judge Neil Gorsuch to join the high court has set the tone for this administration.
Trump budget plan boosts Pentagon, trims State Dept, EPA:
officials [Reuters, 2/26/17]: The
White House will send federal departments a budget proposal on Monday
containing the defense spending increase President Donald Trump promised,
financed partly by cuts to the U.S. State Department, Environmental Protection
Agency and other non-defense programs, two officials familiar with the proposal
said.
Trump
to lay out healthcare revamp details in speech to Congress [Reuters,
2/26/17]: Republicans have yet to agree on a single
detailed policy proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Some
moderates want to revise the law and not abandon it entirely while
conservatives want to repeal it completely.
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]
Father of dead Navy SEAL refused to meet Trump at
ceremony [AP, 2/26/17]: The father of a Navy SEAL killed during an
anti-terrorism raid in Yemen is demanding an investigation into its planning
and criticized the Trump administration for its timing.
EPA Chief promises aggressive rollback of Obama
regulations [Jurist, 2/26/17]: On Saturday
the newly confirmed head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Scott Pruitt announced that they would be rolling back
some Obama era regulations as soon as next week.
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:
Talbot: Sleeping with frenemies: how moderates,
progressives can coexist [SF Chron, 2/26/17]: Two titanic political
battles are raging in America today. One, of course, pits the Democratic Party
— and the majority of American voters who rejected Donald Trump — against his
freakish presidency. The other battle pits the Democratic Party against itself,
with progressives clashing with establishment forces for the soul of the party.
Supreme Court Upholds
Disclosure Requirement for Issue Ads [AP, 2/27/17]: The Supreme Court has summarily upheld a requirement that forces groups
to say who is paying for issue advertising directed at candidates in an
approaching election.
The case is Independence
Institute v. Federal Election Commission.
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
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:
North Carolina law banning registered sex offenders from
social media faces challenge [McClatchy,
2/24/17]: Police arrested Durham, N.C. resident and convicted sex
offender Lester G. Packingham, Jr. after he posted a message praising God on
Facebook. Now, the Supreme Court will weigh Packingham’s challenge to the North
Carolina law that bans registered sex offenders from visiting online social
networking sites that could be frequented by minors.
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:
LGBTQ Advocates Fear
'Religious Freedom' Bills Moving Forward In States [NPR, 2/26/17]: There are renewed efforts at the state level to pass
so-called religious freedom bills. LGBTQ rights advocates believe that's
because local lawmakers are anticipating support from the Trump administration.
Rights organization
announces boycott of North Carolina over 'discriminatory' legislation [Jurist, 2/26/17]: The NAACP asked other organizations, artists,
religious groups, and sports leagues to follow suit and according to the NAACP,
200 organizations are already planning to join the boycott.
Federal rule dispute a key element of transgender case [Cabinet
Report, 2/27/17]: On the surface, the suit pending before the U.S. Supreme
Court over bathrooms and transgender students would seem to be a
straight-forward conflict over civil rights. But some experts believe the case
brings forward a far different argument over the limits of federal rulemaking.
International Law, Citizenship
and Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]
US might consider leaving UN Human Rights Council:
reports [Jurist, 2/26/17]: Two
sources with contacts in the Trump administration suggested Saturday that the
US might be considering leaving the UN Human Rights Council. One source explained
that several requests had come from the US State Department regarding the
Council, suggesting that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson might be reevaluating
the US membership of the Council.
Immigration courts clogged with 2-year backlog [SF Chron, 2/26/17]: Immigration courts, an arm of the Justice Department,
have a nationwide backlog of 542,000 cases. In the San Francisco court, one of
four in California, the backlog is more than 39,000. Immigrants free on bond,
the practice in most cases, typically wait more than two years for a hearing on
whether they will be deported. That’s nearly double the waiting time in 2008.
Visas: The Historical
and Legal Precedent [Justia, 2/27/17]: Professor Rotunda explains the legal precedent behind the
executive’s power to restrict visas for non-U.S. citizens to enter the United
States. Rotunda points out that the recent opinion by the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Ninth Circuit fails to mention almost any of the precedential cases on
point when it struck down President Trump’s executive order limiting
immigration.
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