Posts for February 9, 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.
Record Audience for Appeals
Court's Hearing on Trump Travel Ban [WSJ’s “Washington Wire” blog, 2/8/17]: At
its peak, about 135,000 simultaneous users tuned in late Tuesday to the live
YouTube feed from the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which broadcast
a stream
of its oral arguments on whether to reinstate President Donald Trump’s
travel ban. A court representative said the online audience was, by far,
the largest the court has enjoyed since it began live streaming all
proceedings about two years ago. By comparison, a hearing Wednesday
morning had just 50 live viewers.
Worsening teacher shortage puts more underprepared
teachers in classrooms, report says [EdSource, 2/8/17]: The number of
underprepared teachers working in California’s public school classrooms has
more than doubled in just three years, a key indicator that the teacher
shortage continues to worsen, according to a new report from the Learning
Policy Institute.
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:
The travel ban hearing: an important legal battle in a
larger constitutional war [The
Guardian, 2/8/17]: Whichever side loses will almost certainly seek immediate
review in the US supreme court -- the implications for the US and the world are
extraordinary.
What’s at Stake in a
Supreme Court Ruling in the Trump Immigration Battle? [“Empirical SCOTUS” blog, 2/8/17]: The Supreme
Court’s role as a co-equal branch of the federal government may soon be put to
the test.
The 8th man on the
bench? [AP, 2/8/17]: History of Scalia’s actual seat goes back more than
150 years. On the night Judge Neil Gorsuch was
nominated to fill Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, he
was thinking about history."The towering judges that have served in
this particular seat on the Supreme Court, including Antonin Scalia and Robert
Jackson, are much in my mind at this moment," Gorsuch said in the East
Room of the White House following his nomination by President Donald Trump.
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:
Trump suggests yanking fed dollars if California's a
'sanctuary'—can he do that? [CalMatters, 2/8/17]: with President Donald Trump issuing an executive
order to defund sanctuary jurisdictions, and San Francisco suing to
have the order declared unconstitutional, a number of questions remain—not the
least of which is “can the President really defund an entire state?”
Here’s what we know and don’t know.
The
American Presidency [TOPIC 15]
Trump's own words a factor
on immigration ban's legal fate? [Constitution Daily, 2/8/17]: Lyle Denniston says Donald Trump’s comments on Muslim
immigration were considered as a factor as three federal appeals judges
pondered the fate of his immigration ban executive order on Tuesday.
http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2017/02/trumps-own-words-a-factor-on-immigration-bans-legal-fate/
Gorsuch calls Trump's judge attacks 'demoralizing' and
'disheartening' [Reuters / CNN,
2/8/17]: The Supreme Court nominee breaks with the president who selected him
eight days after he was nominated.
Calbuzz: A Quantitative Look at Dawn of Trump Regime [CalBuzz,
2/9/17]: Some Actual (not Alternative) Facts about the start of the Trump Reich
Era: 109. The number of people affected by President Trump’s travel and
immigration ban, according to his Twitter account. 60,000. The minimum number
of people actually affected by the travel ban. 1 in 1.34 billion. Chance of a
U.S. citizen being killed in a terrorist attack caused by a refugee.
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:
House 2018: Crossover
Appeal [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 2/9/17]: Assessing
the districts where voters split their tickets, and also the Democrats’ odds of
winning back the lower chamber
Legislation and the Legislative
Process (TOPIC 20)
A Filibuster on a Supreme
Court Nomination Is So Rare It's Only Worked Once [TIME, 2/8/17]: Whether as a type of payback for Republicans’ refusal
to approve president Obama’s pick, Merrick Garland, or because they have
concerns regarding Gorsuch’s ideological and legal background, if Senate
Democrats follow through on that threat it would be, by some counts, only the
second-ever SCOTUS nominee filibuster.
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:
Good News
for the Future of the First Amendment [Newseum, 2/8/17]: There’s good news from
the new “Future of the First Amendment” survey being released today: High
school students nationwide show greater support for First Amendment freedoms
that at any time since the survey began more than 10 years ago.
The Religious Liberty
Draft Executive Order, or Wish List, and the Risks to Children [Justia,
2/9/17]: Professor Hamilton, a Fox Distinguished
Scholar in the Fox Leadership Program at the University of Pennsylvania,
describes how extremely broad President Trump’s draft executive order on
religious liberty, explaining how its breadth could have huge negative effects
on children, LGBTQ individuals, and many others. Hamilton argues that the
executive order is even broader than RFRA and that it poses both known and
unknown risks to children.
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:
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