Posts for April 6, 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.
Law Day 2017
Resources and Event Calendar [ANA, 4/6/17]: The ABA provides resources at www.lawday.org to help educators and legal
professionals speak about and teach the fundamentals of the Fourteenth
Amendment, including citizenship, due process, and equal protection. Download
free materials:
2017 Planning Guide:
Dialogue on the Fourteenth Amendment: http://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/initiatives_awards/law-day/law_day_dialogue_2017.html
2017 theme artwork:
Civics 101 [ABA,
4/6/17]: Ever wonder what a White House Chief of
Staff actually does? How about a Press Secretary? And is gerrymandering still a
thing in this country? The first 100 days of the Trump administration is the
perfect time to bone up on civics you should have learned in school...but
probably didn't. Civics 101 is your podcast guide to what you need to know,
when it matters most.
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:
Justice, Interrupted: The
Effect of Gender, Ideology and Seniority at Supreme Court Oral Arguments [SSRN / SCOTUS blog,
4/6/17]: This Article studies how the
justices compete to have influence at oral argument, by examining the extent to
which the Justices interrupt each other; it also scrutinizes how advocates
interrupt the Justices, contrary to the rules of the Court.
Want to visit SCOTUS? Gird
for battle, bring cash, hydrate at your own risk [SCOTUS blog, 4/5/17]: After a class visit to America’s highest court in late
March, my students lamented how steep an incline members of the public face
just to get a glimpse of the justices in action.
Supreme Court's Decision
About Printer Cartridges Could Have Big Consequences [NPR’s “Morning Edition,”
4/6/17]: A case about reselling printer
cartridges has landed in front of the Supreme Court. The Court's decision could
have big implications for a whole slew of consumer products, from computers to
cars.
Gorsuch nomination
and hearings
This is what happens next [CNN, 4/6/17]: Republicans didn't get the 60 votes (we just cleared
the 11 a.m. hurdle on this chart below). But it's not time for the nuclear option just yet. Here's what
happens now in this process.
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:
The
American Presidency [TOPIC 15]
Trump's hidden backchannel to Justice Kennedy: Their
kids [Politico, 4/6/17]: As White
House pushes to confirm Neil Gorsuch, Trump readies lower court picks as they
await the next high court vacancy.
Swalwell dares Trump: Declassify the surveillance
documents [Politico, 4/6/17]: A Democrat on the House panel
investigating Donald Trump’s ties to Russia is issuing an ultimatum: If the
president is going to accuse members of the Obama administration of breaking
the law, he should prove it. “If the president wants to say that Susan Rice
committed a crime, he has the power to declassify. No one else does,” Rep. Eric
Swalwell of California said Wednesday.
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:
Polling in the 2016 Election and What it Means Going Forward [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 4/6/17]: Examining the implications for public opinion surveys beyond the horse race.
Legislation and the Legislative
Process (TOPIC 20)
Devin Nunes,
Embattled House Intelligence Committee Chair, Steps Aside [CNS / CNN, 4/6/17]: Rep. Devin Nunes, the Republican
chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said Thursday morning he
will temporarily step aside from the panel’s probe of Russian meddling in
the 2016 election.
House GOP mulls emergency meeting to push Obamacare
repeal [Politico, 4/5/17]: House Republicans are considering an
emergency committee meeting Thursday to keep their Obamacare replacement plan
afloat, sources told Politico — a last-minute decision that comes just as the
GOP repeal effort was seen as all but dead for the foreseeable future.
Good Riddance to the Filibuster [The Atlantic / Nina Totenberg on NPR / C-SPAN,
4/5/17]: If the Democrats use the filibuster to protest Neil Gorsuch's
nomination, it might be the only constructive purpose the practice has ever
served.
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
States Find Other
Execution Methods After Difficulties With Lethal Injection [NPR’s “Morning Edition,”
4/6/1`7]: Death penalty laws are on the
books in 31 states, but only five carried out executions last year. Now
Arkansas is rushing to execute death row inmates at an unprecedented pace this
month, before the state's supply of lethal drugs expires.
The Supreme Court
Rejects Fake Facts in Capital Cases [Justia, 4/6/17]: Professor Colb considers one recent instance in which the U.S.
Supreme Court endorsed a standard because it was factually more accurate than a
prior standard, and several other instances in which the Court has done the
opposite. Colb points out that, unfortunately, the law often seeks facts that
facilitate a desired outcome rather than facts a more just or correct outcome.
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:
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:
A Judicial Battle
Royal At The Seventh Circuit — And Judge Posner’s Favorite Gays Of All Time
[“Above the Law” blog, 4/5/17]: SCOTUS
shortlisters and other luminaries of the federal judiciary duke it out in a
landmark case.
The shrewdness of Judge
Wood's opinion in LGBT workplace bias case [“On the Case” blog, 4/5/17]: By
grounding the opinion in U.S. Supreme Court precedent, insisting that the 7th Circuit
is merely interpreting the statute Congress wrote and explaining why two
different Lambda theories lead to the same conclusion, Judge Wood is giving the
next court to look at this issue all kinds of justifications to go along with
the 7th Circuit.
International Law, Citizenship
and Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]
UN Security Council
holds emergency talks after suspected chemical attack in Syria [Jurist,
4/6/17]: The UN Security Council conducted
emergency talks on Wednesday regarding an alleged chemical attack in Syria that
killed numerous civilians.
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