Posts for March 9, 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:
Werdegar retirement gives
Jerry Brown chance to further mold California Supreme Court [Sac Bee / AP, 3/8/17]: Werdegar’s departure, set for Aug. 31, will give Brown
his fourth opportunity in his second stint as governor to mold the seven-member
California Supreme Court, long regarded by legal experts as among the most
influential in the nation.
Justice Kennedy Gets Real About Racial Bias [Bloomberg, 3/7/17]: In a powerful opinion that will become part
of Justice Anthony Kennedy’s ever-growing liberal legacy, the U.S. Supreme
Court held in a split opinion Monday that a jury’s verdict may be reopened if
there is evidence of racial bias by the jurors.
Resolved: U.S. Supreme Court Justices Should Be
Subject to Term Limits [National
Constitution Center, 3/7/17]: Use this YouTube debate when discussing our
textbook’s “Hot Topic” in TOPIC 7.
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:
|
EPA, California in line for
showdown? [AP, 3/7/17]: Trump taking aim at federal requirements
for fuel economy.
|
"[W]e should quarantine King [v. Burwell] and its
potentially dangerous shapeshifting nature to the specific facts of that case
to avoid jurisprudential disruption on a cellular level." So writes Circuit Judge
John B. Owens in a one-paragraph
dissent from a ruling that a
divided three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit ssued today. You can read that ruling at:
Ambitious Proposals
in the States Testing Constitutional Limits of Legislative Power to Interpret
the Constitution [Justia, 3/9/17]: Professor mar
discusses several legislative proposals in various states that purport to give
state legislatures power to interpret and implement the federal Constitution
notwithstanding judicial rulings interpreting the same. Amar explains some of
the key differences between the different proposals and why some are likely to
pass constitutional muster while others are not.
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:
Valid voter fraud complaints in California? Dozens, not
millions [CalMatters, 3/8/17]: With President Donald Trump alleging
serious voter fraud in California, and the state’s top election official
calling his claim untrue, how much voter fraud is actually under investigation
in the Golden State? Not much—certainly not enough to sway the election, in
which California voters chose Hillary Clinton over Trump by 4.3 million
votes.
How gridlock beat the Californian who tried to fix
Washington [SF Chron, 3/8/17]: Four years ago, when President Barack
Obama asked Ann Ravel to serve on the Federal Election Commission, she was seen
as one of the last great hopes to save the agency that is supposed to root out
the secretive “dark money” political contributions that can poison our
politics.
Legislation and the Legislative
Process (TOPIC 20)
Trump Won Big In House Conservatives' Districts — Will
They Defy Him On Health Care? [NPR,
3/8/17]: Some of the most conservative members of the House are at a crossroads
over the plan from GOP leadership and the White House to replace the Affordable
Care Act. Those lawmakers say their choice is between supporting a bill that
goes against many of their principles, or falling in line behind President Trump
— who won overwhelming support in their district.
California lawmakers want to repeal HIV criminalization
laws [AP, 3/9/17]: Exposing a person to HIV is treated more seriously
under California law than infecting someone with any other communicable
disease, a policy some lawmakers say is a relic of the decades-old AIDS scare
that unfairly punishes HIV-positive people based on outdated science.
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:
Privacy: FBI's
James Comey: 'There is no such thing as absolute privacy in America' [The Guardian, 3/8/17]: FBI director’s assessment deepens privacy concerns
raised by the details
of CIA tools to
hack consumer electronics for espionage, published by WikiLeaks.
Privacy: UN rights expert condemns modern-day
surveillance laws [Jurist, 3/8/17]: The UN Special
Rapporteur on the Right to Privacy, Joseph Cannataci, presented a report to
the Human
Rights Council on Wednesday condemning modern-day surveillance legislation and
expressing grave concerns regarding the threat to privacy
rights in the digital age.
A Day Without a Woman rallies unite thousands in Bay Area
and beyond [SF Chron, 3/8/17]: The Women’s March that spilled millions into
the streets in January was no one-off, thousands of women loudly declared
Wednesday from one end of the country to the other. It was the beginning of a
movement.
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:
International Law, Citizenship
and Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]
Hawaii becomes 1st state to sue over Trump's new travel
ban [AP / Jurist, 3/8/17]: Hawaii has become the first state to file a
lawsuit against President Donald Trump's revised travel ban, saying the order
will harm its Muslim population, tourism and foreign students.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TRUMP_TRAVEL_BAN_HAWAII_ASOL-
‘Dreamer’ Stays in a Washington Jail
[CNS, 3/9/17]: A federal magistrate delayed ruling Wednesday on the jailing of
a Mexican “Dreamer” authorized to live and work in the United States, and gave
a tongue lashing to federal prosecutors for filing a late brief that included a
new legal argument.
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