Posts for March 26, 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:
Ahoy, justices! Floating home case winner back to high court [AP, 3/26/17]: Fane Lozman beat long odds when the U.S. Supreme
Court agreed with him in 2013 that his floating home was a house, not a vessel
subject to seizure by the city of Riviera Beach, Florida. The justices set a
new national legal standard: Not everything that floats is a boat.
Gorsuch nomination and hearings
In the case of a trucker's life vs. his cargo, Judge Neil
Gorsuch ruled for the cargo [Denver Post / Detroit Free Press / The Guardian / CNN,
3/25/17]: Is Neil Gorsuch the right choice for the Supreme Court? He
says he is because his decisions “have never reflected a judgment about the
people before me.” All he does is “apply the law.” Sounds simple. But not so
fast, your honor. Consider this true story
Gorsuch Confirmation Hearings End And The Political
Games Begin [Nina Totenberg of NPR,
3/25/17]:
It's not Neil Gorsuch's fault, but we can't support
his ascension to a stolen Supreme Court seat [LA Times editorial, 3/25/17]:
Gorsuch Grins, Says Nothing: Were these hearings
really as pointless as they seemed?
[“Amicus” podcast from Slate / Rolling Stone, 3/25/17]:
The History of 'Stolen' Supreme Court Seats [Smithsonian.com, 3/20/17]: As the new administration
seeks to fill a vacancy on the Court, a look back at the forgotten mid-19th
century battles over the judiciary.
End Supreme Court lotto [USA
Today, 3/25/17]: Do we want any president to
have the power to shape the Court and therefore the country for 30 years or
more?
From bedroom to boardroom, Supreme Court is in your business [AP, 3/20/17]: Quick, name a Supreme Court justice. OK, name
three. One of the current justices, Stephen Breyer, once noted wryly that their
names are less well-known than those of the Three Stooges. But from the time
Americans roll out of bed in the morning until they turn in, the court's
rulings are woven into daily life in ways large and small.
Judges' Late Travel-Ban
Dissent May Preview Supreme Court Approach [NY Mag., 3/24/17]: Though the
Constitution forbids federal judges from offering their views on issues that
aren’t essential to deciding cases before them — known as “advisory opinions” —
five Republican-appointed judges on the famously liberal Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals did just that last week.
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]
Russia's state news service applies for White House pass [Politico,
3/24/17]: The Russian state-owned news website Sputnik has applied for a White
House hard pass and is seeking membership in the White House Foreign Press
Group in order to become a part of pool rotations.
After health care loss, Trump needs a victory soon [SF
Chron, 3/25/17]: Even before the Republican health care bill died Friday,
President Trump badly needed a legislative win after two months of self-inflicted
wounds, stumbles and legal setbacks.
Federal judge affirms Trump's authority to revisit travel
ban [Jurist, 3/25/17]: On Friday a judge for the US
District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia released an opinion
Trump's authority to issue his second
travel ban executive order.
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:
'Presidential credibility, once squandered, may never be
fully regained': Rep. Adam Schiff, in Democrats' weekly speech [LA
Times, 3/25/17]: Schiff, who had a busy week as ranking Democrat on the House
Select Committee on Intelligence, used the weekly Democratic address to lay out
details of the committee's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016
election, but ended with a plea directly to Trump.
Legislation and the Legislative
Process (TOPIC 20)
The Health Care Bill
How Conservatism Failed on Health Care [New Yorker / Wash Post, 3/25/17]: After seven years
of promising to replace Obamacare with a free-market alternative, House
Republicans could not come up with a workable and politically viable
proposal.
The inside story of how Trump tried - and failed - to
make a deal on health care [SF Chron / Wash Post / Politico, 3/24/17]: Even
as he thrust himself and the trappings of his office into selling the
health-care bill, Trump peppered his aides again and again with the same
concern, usually after watching cable news reports chronicling the setbacks,
according to two of his advisers: "Is this really a good bill?" In
the end, the answer was no - in part because the president himself seemed to
doubt it. If the bill failed because Trump is a great salesman with a poor
grasp of policy, it also failed because Ryan is a poor salesman with a
great grasp of policy.
Republicans wonder whether Trump's heart was in
healthcare fight [Politico, 3/25/17]: White House officials have
insisted that Trump wanted the win, but some in his party say that in the run
up to the vote, his mind seemed to be elsewhere.
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:
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:
Federal judge orders
Florida to amend death certificates to recognize same-sex couples [Jurist, 3/25/17]: US Federal Judge Robert Hinkle on
Thursday ruled that the state of Florida must comply with the Supreme Court's
ruling in Obergefell
v. Hodges and permit same-sex
partners to have their names added to the death certificates of their partners.
Despite the Supreme Court's 2015 ruling, Florida maintained that for those who
died before the ruling, the law required same-sex spouses to pursue individual
court orders in order to change the certificates, as same-sex marriage was then
unrecognized in the state.
Schnur: Legislators stood tall on LGBT rights until UCLA
made Sweet 16 [SF Chron, 3/24/17]: Last fall, California’s Legislature
stood in solidarity with the LGBT community, voting to prohibit publicly funded
travel to states that discriminate against gay and transgender individuals.
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