Posts for March 16, 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:
The Supreme Court Confronts Racism in the Jury Room [The Atlantic, 3/16/17]: Is racism in deliberations
any less toxic than racism in open court?
Why Courts Shouldn't Try to Read Trump's Mind [Politico, 3/16/17]: The judiciary should not abandon
its traditional role simply because the president has abandoned his.
Does Gorsuch matter? [Eric Posner blog,
3/14/17]: Will we soon have two votes on
the Court, rather than one, that firmly oppose the administrative state?
Gorsuch's environment record [AP, 3/14/17]: Neither a clear friend nor a foe.
Supreme Court nominee
peaked at the right time [USA Today, 3/15/17]: Federal
appeals court Judge Neil Gorsuch cried on the ski slopes of Colorado when
he learned of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's death last year.
How Gorsuch is preparing for his Senate showdown [Politico, 3/15/17]: The Supreme Court nominee is
undergoing 'murder boards' and boning up on his own rulings ahead of next
week's confirmation hearings.
Four Confirmation Fights
That Shaped the Supreme Court [NY Times, 3/16/17]: Here is a look at some other major confirmations fights — and how they
turned out.
Gorsuch Has Strong Tie to Proponent of Morality-Based
'Natural Law' [WSJ, 3/16/17]: Among
Supreme Court nominee's mentors is revered law professor whose conservative
views on social issues have ignited controversy.
The Final Stretch [“Empirical SCOTUS” blog, 3/15/17]: Cases from the Last Two Months of Supreme
Court Oral Arguments.
9th Circuit judges to
Congress: Leave us alone [AP / “Take Care” blog, 3/16/17]: Three
federal judges are asking Congress not to break up the vast, San
Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a longtime target of
Republicans and a recent foe of President Donald Trump.
Alito and the Code [Slate, 3/14/17]: Did the Supreme Court justice's recent appearance at
the Claremont Institute violate the ethical guidelines for United States
judges?
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's plan to
dismember government [CNN, 3/14/17]: President Donald Trump plans to
dismember government one dollar at a time. His first budget -- expected to be
unveiled later this week -- will mark Trump's most significant attempt yet to
remold national life and the relationship between federal and state power. It
would codify an assault on regulatory regimes over the environment, business
and education bequeathed by former President Barack Obama, and attempt to halt decades
of steadily growing government reach.
NY court asked to determine if chimp is legally a person [AP / NY Law Journal / Wash Post / Idaho Statesman, 3/16/17]: Should
a chimpanzee be treated as a person with legal rights? That's what attorney
Steven Wise will try to convince a state appeals court in Manhattan of on
Thursday.
The
American Presidency [TOPIC 15]
How Does a Populist
Govern? [Eric Posner blog, 3/9/17]: Trump won the election by running as a
populist. What did this mean? He Trump needs to make the move from populist to establishment
figure if he wants to succeed as president. An interesting and thought-provoking blog post that could
stimulate a great class discussion.
What is a Populist?
And is Donald Trump One? [The Atlantic, 2/27/17]: Why does he do what he
does in the way that he does it? There is
an ideological explanation, and it involves a concept that gets mentioned a lot
these days without much context or elaboration: populism. This very interesting
piece discusses populism in the context
of “liberal democracy” and “pluralism” and has a video at the end titled “Is
Trump a Populist Authoritarian?”
ACLU Lawyer Sits At Heart Of Legal Resistance To Trump
Agenda
[NPR, 3/13/17]: The man at the heart of the legal resistance to
the Trump agenda works in an unfinished office a block away from the White
House. David Cole, the new national legal director at the American Civil
Liberties Union, hasn't had time to hang pictures on the wall or remember to
bring a mug to hold his morning tea.
Visit the ACLU “blog of rights”:
Why Trump's Revised Travel Ban Could Still Succeed [The Atlantic / Bloomberg, 3/16/17]: Despite judicial
setbacks, federal law leaves open the possibility that the president's new
executive order might prevail -- if he can keep quiet.
Second Travel Ban Blocked Nationwide
[Trial Insider, 3/15/17]: A federal judge in Hawaii has blocked the latest
version of the Trump Administration travel ban from six Muslim-dominated
countries. The travel ban was set to take effect at midnight Wednesday.
An Open Letter to the
American People on the Dangers of Taking a President at His Word [Justia, 3/16/17]:
ProfessorHamilton pens an open letter to the American people warning of
the dangers of trusting any president without questioning. Hamilton explains
that the framers of the Constitution envisioned that those in power could not
be trusted and for that reason empowered the press to check those with power.
Hamilton argues that the Trump Administration is encouraging the American
people to abandon this part of the social contract.
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:
Things Republicans Say They Believe That They Do Not Really Believe [Justia, 3/15/17]: Professor Buchanan discusses recurring instances of dishonesty within America’s political parties, specifically among Republican politicians. Buchanan highlights several examples of Republican dishonesty and hypocrisy, and illustrates how Republicans’ claims are easy to dissect now that they are in control of a large portion of government.
Court Cash: 2016 Election Money Resulting Directly
From Supreme Court Rulings [Demos.org,
3/14/17]: For four decades, the Supreme Court’s flawed approach to money in
politics has gutted common-sense protections against the power of special
interests and wealthy individuals. This defies our core democratic values,
because the size of our wallets should not determine the strength of our voices.
Trump, Gorsuch, and the
Concentration of Economic Power [Center for American Progress video on YouTube,
3/13/17]: Throughout his campaign,
President Donald Trump railed against concentrated economic power, promising to
take on monopolies, banks, and other firms that put their corporate interests
ahead of the American people.
Fifth Circuit Judge
Assails DOJ 'Arrogance' in Voting Rights Case [Texas Lawyer, 3/14/17]: A blistering dissent from a ruling issued by a three-judge panel in a
Texas redistricting case—in which the dissenting judge took issue with
eye-rolling, gum chewing and what he perceived as "contempt" from a
Department of Justice lawyer—has garnered Texas Attorney
General Ken Paxton's seal of approval.
Initial 2018 House Ratings [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 3/16/17]: List of competitive districts filled with Democratic targets that will require a wave to flip.
Legislation and the Legislative
Process (TOPIC 20)
Schumer on Gorsuch [The Hill / Reuters, 3/15/17]: Don't change the rules, change the
nominee.
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
Crime Hotspots Need
Investments, Not Just Policing [Marshall Project, 3/13/17]: Anti-crime strategies should try to fix what
makes hotspots prone to violence.
Florida governor
signs new death penalty law requiring unanimous decision [Jurist, 3/14/17]:
Florida's executions have been on hold
since January 2016, when the US Supreme Court held
that the state's death penalty law violated the Sixth Amendment by allowing
judges to override jury recommendations.
A Matter of Life: The death penalty as a conservative
conundrum [Harpers, 3/16/17]:
Prosecutor: It’s
Terrorism. Suspect: ‘I Was Just Saying Something Stupid’ [Marshall Project,
3/14/17]: If it was just a crazy,
drug-induced outburst, is it worth 7 years in prison?
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:
Free
speech manifestos surface on James Madison’s birthday [FAC, 3/16/17]: Harvard’s Cornel West
and Princeton’s Robert P. George are asking people of all walks to sign a
statement affirming free speech and openness, to listen to those who “challenge
our views.”
First Amendment: Trump claims TV news commentator
violated law in revealing tax return [FAC, 3/16/17]: After MSNBC’s
Rachel Maddow discussed a copy of two pages of President Donald Trump’s tax
return from 2005, Trump called the move a ratings “stunt” and illegal. In fact,
federal law makes it illegal to publish an unauthorized tax return.
David Cole: “Does anyone believe that the ‘free marketplace of
ideas’ is functioning?” [Concurring
Opinions, 3/16/17]: In a world where claims of
“fake news” fill the airwaves, Cole asserts that “following Donald Trump’s
election, on a campaign that relied on outright lies and stubborn denials of
the truth, does anyone believe that the ‘free marketplace of ideas’ is
functioning?” Then again, he stresses that “the inauguration of Donald
Trump has dramatically reinforced the continuing importance of traditional core
First Amendment rights.”
Free Speech Isn’t
Always Valuable—That’s Not the Point [Newseum, 3/16/17]: We shouldn’t think about free expression in terms of value. What’s
important is that free expression rights are indivisible. Maybe it’s
time for us to come to terms with the truth: While everybody loves the First
Amendment in theory, nobody’s all that fond of it in practice.
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]
Brexit bill passed making way for the UK to leave EU [Jurist,
3/14/17]: The UK Parliament
passed the Brexit bill on Monday after the House of Commons
voted 273 to 135 to overturn suggested
amendments to the bill and sent the bill back to the House of
Lords. In response to the vote overturning the Lords' suggested amendments,
those opposed to the bill over EU residency rights backed down.
Here’s Everyone Who’s
Immigrated to the U.S. Since 1820 [Metrocosm,
5/3/16]: From 1820 to 2013, 79 million people obtained lawful permanent
resident status in the United States. The interactive map below visualizes
all of them based on their prior country of residence. The brightness of a
country corresponds to its total migration to the U.S. at the given time.
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