Posts for March 28, 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:
As most-cited songwriter,
Bob Dylan brings complex poetry to court opinions [ABA Journal, 4/1/17]:
Before Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize in
literature, he had a profound influence upon lawyers and judges, especially
mid- to late-career baby boomers like myself. Academic symposia, numerous
articles and even some careers were built upon Dylan’s work and its
intersections with the law.
Patterns of Eight
Justices: Will They Persist with a New Court Member? [“Empirical SCOTUS” blog,
3/27/17]: The Supreme Court has had eight
members for over a year now. In that time the Justices authored
seventy-seven majority opinions. Of those opinions sixty-eight were
signed. Through this period there have been some interesting
idiosyncrasies from the Justices that we haven’t seen in the past.
Historical Rules of the Supreme Court
(1790-Present) [Josh Blackman, 3/27/17]: Last week, with zero fanfare, the Supreme Court posted
the rules and journals of the Supreme Court dating all the way back to 1790. Blackman reviews
these here!
David Savage
[SCOTUS Daily, 3/27/17]: SCOTUSDaily interviews David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times. You
can read the interview:
Gorsuch nomination
and hearings
Gorsuch's path to 60 votes closing fast [Politico, 3/27/17]: A 'nuclear' confrontation in the
Senate could come as soon as next 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:
Why It's Become So Hard to Get an Abortion [New Yorker, 4/3/17]: When you can't ban something
outright, it's possible to make the process of obtaining it so onerous as to be
a kind of punishment.
The
American Presidency [TOPIC 15]
Trump travel ban case
could be on fast track to appeals court's full bench [Politico, 3/27/17]: The full, 15-judge bench of a federal appeals court
is considering taking up the legality of President Donald Trump's revised
travel ban executive order.
Sessions threatens to
cut funding from 'sanctuary cities' that refuse to enforce immigration laws
[Jurist, 3/27/17]: Sessions' statement was directed
towards so-called "sanctuary cities," such as New York, Chicago and
Los Angeles, which have implemented policies prohibiting officers from
performing routine immigration checks and only detaining immigrants under
investigation for the minimal amount of time required.
Sanctuary city leaders vow to remain firm, despite
threats from U.S. attorney general [LA Times / LA Daily News,
3/27/17]: Leaders from so-called sanctuary cities across Southern California
struck a defiant tone Monday, stating that they would continue to protect
people who are in the country illegally despite threats by U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff
Sessions to cut off and even claw back grant funding from the Justice
Department.
Battling Trump is ‘team sport,’ California’s attorney
general says [Sac Bee, 3/27/17]: California Attorney General Xavier
Becerra has forcefully criticized President Donald Trump’s executive actions
calling for a widespread crackdown on undocumented immigrants and barring
travel to the United States from predominantly Muslim countries in Africa and
the Middle East.
Blasting federal action on immigration, California's
chief justice warns the rule of law is under threat [AP, 3/27/17]:
California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye did not mention
President Trump by name in her annual State of the Judiciary speech Monday, but
she blasted federal actions on immigration and warned that the rule of law in
the state is under threat.
Trump’s first 100 days: A big failure, and a new low in
the polls [Wash Post, 3/27/17]: The newest Gallup daily tracking poll
— the first survey released since the doomed Republican health-care bill was
pulled Friday — shows Trump’s approval rating falling to 36 percent. That’s
both the lowest of his presidency and lower than President Barack Obama’s
approval rating ever sank in eight years of Gallup’s tracking poll.
Trump moves decisively to wipe out Obama’s climate-change
record [Bloomberg, 3/27/17]: President Trump will take the most significant
step yet in obliterating his predecessor’s environmental record Tuesday,
instructing federal regulators to rewrite key rules curbing U.S. carbon
emissions.
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:
How to Drain the Swamp? Use a Flashlight [Justia, 3/27/17]: Rotunda calls for the executive branch to shine a light into some areas of government that have been obscured in the past eight years, including the conduct of former IRS officer Lois Lerner, Operation Fast and Furious, and investigations by the offices of the inspectors general. Rotunda argues that the release of documents related to these and other issues will help us know if we should be worried about our government.
Democrats new strategy: Reach out to more people of color [SF
Chron, 3/27/17]: To regain political power, Democrats need to better direct
their message at people of color who aren’t voting instead of conservative
whites who have stopped listening to them. That’s the conclusion of San
Francisco’s Democracy in Color, which on Monday outlined a road map to victory
that involves spending $500 million on field operations — instead of TV
commercials — designed to turn out 10 million new progressive voters of color
in 17 key states for the next presidential race.
Legislation and the Legislative
Process (TOPIC 20)
The looming split between Trump and Ryan [Wash
Post, 3/27/17]: President Trump wants a tax cut across the board, according to
the plan he published during the campaign. But House Speaker Paul Ryan and
colleagues have put forward a plan that would not substantially reduce taxes
for the middle class, and many households would pay more.
The Best Option for
Democrats on Gorsuch [Bloomberg, 3/27/17]: Charles
Schumer, the leader of the Senate minority, has said that
he will ask Democrats to filibuster the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch. In
response to that request, the Senate Democrats have four options. Each of them
has considerable appeal, but each also runs into significant objections.
The Health Care Bill
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
Happiness is a Warm Phaser
[Marshall Project, 3/27/17]:
The search for the truly nonlethal weapon.
When is someone too stoned
to drive? The question is trickier than you'd think for courts to answer
[ABA Journal, 4/1/17]: Massachusetts is one of eight states, plus the District
of Columbia, where recreational marijuana use is now legal. Twenty more states
have legalized medical marijuana. But science and the law have not kept pace
with this rapid political change.
Texas Blocked From
Executing Low-IQ Killer [CNS, 3/28/17]: Blocking the
execution of an intellectually disabled killer Tuesday, the Supreme Court slammed Texas for
ignoring medical evidence in favor of Steinbeck characters.
You can read the 5-3 opinion in Moore v. Texas at:
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:
Religious Exemption Confounds at High Court [CNS,
3/27/17]: The justices of the Supreme Court struggled to divine meaning Monday
from the omission of two words in a revised law that says religious groups need
not face federal employee benefit regulations.
Supreme Court considers 3
First Amendment cases this term [David Hudson in the ABA Journal,
4/1/17]: The justices will decide a trio of
cases that could impact a slew of important free speech principles, including
commercial speech, the government speech doctrine, online privacy, the right to
receive information and ideas, speech vs. conduct and the viewpoint
discrimination principle.
Is church entitled to
state aid to buy playground covering? [ABA Journal, 4/1/17]: U.S.
Supreme Court cases about government aid to religious institutions have
revolved around tax breaks, school textbooks, transportation, private school
vouchers and even computer software. But recycled tires?
Trump By The Numbers: The Best
of (New York) Times and the Worst of (New York) Times [FAC, 3/27/17]: Journalism in the age of Trump, as
told through some key numbers and a familiar Dickensian device….
The Threat to Free Speech is Real. But It Isn’t Coming
From Where You Might Think [FAC, 2/13/17]: The most alarming
immediate threats to free speech in this new era aren’t coming directly from
Trump.
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:
Court Reinstates Gender
Discrimination Lawsuit in NY [AP / Slate, 3/27/17]: On Monday, Chief Judge Robert Katzmann of the 2nd Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals wrote that anti-gay employment discrimination is almost
certainly prohibited under existing federal law. Katzmann urged the 2nd Circuit
to reconsider precedent holding that employees cannot sue for sexual
orientation discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
citing recent legal developments that support an expansive interpretation of
“sex discrimination.”
'Loving'
movie gives new significance to landmark court case [ABA Journal,
4/1/17]: When it comes to civil rights
milestones of the mid-20th century, a trifecta stands out: the Civil Rights Act
of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1967 Loving v. Virginia decision.
Recent Scholarship on
Anti-Bullying and Anti-Gay Curriculum Laws
[EdLawProfs Blog, 3/27/17]: Recently posted articles on SSRN this month
address First Amendment concerns in crafting anti-bullying laws
and surveys anti-gay anti-gay provisions exist in the curriculum laws of
twenty states, and in several provisions of a federal law that
governs the distribution of $75 million in annual funding for abstinence
education programs. Links to the scholarship are provided.
International Law, Citizenship
and Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]
Russia opposition leader jailed for resisting police
orders during protest [Jurist,
3/27/17]: Alexei Navalny, a
well-known Russian opposition leader, was arrested on Sunday at a demonstration
protesting the alleged corruption of Russian Prime
Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
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