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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