Sunday, May 14, 2017

Posts for May 14, 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:

Why it would be bad for Trump to break up the 9th Circuit Court [SJ Merc, 5/13/17]: President Trump’s ban on immigration from six majority-Muslim nations returns this week to the Ninth Circuit—the same federal appeals court that blocked his first travel ban in February. Perhaps fearing a similar result this time, the president recently declared that he is “absolutely” considering breaking up the 151-year-old court, which, he says, “has a terrible record of being overturned” by the Supreme Court. To borrow a line from the president: Wrong. Since John Roberts became Chief Justice in 2005, the Ninth Circuit has never been the most-reversed court of appeals.

Do evangelicals lack 'intellectual heft' for the Supreme Court? [Religion News Service, 5/8/17]: Some of us are curious about Neil Gorsuch’s religious convictions. The new Supreme Court Justice was reared Catholic, but now attends Episcopal Church worship services. Is that evidence he now thinks of himself as a Protestant? Well, it isn’t clear. His wife is a devout Anglican — they met when he studied in England — and he may be accommodating himself to her Protestant preferences while still nurturing strong Catholic convictions. Why the curiosity about this? 

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]

The Knives Are Out for Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster [Foreign Policy, 5/12/17]: In the White House “Game of Thrones for morons,” Steve Bannon is trying to turn the president against his national security advisor.

Transcript: Interview with Donald Trump [The Economist, 5/11/17]: The Economist talks to the President of the United States about economic policy.

The Comey Affair
Five Reasons the Comey Affair is Worse Than Watergate [The Atlantic, 5/13/17]: A journalist who covered Nixon’s fall 45 years ago explains why the current challenge to America may be more severe—and the democratic system less capable of handling it.
https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2017/05/comey-watergate/526443/
Comey firing shows White House problems go far beyond communications strategy [Wash Post, 5/13/17]: The firing of James B. Comey as director of the FBI has left the credibility of President Trump’s White House in tatters. The White House now appears to be an institution where truth struggles to keep up with events, led by a president capable at any moment of undercutting those who serve him. 
6-figure salary, no severance: What an FBI director has to lose [CNN, 5/12/17]: The FBI director job was a step down in pay from his previous roles as general counsel for an aerospace giant and a hedge fund, even though the role is a level III position in the executive schedule. According to the Office of Personnel Management as of 2017, that should have an annual salary of $172,100.
Comey Fired: A Reading Guide [Marshall Project, 5/10/17]: Here’s what you need to know about the “Tuesday Night Massacre.”

Federal court orders disclosure of immigration ban draft [Jurist, 5/13/17]: The US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to disclose the draft of the so-called "Muslim ban" executive oredr. Arab American Civil Rights League v. Trump is a case before the court arguing that the immigration ban initially proposed by the administration had discriminatory intent against Muslims. 

Trump Still Seethes Over Lack of Credit for Election Win [NY Times, 5/13/17]: At the root Donald J. Trump’s unpredictable presidency is a deep frustration about attacks on his legitimacy, and a worry that Washington does not see him as he sees himself.

4 Big Intelligence Stories You Missed Amid The Comey Headlines This Week [NPR, 5/12/17]: Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe was only one of a full slate of witnesses who appeared Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee to discuss the range of worldwide threats arrayed against the United States.

Animus Amicus [“Amicus” podcast from Slate, 5/13/17]: A group of law professors tells a federal court that religious bias lies at the heart of Trump's travel ban.

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 meltdown sets off GOP alarms over 2018 midterm [Politico, 5/13/17]: With the White House in meltdown mode, top Republican Party officials and operatives gathered at a posh oceanside resort here and contemplated a 2018 midterm election that will test them in unimaginable ways. 

Schnur: Why Kamala Harris should not run in 2020 [SF Chron, 5/13/17]: Kamala Harris is not going to run for president in 2020. There is already plenty of speculation on both coasts that California’s new U.S. senator is going to pull a Barack Obama and leverage her noteworthy first step onto the national political stage in November into an almost-immediate campaign for the White House.

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

Appeal in boy's burp arrest case relies on Gorsuch dissent [AP, 5/13/17]: One of Neil Gorsuch's sharpest dissents as an appeals court judge came just months before he was nominated for the Supreme Court. That's when he sided with a New Mexico seventh-grader who was handcuffed and arrested after his teacher said the student had disrupted gym class with fake burps.

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:



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