Friday, February 17, 2017

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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