Posts for February 17, 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.
Law Day 2017 Planning Guide, Dialogue, and
Other Resources Available [ABA,
2/17/17]: A number of resources are available at www.lawday.org to help you speak
about and teach on the fundamentals of the Fourteenth Amendment, including
citizenship, due process and equal protection. Download free materials such as:
the 2017 Planning Guide, lesson plans, Dialogue,
sample proclamation, press release, and even the 2017 theme artwork.
Top 10 Law Novels of
the Last 10 Years [ABA Journal, 2/17/17]: To
compile a more recent collection, I enlisted the help of some fellow
lawyer-authors—10 of the best in the business—to identify their favorite law
novels published in the past 10 years. Their top 10 includes some interesting
picks—stories of law and justice, family and loss, morality and greed. You’ll
find crime and murder novels, a historical novel and even one with a Marvel
superhero. And, of course, you’ll find John Grisham.
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:
Getting Back to Basics: Recognizing and Understanding
the Swing Voter on the Supreme Court of the United States [Univ. of Minn. Law Rev., 2/17/17]: Justice Anthony
Kennedy has been labeled the swing voter of the Supreme Court since the
departure of his colleague Sandra Day O’Connor. Before O’Connor, Justices Byron
White and Lewis Powell were the Supreme Court’s swing voters in the 1970s. And
even earlier, Justice Forman Reed carried the swing vote mantle.
A Workable Democracy: The optimistic project of
Justice Stephen Breyer [Harvard
Magazine, 2/17/17]: Justice Stephen
G. Breyer sometimes says that his job and that of other members of the Supreme
Court is to speak for the law. He does not mean that justices are Platonic
Guardians, with ironclad power to impose their will on the nation despite being
unelected. The job calls for deference to the elected branches of government,
he emphasizes, and, even more, for caution and doubt.
U.S. top court to set guidelines for Trump treatment of
non-citizens [Reuters, 2/17/17]: The U.S. Supreme Court will
decide three cases in coming months that could help or hinder President Donald
Trump's efforts to ramp up border security and accelerate deportations of those
in the country illegally.
Appeals court agrees to
wait on promised Trump travel ban revisio [Politico, 2/16/17]: A federal appeals court has agreed to put off
reconsideration of a key ruling against President Donald Trump's travel ban
executive order after Trump and government lawyers promised that a redrafted order
is coming soon.
Leaked Emails Show Justice Clarence Thomas's Wife
Pushing Travel Ban [Daily Beast,
2/16/17]: In leaked emails, Ginni
Thomas asked for advice on how to organize in favor of Trump's travel ban; But
by doing so, she may have inadvertently made it harder for the executive order
to survive the Supreme Court.
Sit Down with Ruth Bader
Ginsburg
[YouTube interview, 2/16/17]: Ka Leo and
The Notorious RBG have a chat about current topics of interest such as medical
aid in dying and her legacy for women.
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:
State bills would
give lawmakers the power to overrule court decisions on constitutional issues
[ABA Journal, 2/13/17]: State lawmakers who
disagree with court decisions are introducing legislation to increase their
power over courts and even to refuse to enforce federal court decisions.
Court: Florida doctors can
ask patients about guns [AP / Reuters / Atlanta J-C, 2/16/17]: A federal appeals court ruled on Thursday that Florida
doctors can talk to patients about gun safety, declaring a law aimed at
restricting such discussions a violation of the First Amendment's right to free
speech.
The
American Presidency [TOPIC 15]
President Trump’s
Tools to Prosecute Leakers [Justia,
2/17/17]: Dean discusses President
Trump’s recent comments regarding information leaks, one of which led to the
resignation of National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. While Dean explains
that there is no official law in the United States that makes it a crime to
leak information to the news media or others, many former U.S. presidents have
made attempts to prosecute those who leaked information during their
presidencies, with varying degrees of success. This, Dean notes, may lend
credence to President Trump's threat of legal consequences, should the
individuals responsible for these most recent leaks be identified.
https://verdict.justia.com/2017/02/17/president-trumps-tools-prosecute-leakers
The dizzying, mesmerizing Trump show [Politico,
2/16/17]: The president's frenzied and
meandering press conference Thursday was illustrative of his first month in
office.
AP Fact Check: Trump’s Claim He Inherited a Mess [AP,
2/16/17]: President Donald Trump on Thursday made a messy case that he
"inherited a mess" from his predecessor. Economic stats and
territorial losses of Islamic State insurgents don't support his assertions
about the problems handed to him on those fronts. A look at some of his claims
in a news conference Thursday and how they compare with the facts. The second
article covers the abrupt withdrawal of the nomination of the pick for labor
secretary which brought swift blame from press secretary Sean Spicer, who said
Democrats had "a double standard" for his party's president and
former President Barack Obama.
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:
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:
At Long
Last, the Stuff of Journalism [Newseum, 2/16/17]: After seeming eons of
the squishiness of reporting on campaign claims and counter-claims, email
investigations that went nowhere, and distractions including faux-home TV
shopping pitches, late-night tweets and daytime insults, a free press is now in
full-operating mode in the role that the nation’s founders intended: as a
watchdog on government.
Appeals court says Jackson
commissioners violated Constitution with prayer [Michigan Radio /
Wash Times, 2/16/17]: A federal appeals court says the Jackson County
Commission regularly violated the U.S. Constitution by opening its meetings
with a Christian prayer.
New Mexico Public
Records Law Called Unconstitutional [CNS,
2/17/17]: New Mexico’s public records law unconstitutionally restricts the
public from using information from public-record databases for “political
purpose,” a state lawmaker says, and he’s submitted an amendment.
OCC student facing suspension over secret anti-Trump
recording gets support from across the country [OC Register, 2/17/17]:
Orange Coast College has received hundreds of calls and e-mails from people who
want the school to lift its suspension and other sanctions against a student
who secretly video-recorded an instructor making anti-Trump statements. “We’re
hearing from random people across the country,” said college spokesman Doug
Bennett. Most are in support of Caleb O’Neil, he said.
Facebook comment
leads to $500,000 settlement in defamation suit [ABA Journal, 2/14/17]: A woman has agreed to pay $500,000 to settle a
defamation suit over a comment she made on Facebook that allegedly implied a
onetime rival had caused the death of her child.
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:
International Law, Citizenship
and Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]
Valley businesses close, students stay home in A Day
Without Immigrants demonstration [Fresno Bee / OC Register, 2/16/17]:
A range of Valley businesses – from convenience stores to a taco truck, a tea
shop to the cafe at Fresno City Hall – closed Thursday and took part in A Day
Without Immigrants, a nationwide effort to show how critical they are to the
nation’s economy and daily life.
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