Monday, April 17, 2017

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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