Posts for March 30, 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.
The Children Be
Damned . . . [Justia, 3/30/17]: Professor Hamilton describes the
numerous child-endangering bills that are being proposed in various states
across the nation. Hamilton argues that we as a society need to create a
culture that works for the best interest of all children.
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:
Neil Gorsuch and the Senate's 'Nuclear Option,'
Explained [GQ post, 3/29/17]: Here's
everything you need to know about how Senate Republicans might end a Democratic
filibuster of the president's Supreme Court pick.
The Gorsuch filibuster debate rages in Senate [CNN, 3/29/17]: Democrats and Republicans are gingerly approaching a
crucial crossroad: whether to push for a change in Senate rules that would ban
filibusters of Supreme Court nominees.
Gorsuch nomination
and hearings
Big money behind Supreme
Court nominee Neil Gorsuch shows little payoff [USA Today, 3/30/17]: A 30-second television ad targeting Democratic
Sen. Claire McCaskill in Missouri mentions her support for Obamacare and
"using tax dollars for abortions." In Indiana, fellow Democratic
Sen. Joe Donnelly is accused of selling out to "Washington liberals"
rather than supporting "Indiana values."
The Empty Supreme Court Confirmation
Hearing [Linda Greenhouse in the NY Times, 3/29/17]:
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:
This is how states will fight Trump's energy order [LA
Times, 3/29/17]: Donald Trump’s plan to bring an abrupt halt to America’s
crusade against climate change will test California and other states like never
before as they seek to wrest control of the nation’s energy future from a
hostile White House.
Threatened Utah prairie
dogs have their day in court . . . and win [Reuters, 3/29/17]:
Prairie dogs in Utah won a turf battle against property developers on Wednesday
when a U.S. appeals court reinstated restrictions on development in areas
inhabited by the threatened animals.
Gorsuch Could Sway Climate
Policy. Prepare to Be Surprised [B;ppmberg, 3/29/17]: The keystone of President Donald Trump’s executive
order on the environment, signed Tuesday, is a directive to the Environmental
Protection Agency to review and rescind the Obama administration’s Clean
Power Plan, which aimed to shift the country’s electricity generation from
coal-fired plants to sources that emit less carbon. When the EPA acts, that
will trigger a legal fight about whether the Trump plan complies with the Clean
Air Act. And that fight will almost certainly involve the doctrine of Chevron
deference, Neil Gorsuch’s special target of judicial dislike.
The
American Presidency [TOPIC 15]
Judge in Hawaii extends order blocking Trump's travel ban ]AP,
3/30/17]: A federal judge in Hawaii decided Wednesday to extend his order
blocking President Donald Trump's travel ban, preventing the government from
suspending new visas for people from six Muslim-majority countries and halting
the U.S. refugee program.
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:
Rooting for Failure [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 3/30/17]: Democrats use a familiar playbook in the Trump era,
Gambling on Elections
[Gerard Magliocca in Concurring Opinions, 3/30/17]: Many states say that anyone who bets on an election is
ineligible to vote in that election.
Legislation and the Legislative
Process (TOPIC 20)
Need help understanding what Devin Nunes did? [KPCC
/ Fresno Bee, 3/29/17]: We have you covered. Devin Nunes, as a reminder, is a
California congressman and the highest ranking Republican on the House
Intelligence Committee. That committee is trying to figure out if there was
Russian interference in last November's presidential election.
http://www.scpr.org/programs/take-two/2017/03/29/55881/need-help-understanding-what-devin-nunes-did/
California bill would give teachers more time to earn
tenure [AP, 3/29/17]: Assemblywoman Shirley Weber's proposed
legislation would give public school teachers up to five years to earn tenure,
a permanent status designation granted after a probationary employment
period.
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
Lawsuit filed for data on escalating Homeland Security
searches of cell phones and laptops [FAC,
3/28/17]: Homeland Security is
facing a federal lawsuit for access to its records on how they search
cellphones and laptops at border crossings.
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:
Court bars release of videos made by anti-abortion group [AP,
3/29/17]: A federal appeals court on Wednesday barred the release of videos
made by an anti-abortion group whose leaders are facing felony charges in
California accusing them of recording people without permission in violation of
state law.
Court curbs state laws on
consumer price displays [Constitution Daily, 3/29/17]: The Supreme Court warned state governments on
Wednesday that they may violate the rights of stores and others selling
consumer goods or services by imposing tight restrictions on how they inform
buyers about the prices being charged.
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:
Privacy: The legal stakes at play in California's case against antiabortion
activists [LA Times, 3/30/17]: California’s prosecution of two
antiabortion activists on felony charges of invasion of privacy appears to be
on solid ground, though the case is likely to test the strength of the state’s
ban on the surreptitious recording of others, legal experts said Wednesday.
Deal Struck to Repeal
Anti-Trans Bathroom Bill in North Carolina [CNS,
3/30/17]: North Carolina’s Republican-controlled Legislature and Democratic
Gov. Roy Cooper hammered out a deal Wednesday night to end their standoff on a
repeal of the state’s anti-trans “bathroom bill,” but the replacement
measure has quickly drawn fire as well.
Seventh Circuit Takes Up Transgender Bathroom Case
[CNS, 3/29/17]: In oral arguments Wednesday, the Seventh Circuit was highly
skeptical of a Wisconsin school district’s insistence that sex be defined by
what is listed on a child’s birth certificate and repeatedly compared its
strict bathroom segregation policy to Jim Crow laws.
International Law, Citizenship
and Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]
Supreme Court asked to review legality of Guantanamo Bay
tribunals [CNN, 3/29/17]: For the
first time in over a decade, the Supreme Court is being asked to review the
legality of the military commissions at the US Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba. The pair of cases
that reached the court this week could determine the future of military
tribunals set up in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
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