Posts for April 26, 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:
Racially
discriminating statements in jury rooms are subject to scrutiny [ABA Journal, 5/1/17]: A case about racial bias in the jury room would
seem to have all the makings of a provocative and headline-grabbing decision.
However, Peña-Rodriguez v.
Colorado, a case containing just such bias, hovered a bit below the
radar, even during this relatively low-key U.S. Supreme Court term.
Hello? Justice Stephen
Breyer's cellphone rings in court [AP / SCOTUS blog, 4/25/17]: Even Supreme Court justices forget to turn off their
cellphones.
How Justice Thomas'
Discontent Channels Justice Douglas [Empirical SCOTUS blog, 4/25/17]: The recent consistency of Justice Thomas’ dissents
harkens back to one of history’s strongest proponents (and one of the most
regular writers) of the dissenting opinion, Justice William Orville
Douglas.
How Trump Alienated the Judiciary [The Atlantic, 4/25/17]: A ruling against his
executive order on sanctuary cities is the latest rebuke dealt to the president
by a federal judge.
High Court Kills Tribal
Immunity for Casino Employees [CNS / Forbes, 4/25/17]: Tribal immunity does not shield a casino’s limo driver
for Mohegan Sun Casino from having to pay the couple he rear-ended on a
highway, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.
Read the decision in Lewis
v. Clarke at:
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:
Controversial Supreme
Court decision lands on the big screen
[ABA Journal, 5/1/17]: It’s rare to see a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision
turned into a movie. But the case of Kelo
v. New London uniquely galvanized a community, spurring one
filmmaker to bring it to the big screen.
Texas Moves Toward Abolishing
Wrongful Birth Suits [Justia, 4/26/17]: Professor Colb
comments on a Texas bill currently under consideration that would eliminate the
“wrongful birth” cause of action. Colb defines wrongful birth and points out
that while its opponents argue that it encourages abortion, it actually
encourages forthrightness and honesty among physicians, which should already be
the standard of conduct. In fact, Colb argues, it is not the availability of a
lawsuit that “encourages” abortion so much as the fact of the severe disability
and the toll that this could take on their lives as well as on the life of the
child whose birth is under consideration.
Gun War [ABA
Journal, 5/1/17]: Congress has been silent on guns, but states haven't, so
change is on the horizon.
Armed Black Panthers in the Capitol, 50 years on [Capitol
Weekly, 4/26/17]: It’s largely forgotten now, but 50 years ago, it created a
national sensation. It even caused the National Rifle Association and Ronald
Reagan to back a gun-control bill authored by a Republican.
The
American Presidency [TOPIC 15]
U.S. judge blocks Trump order threatening funds for
'sanctuary' cities [SF Chron / SJ Merc, 4/25/17]: A federal judge
placed a nationwide hold Tuesday on President Trump’s order to strip funds from
municipal governments that refuse to cooperate fully with immigration
agents. Judge William Orrick III of San Francisco said the president was exceeding his
constitutional authority by trying to punish local governments that disagreed
with his immigration policies.
Judge cites Trump's comment in 'sanctuary city' ruling [AP,
4/26/17]: For the third time in two months, a federal judge has knocked down an
immigration order by President Donald Trump and used Trump's own language
against him.
Trump administration moving to replace fired U.S. attorneys [Politico, 4/25/17]: More than a month after firing almost all of the
Obama-appointed prosecutors, the White House expects to announce picks in the
next three weeks.
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:
Trump Election Complicates Noncitizen Voting in San
Francisco [KQED, 4/25/17]: Lost amid Donald Trump’s stunning upset in
the election in November was the passage of a controversial San Francisco
ballot measure. Proposition N will allow noncitizens with children to vote in
local school board elections. But now, with immigrant communities worried over
the Trump administration cracking down on sanctuary cities, that might be
easier said than done.
Legislation and the Legislative
Process (TOPIC 20)
Instead of launching tax reform, Trump could ground it [Politico,
4/25/17]: President Donald Trump on Wednesday will release a plan to radically
overhaul the American tax code that many Republicans say is unrealistic and
could end up hurting the chances of getting anything done on the issue, long
one of the party’s top priorities.
Moderates chafe at Republican health care compromise [Politico,
4/26/17]: If the White House manages to resuscitate its flat-lining effort to
replace Obamacare, President Donald Trump may owe it to a moderate New Jersey
Republican and multimillionaire who only reluctantly backed his candidacy for
president.
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
U.S. appeals
court to reconsider Ohio execution protocol [Reuters, 4/25/17]: A
federal appeals court on Tuesday agreed to reconsider its recent decision
blocking Ohio from using its lethal injection protocol to execute three death
row inmates.
WV Supreme Court hears arguments in hate-crime case [Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette-Mail / Slate, 4/25/17]: Cabell County
Assistant Prosecutor Lauren Plymale stood before West Virginia Supreme Court
justices Tuesday morning and offered up a hypothetical. She was asking justices
to find that, based on sex-discrimination law, Steward Butler could be charged
with a hate crime for allegedly attacking same-sex couple Zackary Johnson and
Casey Williams in 2015.
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:
Are Hateful Ideas
Protected Speech? [Concurring Opinions, 4/25/17]: On hate speech: Will Howard
Dean publicly debate Eugene Volokh? This would be a great debate. For students too!
Students Have
an “Alternate Understanding” of the First Amendment [Newseum,
4/25/17]: What is behind this urge to shut down speech that is viewed as
offensive? Why do young people today appear to have less tolerance for free
speech? As incidents of campus violence and canceled lectures become more
frequent, it’s more important than ever to understand this issue and move
collectively to address it.
The Media Bubble Is Worse Than You Think [Politico,
4/25/17]: The results read like a revelation. The national media really does
work in a bubble, something that wasn’t true as recently as 2008. And the
bubble is growing more extreme.
Taylor: Ann Coulter’s appearance at Berkeley isn’t about
free speech [SF Chron, 4/25/17]: No, people like Coulter are circling
the campus because, of late, the response to what they represent has been
violent. And violence gets people talking on TV and social media. It sells
books and tickets, and ensures more bookings on conservative TV and radio talk
shows.
Trump Lawyers Get Creative
With First Amendment [Bloomberg, 4/25/17]: President
Donald Trump’s lawyers are trying to rewrite the First Amendment. In defending
a civil suit against Trump by
protesters who say they were roughed up in one of his campaign rallies, Trump’s
legal team has advanced two
claims that either misstate or substantially overstate constitutional doctrine.
Public Employees,
Private Speech: 1st Amendment doesn't always protect government workers [David L. Hudson in
the ABA Journal, 5/1/17]: High-profile
controversies over police shootings, questionable promotions, racial profiling,
attacks on law enforcement and race-based incidents have led to an increase in
public employees being disciplined for publicly posting commentary deemed
offensive or incendiary.
Also see the Newseum’s [4/25/17]: “To Tweet or Not to Tweet”: First
Amendment Center legal intern Melemaikalani Moniz lays out what government
employees can and can’t post on social media.
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:
The 14th: A Civil War-era
amendment has become a mini-Constitution for modern times [ABA
Journal, 5/1/17]: John Bingham is the father of
the 14th Amendment. As a leading member of the Joint Committee on
Reconstruction, Bingham was the main author of the amendment, adopted by
Congress on June 13, 1866, and ratified on July 9, 1868.
Justices May Take Another
Look at Forced Union Fees [Bloomberg, 4/25/17]: The U.S.
Supreme Court will get an opportunity to reconsider whether public sector
unions can force nonmember workers to pay “fair share” fees, this time with a
full roster of justices on the bench. This case is from the 7th
Circuit.
Read the 8th
Circuit decision in Janus and Trygg v. AFSCME at:
International Law, Citizenship
and Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]
Israel appoints first woman to religious court [Jurist,
4/25/17]: Israel's Justice Minister Ayelet
Shaked confirmed Tuesday that the
country's Judicial Appointments Committee has approved the first female judge
to a Muslim religious court. Both Jewish Rabbinical and Muslim Sharia courts
hear marriage, divorce and other family law cases for their given
religion in the country. Jewish law explicitly forbids women from serving as
judges on Jewish family courts, but no similar rule exists for their Muslim
counterparts.
