Posts for June 12, 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.
Ninth
Circuit issues its ruling in Hawaii v. Trump [9th Circuit, 6/12/17]: }… we affirm in large part the district court's order
preliminarily enjoining Sections 2 and 6 of the Executive Order.” The
opinion is at:
The reactions: [NY Times / SF Chron / USA Today / AP / Reuters
/ Bloomberg, 6/12/17]:
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:
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:
Puerto
Rico votes for statehood in referendum with low turnout [Jurist, 6/12/17]: In a
non-binding referendum with only 23 percent turnout, 97 percent of Puerto Rico
voters opted for statehood Sunday. Governor Ricardo Rosselló Nevares announced
the results Sunday and said he will communicate the results with the US
Congress.
The
American Presidency [TOPIC 15]
Will Donald Trump's
anti-Muslim words on travel ban hurt his case? [USA Today, 6/11/17]: It's
been 18 months since Donald Trump, presidential candidate, called for
"a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United
States until our country’s representatives can figure out what the hell is
going on." It's been nearly six months since Trump, as president-elect,
was asked if terror attacks in Europe had affected his proposed Muslim ban.
"You know my plans," he said. "All along, I've been proven to be
right." And it's been less than a week since President
Trump trumpeted the travel ban he first proposed in January, which would
have shut down virtually all travel from seven majority-Muslim countries while
giving Christians preferential treatment. "The Justice Dept. should have
stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct
version they submitted to S.C.," he tweeted. "It's a genuinely
difficult question," says Kate Shaw, an associate law professor at
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, who says Trump's words reveal his
intentions. "This is not a question that the Supreme Court has
resolved."
Nice Little FBI You've Got Here. Pity if Something
Happened to It [Slate’s “Amicus”
podcast, 6/11/17]: What counts as 'obstruction of justice'? And should judges
pay attention to Trump's Twitter feed?
Trump gives Priebus until July 4th to clean up White
House [Politico, 6/11/17]: President Donald Trump has set a deadline
of July 4 for a shakeup of the White House that could include removing Reince
Priebus as his chief of staff, according to two administration officials and
three outside advisers familiar with the matter.
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:
GOP struggles with Trump's Russia woes [Politico, 6/11/17]: The president gets great ratings, but neither he nor party leaders have proven able to turn that into the legislation he promised on the campaign trail.
Legislation and the Legislative
Process (TOPIC 20)
AG Sessions to Testify Before Senate
Intel Committee on Tuesday
[CNS, 6/12/17]: Attorney General Jeff Sessons said Saturday that he will
skip previously scheduled appearances before the Senate and House
appropriations committees on Tuesday to testify in public before the Senate
Intelligence Committee about the firing of former FBI Director James Comey and
the events that led up to it.
Schumer invites Trump to testify before Senate [Politico,
6/11/17]: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Sunday invited President
Donald Trump to testify before the Senate on his campaign’s alleged ties to
Russia.
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
Remembering the Murder You Didn't Commit [New Yorker, 6/11/17]: DNA evidence exonerated six
convicted killers; So why do some of them recall the crime so clearly?
The Long, Lonely Road of Chelsea Manning [NY Times Mag., 6/12/17]: Her disclosure of classified documents in
2010 ushered in the age of leaks; Now, freed from prison, she talks about why
she did it -- and the isolation that followed.
The Judicial
Presumption of Police Expertise [Harvard Law Review, June 2017]: This Article examines
the unrecognized origins and scope of the judicial presumption of police
expertise: the notion that trained, experienced officers develop insight into
crime sufficiently rarefied and reliable to justify deference from
courts.
Why dozens of Coloradans convicted as juveniles are
spending life in prison despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling [Denver Post, 6/11/17]: Colorado holds 33 prison
offenders who were juveniles when they committed crimes that resulted in
virtual life prison sentences.
Why America still executes people [The Economist, 6/12/17]: The legal reasoning behind
the continued use of the death penalty.
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:
Florida Judge Rules
Against High School in Public Prayer Suit [Newseum, 6/9/17]: This week,
U.S. District Judge Charlene Honeywell ruled against a Christian high school who
argued that the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) violated their
First Amendment rights by not allowing a prayer to be said over the loudspeaker
at a football championship game in 2015.
Saved By the Bill [Newseum,
6/9/17]: New Vermont law protects student journalists from retaliation.
The Price of
Free Speech [Newseum, 6/9/17]: Florida Congressman suggests cutting
funding from schools that are not providing significant free speech protection.
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:
High Court Chucks Gender-Based
Citizenship Divide [CNS,
6/12/17]: The Supreme Court took aim
Monday at a gender distinction that makes birthright citizenship more difficult
for a child born overseas out of wedlock if only the father, not the mother, is
an American.
Read the mostly unanimous
opinion in Sessions v. Morales-Santana at:
Unions Come Into the
Justices' Cross Hairs, Again
[Adam Liptak’s “Sidebar” blog in the NY
Times, 6/12/17]: Unions again have reason to be nervous. Having already
determined that the issue in the case warrants the court’s attention, the
justices will probably agree to hear it. The Janus case has not yet
been accepted by the Court, but you will find it in the new edition of our Con
Law (version 5.04) student text!
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