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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