Posts for April 17, 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:
Gorsuch asks
his first questions from Supreme Court bench [AP, 4/17/17]: It took less than 15 minutes for newly minted Supreme
Court Justice Neil Gorsuch to ask his first questions from the bench.
Judge Richard Posner's unimpeachable honesty [USA Today, 4/10/17]: Judges cloak their decisions
behind a smokescreen of legalism.
Is the Supreme Court
acting less like a court? [“The Conversation,” 4/12/17]: As
the pinnacle of the judicial branch, the U.S. Supreme Court is necessarily
involved in some of the highest-profile, most
controversial and most political cases across the country. And it is one of the most
widely respected government institutions in the country. Some of its
reputation may be because the justices are not seen as mere “politicians in
robes.”
To Fix the Confirmation Process
We Need to Face the Truth About SCOTUS [Dorf on Law, 4/17/17]: As the dust settles over the bitterly partisan
confirmation battles over Judge Garland and Justice Gorsuch, there is a large
consensus that the Supreme Court is a damaged if not broken institution.
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:
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:
Lawmakers across US move to include young people in
voting [AP, 4/17/17]: Donald Trump's characterization of Mexican
immigrants as criminals and rapists during his presidential campaign angered
Heidi Sainz, whose family is from Mexico and who has close friends who are
immigrants. She was also upset that she couldn't do anything about it at the
ballot box because she was a year shy of being able to vote.
Legislation and the Legislative
Process (TOPIC 20)
Congress needs to reach a budget deal in a matter of
days. What could go wrong? [McClatchy, 4/16/17]: Republican and
Democratic congressional leaders are optimistic that when they return from
their recess the last week of April, they’ll reach a deal and avert a
government shutdown by April 28, when legislation that is now funding the
government expires.
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
Can We Stop the Attorney General? [Justia, 4/17/17]:
Professor Margulies points out that Attorney
General Jeff Sessions appears poised to take criminal justice reform nationwide
in the wrong direction. Margulies explains why place-based, problem-solving
approaches improve community wellbeing better than saturation policing
strategies like Broken Windows and Zero Tolerance.
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:
Playground of Liberty [?Amicus” podcast at Slate, 4/16/17]: An important
church-state case at the Supreme Court centers on tire scraps repurposed for
kids' play areas.
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:
How Civil-Rights Law Can
Apply to Sexual Orientation, Too [Bloomberg, 4/6/17]: Everyone agrees that under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
employers are forbidden from discriminating on the basis of sex. Are they also
forbidden from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation?
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