Thursday, May 4, 2017

Posts for May 4, 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:

Trump's Right, the Constitution Is 'Archaic' [Bloomberg, 5/4/17]: Is the Constitution archaic, as President Donald Trump implied recently in an interview with Fox News? The answer is a resounding yes -- if you’re an originalist, as Trump claims to be.

Two Weeks In, How Is Gorsuch Shaping The Supreme Court? [NPR’s “A;; Things Considered,” 5/2/17]: It's been two weeks since Justice Neil Gorsuch took his place on the Supreme Court for the new term. Those two weeks were some of the busiest of the term, with oral arguments in 13 cases. Soon, the court will begin issuing opinions and granting cases for its next term.

The Justices in Oral Arguments 2016 [“Empirical SCOTUS” blog, 5/2/17]: Supreme Court oral arguments are the only times that litigators directly and verbally interact with the Justices about pending cases. 

Rumors surround Justice Kennedy exit, but he's not talking [AP, 5/4/17]: As one justice settles into his new job at the Supreme Court, is another about to leave? Eighty-year-old Justice Anthony Kennedy is so far refusing to comment on speculation that he may soon retire after 29 years on the court.

Gorsuch shows an independent streak to begin life at Supreme Court [CNN, 5/4/17]: Justice Neil Gorsuch appears undaunted by the tsunami of work facing his chambers as he settles into his first few weeks on the bench and attempts to catch up during the last months of the term.


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]

A Hundred-Plus Days of Incompetent Lawyering and Attempts to Delegitimate Dissent [Justia, 5/3/17]: Professor Dorf describes President Trump’s first hundred days in office as characterized by incompetence and efforts to delegitimate the courts and the press. Dorf argues that the incompetence runs throughout Trump’s administration, not only in Trump himself.

Assessing President Hillary Clinton’s First 100 Days [Justia, 5/4/17]: Professor Buchanan pens an alternate history—where we would be today if Hillary Clinton had been elected rather than Donald Trump. Buchanan’s alternate history calls attention to the extreme tactics used by Republicans regardless of who sits in the White House. 

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:

Taking Trump's Temperature Amongst his Supporters (and Opponents) [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 5/4/17]: Last week, we released the results of a national poll of voters who said they supported President Donald Trump in the 2016 election, as well as focus groups of mostly Trump voters (but also some voters who either supported Hillary Clinton or voted third party last year). 

Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)

As House prepares to vote on Obamacare repeal, California Republicans are key to its fate [CNS / SJ Merc / SF Chron, 5/3/17]: Nearly six weeks after Republican leaders in the House canceled a vote on a controversial replacement for the Affordable Care Act because they lacked the votes, they are set to try again on Thursday. And California’s 14 Republican members of Congress will be critical in deciding its fate.

A Little-Noticed Target in the House Health Bill: Special Ed  [NY Times, 5/3/17]: While House Republicans lined up votes Wednesday for a Thursday showdown over their bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Vickie Glenn sat in her Murphysboro, Ill., office and prayed for it to fail. 

Deep-pocketed health care lobbies line up against Trump [Politico, 5/3/17]: Just about every major health care group opposes President Donald Trump’s health care overhaul — and the self-styled negotiator-in-chief hasn’t tried cutting a deal with them. 

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

The Limits of Prosecutorial Power  [Marshall Project, 5/2/17]: There are criminal justice actors more powerful than prosecutors.

Justice Department determined to prosecute Assange under Espionage Act [FAC, 5/2/17]: The Justice Department is poised to duck the First Amendment in seeking to prosecute WikiLeaks' Julian Assange who has claimed that his organization is a publisher of newsworthy content. CIA Director Mike Pompeo called WikiLeaks a "non-state hostile intelligence service" and Assange a non-citizen with no First Amendment rights.

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:

2016 World Press Freedom Map Unveiled [Newseum, 5/3/17]: Freedom House and the Newseum unveiled the updated World Press Freedom Map on April 28, reflecting challenges that journalists worldwide faced in 2016. The status of the free press in three countries changed last year: Poland’s press moved from free to partly free, the Maldives from partly free to not free, and Afghanistan from not free to partly free.

ACLU’s 2017 Action Plan Stands “Up for Free Speech” [Concurring Opinions, 5/4/17]: Legislators in at least 15 states have proposed new laws to criminalize and penalize protest activities. 

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:

State ban on conversion therapy upheld after Supreme Court passes [SF Chron, 5/1/17]: California’s ban on “conversion therapy,” which seeks to turn gay youths straight, survived a U.S. Supreme Court challenge Monday when the justices rejected an appeal by religious conservatives who argued that the law interfered with their right to provide spiritual counseling to minors.

International Law, Citizenship and Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]

HRW: Syria used chemical weapons in multiple attacks [Jurist, 5/2/17]: Advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Monday that it has found new evidence that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons in at least four recent attacks targeting civilians.

EU proposes Brexit negotiation terms [Jurist, 5/3/17]: European Commission Brexit Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier on Wednesday published the European Union's proposed directives for the UK's departure from the EU, saying highest priorities were citizens' rights, financial settlement and border regulation.

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