Friday, March 3, 2017

Posts for March 3, 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:

Postpone the Gorsuch Hearing [Slate, 3/2/17]: His nomination to the Supreme Court cannot be separated from the serious questions that plague the Trump presidency.

A 'living Constitution' on the right? [USA Today, 3/2/17]: The left should be glad that Gorsuch is an originalist and not a conservative activist.

'Tenth Justice' Not Likely for Several Months [Bloomberg, 3/2/17]: The hunt for a new U.S. solicitor general has been slow and chaotic this time around, according to David Lat, the founder of the legal blog Above The Law. The Solicitor General represents the federal government before the U.S. Supreme Court, and is sometimes referred to as the Tenth Justice.

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:

Florida Supreme Court upholds ban on openly carrying guns [South Florida Sun Sentinel / Florida News Service, 3/2/17]: The Florida Supreme Court found the state’s ban on openly carrying handguns constitutional, raising the stakes for open carry laws under consideration in the Legislature this year. 

Supreme Court hears arguments on the interplay between federal and state subrogation law [Jurist, 3/2/17]: Jodie Nevils, a federal employee covered by an FEHBA policy that included a right of subrogation, or repayment, filed a lawsuit against Coventry, her insurer, after it enforced its subrogation lien against part of the settlement of a related personal injury claim. The law of Missouri, which governed the dispute, proscribes insurer subrogation rights as being against public policy. The FEHBA, however, expressly preempts state law.
The case is Coventry Health Care of Missouri, Inc. v. Nevils.

The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]

Sessions Under Fire for Speaking With Russian Ambassador in 2016 [CNS, 3/1/17]: Attorney General Jeff Sessions twice met with a top Russian diplomat during last year’s presidential campaign, the Washington Post reported Wednesday, inspiring calls he either step down or at minimum not oversee an ongoing investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.

Rep. Schiff accuses Comey of withholding information on Russia probe [Politico, 3/2/17]: The ranking member on the House intelligence panel warns that lawmakers may have to subpoena the FBI.

Consequences of Donald Trump’s Disastrous Press Relations [Justia, 3/3/17]: John W. Dean explains how President Trump’s poor relations with mainstream news outlets will damage his presidency. Specifically, Dean focuses on the endless leaks, the First Amendment, and the ill will Trump is creating for himself.

Fact Check: US military not as threadbare as Trump says [AP, 3/3/17]: President Donald Trump painted an overly bleak picture of the condition of the armed forces Thursday as he made his case for military expansion. A look at some of his statements from the Gerald R. Ford, a $12.9 billion aircraft carrier being built in Newport News, Virginia.

Former Trump adviser Carter Page also met with Russian envoy [Politico, 3/2/17]: When Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak traveled to the GOP convention last summer, he met with then Sen. Jeff Sessions, as well as with two other Trump campaign advisers, including oil industry consultant Carter Page.

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:

California Republicans: The new party of the poor? [SF Chron, 3/1/17]: Here’s how one political party in California is charting its path to victory. 

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

Student’s Backpack Search Raises Privacy Questions [CNS, 3/1/17]: Attorneys for Ohio fought in the state’s highest court Wednesday to overturn a trial court’s ruling suppressing evidence of a gun discovered during the search of a high school student’s backpack.

Chemerinsky: Why the Supreme Court's ruling on race-based evidence matters [ABA Journ., 3/2/17]: The U.S. Supreme Court’ decision in Buck v. Davis is important for the criminal justice system on many levels.

UN urges member states to end use of death penalty [Jurist, 3/3/17]: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein reaffirmed the UN's long-standing position against the death penalty Wednesday and urged member states to end its use.

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:

“Welcoming the Stranger” in the Age of Trump [Charlie Haynes of the Newseum, 3/2/17]: Religious individuals and communities offer sanctuary to undocumented people, defending their actions as acts of religious conscience protected by the First Amendment.

The Constitution Has Masked Protesters Covered [Bloomberg, 3/2/17]: In response to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, North Dakota has enacted four new laws clearly aimed at protesters. One of them stands out: The law makes it a misdemeanor to wear a mask or hood while committing a crime. 

Court: Officials' emails on private accounts are public [AP, 3/2/17]: Government employees in California cannot keep the public from seeing their work-related emails and texts sent on personal devices and through private accounts, the California Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday, closing a loophole that justices said could have allowed the "most sensitive and potentially damning" communications to be shielded.

California federal judge blocks enforcement of law banning publication of home addresses of state legislators [FAC, 3/2/17]: A federal district judge ruled that a gun owners group could publish the home addresses and telephone numbers of California legislators who favored restrictive gun laws.

Talbot: Are journalists brave enough to overcome Trump? [SF Chron, 3/1/17]: President Trump and Steve Bannon aren’t the only ones who hate the media. That’s why these autocrats feel confident in pressing their attack on the “lying” press as “the enemy of the American people” — chilling rhetoric that recalls Stalin’s police state. 

Alexa's responses to customers are protected by the First Amendment, Amazon argues in murder case [ABA Journ., 3/2/17]: Requests for information through digital assistant Amazon Echo—which answers to the name Alexa—and the service’s responses are protected speech under the First Amendment, Amazon argues in a bid to quash a search warrant by police investigating a possible murder.

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:

Affirmative action in UT admissions faces new legal challenge [Austin American Statesman, 3/2/17]: A new round of litigation challenging the consideration of race in admissions at the University of Texas is being organized by the same UT alumnus who took a similar case to the U.S. Supreme Court twice and lost.

SCOTUS clerk tells amici to caption case of transgender teen with masculine pronoun [ABA Journ., 3/1/17]: U.S. Supreme Court clerk Scott Harris has informed three groups that the caption on their amicus briefs should refer to a transgender teen with a masculine pronoun.

International Law, Citizenship and Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]

Border Wall Seen as Intrusion on Indian Land [CNS, 3/1/17]: Seven miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, in a wellness center in San Miguel village, Tohono O’odham Indians gather to exercise and, lately, to talk about the wall that President Donald Trump wants to build across 75 miles of reservation land. For the Tohono O’odham, or Desert People, who have lived since time immemorial in this remote corner of the country’s second-largest Indian reservation, a border wall between them and the tribal members who happen to live in Mexico would be an affront to tribal sovereignty.

 




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