Posts for April 7, 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:
Without the Filibuster,
Justices Can Be Great Again [Bloomberg, 4/6/17]: I come
to bury the filibuster, not praise it. Although I would never have chosen the
sequence of events over the last 15 months, I’m happy that it has ended with
the death of the filibuster. The filibuster has cast a long shadow over the Supreme Court
confirmation process. It is one reason nominees have morphed from quirky,
brilliant, flawed, controversial political figures into cautious, careful,
qualified and essentially perfect human beings like Garland and Gorsuch.
Interruptions of
female justices has increased with their representation on SCOTUS, study finds
[ABA Journal, 4/6/17]: Women justices on the Supreme Court are interrupted
more often than men are, and the disparity has grown as more women joined the
court, a new study
has found.
Gorsuch nomination
and hearings
Senate Confirms Gorsuch as
Supreme Court Justice [LA Times, 4/7/17]: The
confirmation will deliver a much needed political victory to Trump, whose
administration is struggling in its first 100 days to make progress on many
campaign promises amid infighting in the White House and on Capitol Hill.
The vote was 54-45.
Thoughts on the judicial nominations mess and nuclear fallout [The Volokh Conspiracy, 4/7/17]: How did we get here? Where will we go?
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 Syria Strike
Was Unconstitutional and Unwise [The Atlantic / LA Times, 4/6/17]: The military intervention solved nothing, while
bypassing Congress, betraying the president’s non-interventionist supporters,
and highlighting his hypocrisy.
US Strike on Syria Is
Widely Hailed, but Angers Russia [CNS, 4/7/17]:
As world leaders rallied around the U.S. missile strike on a Syrian air base,
Russia condemned the move as “aggression” on Friday, suspending crucial
coordination with Washington in Syria’s congested skies.
Trump feud with Obama
intensifies [The Hill, 4/6/17]: The Trump
administration has escalated its feud with the Obama administration, creating a
virtually unprecedented situation in which the current and former U.S.
executive branches are openly fighting.
Trump: We've had 'one
of the most successful 13 weeks' in history [The Hill, 4/6/17]: President Trump on Thursday insisted he’s
had “one of the most successful” starts as president in U.S. history,
dismissing the chaos and stalled legislative agenda that has marred his first
100 days in office.
AP-NORC Poll: Most Americans oppose funding border wall [AP,
4/6/17]: Most Americans oppose funding President Donald Trump's wall along the
U.S.-Mexico border and even many of his supporters reject his proposed budget
cuts to scientific and medical research, according to poll released Thursday by
The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Civil war rages throughout Trump administration [Politico,
4/6/17]: Trump campaign staffers are squaring off against establishment GOP
types in federal agencies — and the casualties are piling up.
Weak chief of staff is enabling White House mess [SF
Chron, 4/6/17]: The disarray in the Trump White House makes one nostalgic for a
chief of staff who was a model of organization. A guy like H.R. “Bob” Haldeman,
President Richard Nixon’s chief.
Where Trump and (Bill) Clinton Agree: Immunity From Civil
Suit While President [Justia, 4/7/17]:
Fourth Circuit Weighs 'Exceptional Importance' and
Possible En Banc Hearing on Travel Ban 2.0 [Maryland Appellate blog, 4/7/17]: President Trump’s revised “travel
ban,” which targets six predominantly Muslim nations, has drawn intense media
scrutiny and legal challenges across the nation. The proceedings in the federal
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes Hawaii and Washington, have
garnered the lion’s share of the media spotlight. But proceedings here in the
Fourth Circuit may yield the first substantive appellate court decision on the
travel ban’s constitutionality.
In Battle for Trump’s Heart and Mind, It’s Bannon vs.
Kushner [NY Times, 4/6/17]: Thick with tension, the conversation this
week between Stephen K. Bannon, the chief White House strategist, and Jared
Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, had deteriorated to the
point of breakdown.
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:
The destruction of
Hillary Clinton: sexism, Sanders and the millennial feminists [The
Guardian, 4/6/17]: In this extract from her book, Susan Bardo asks how the most
qualified candidate ever to run for president lost the seemingly unloseable
election.
Legislation and the Legislative
Process (TOPIC 20)
Congressman recuses himself from Russian election
meddling probe [Jurist / SF Chron 4/7/17]: Thursday’s decision by Rep.
Devin Nunes to recuse himself from the House Intelligence Committee’s
investigation of Russian influence in the November election may be less about
the Tulare Republican and more about the slipping political fortunes of
President Trump and the GOP-controlled Congress.
White
House aides clash with GOP leaders over flailing Obamacare push [Politico, 4/6/17]: The
job security of Speaker Paul Ryan as well as GOP lawmakers and White House
staff was a topic of discussion.
In a squeaker vote, the California Assembly approves a
$52-billion transportation package [AP, 4/6/17]: After a nail-biter vote in the Assembly, the
$52-billion transportation package cleared the Legislature late Thursday night
and now goes to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature.
Gary Cohn Backs Breaking Up Big Banks [WSJ,
4/6/17]: The former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executive who is the top White
House economic adviser told lawmakers he could support legislation breaking up
the largest U.S. banks, according to people familiar with the matter, a
development that bolsters congressional efforts to reinstate the Depression-era
Glass-Steagall law.
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
Federal appeals court affirms halt in Ohio executions [Columbus Dispatch / Reuters / AP, 4/6/17]: By a 2-1 decision, a
federal appeals court panel supported a January 26 ruling by U.S. District
Court Magistrate Judge Craig Merz that barred the state’s use of a three-drug
protocol. Merz declared it unconstitutional and blocked the pending execution
of Ronald Phillips, now scheduled for May 10, as well as those of Raymond
Tibbetts and Gary Otte, set for this summer. The state appealed the ruling to
the 6th Circuit.
My Execution, 20 Days
Away [Marshall Project, 4/6/17]: In Arkansas, 8 men are scheduled to die by
lethal injection this month.
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:
The
government is demanding to know who this Trump critic is. Twitter is suing to
keep it a secret [Denver Post / Wash Post, 4/6/17]: Twitter has filed a
lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, asking the court to
prevent the agency from unmasking the user behind an account critical of the
Trump administration.
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:
Law grad who sued for
right to marry his laptop loses in one court, gets second chance in another
[ABA Journal, 4/4/17]: The plaintiff, Chris
Sevier, is former lawyer and Vanderbilt law graduate, according to prior
coverage by the Daily Beast and Raw Story. According to the Daily Beast, Sevier “has a
long history of bogus legal actions” designed to undermine same-sex marriage.
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