Friday, June 30, 2017

Posts for June 30, 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:

Justice Alito and the Government Speech Doctrine [Newseum, 6/29/17]: Justice Samuel Alito has flexed his judicial muscles most prominently on the government speech doctrine, a prominent concept in many First Amendment free-speech cases.   While he has been on the Court a little more than a decade, he already has authored several prominent opinions delving into the contours of this important concept in free-speech jurisprudence.

Republicans call on Ginsburg to recuse herself in travel ban case [ABA Journal, 6/29/17]: Fifty-eight Republican lawmakers are calling on Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to recuse herself in the travel ban case that will be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court. The lawmakers sent a letter to Ginsburg saying she should recuse herself because of critical comments she made about Donald Trump during the presidential campaign. Ginsburg said Trump is “a faker” who “has no consistency about him.”

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:

Judge blocks California's high-capacity magazine ban [AP, 6/30/17]: A federal judge on Thursday blocked a California law set to take effect Saturday that would have barred gun owners from possessing high-capacity ammunition magazines. The judge ruled that the ban approved by the Legislature and voters last year takes away gun owners' Second Amendment rights and amounts to the government taking people's private property without compensation.

Climate Change Likely to Increase US Income Inequality [CNS, 6/30/17]: Climate change research predicts increased income inequality in the United States, with poor states in the Southeast and Midwest facing severe economic damage, while richer areas could stand to benefit.

The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]

The Media Criticism Continues On [Newseum, 6/28/17]: The battle between the media and Trump’s White House escalates. 

A Summary and Analysis of the Nixon Tapes Case That Still Governs Important Aspects of “Executive Privilege” Today [Justia, 6/30/17]: Professor Amar explains the U.S. Supreme Court’s seminal decision in United States v. Nixon and explains how it might affect the Trump administration in light of various ongoing investigations. Amar provides a brief summary of the Court’s holding in that case, calls attention to some weaknesses in its reasoning, and anticipates what issues might present themselves again.

Trump’s tawdry tweets have become the new normal [SF Chron, 6/30/17]: For anyone still wondering whether President Trump would tone down his personal attacks in response to perceived slights as he settled in the White House, his tweets Thursday mocking a female cable news host seem to have provided an answer.

Trump further disrupts Obamacare repeal efforts [Politico, 6/30/17]: Just three days after running a widely praised meeting among GOP senators devoted to repealing Obamacare, President Donald Trump threw Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's already ailing bill into further chaos Friday.

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:

Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)

Dazed GOP bolts Washington in health care disarray [Politico, 6/29/17]: Senate Republicans skipped town on Thursday afternoon facing stiff internal opposition to their health care proposal and a Fourth of July recess in which critics will pummel their effort to repeal Obamacare. 

Committee unexpectedly opens door to Rep. Barbara Lee's push to end military force authorization [SJ Merc, 6/29/17]: In September 2001, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) was the only member of Congress to object to an Authorization for the Use of Military Force, a resolution in response to the terrorist attacks that paved the way for the war in Afghanistan.

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


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:

First Amendment Center Launches Podcast [Newseum, 6/29/17]: The “First Five” will focus on how the five freedoms of the First Amendment work–and what you can do to protect them. Can your boss fire you because of your political views? Can a journalist publish stolen information? Can a university ban a controversial speaker? Learn the answers to these questions and more by listening to “The First Five.” 

Results of 2017 “State of the First Amendment” Survey Released [Newseum, 6/29/17]: Nearly one quarter of Americans say the First Amendment goes too far in the rights it guarantees. 

Is the “Wall” Between Church and State Starting to Crumble? [Newseum, 6/28/17]: Supreme Court rules in favor of religious institutes in a Church vs. State case. 

Some First Amendment update articles from The Newseum [6/30/17]:

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:

Baker in Supreme Court wedding cake case says 'I don't judge' [ABC News, 6/29/17]: The baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple tells "The View" exclusively in an interview airing Friday that he doesn't "judge people ... I just don't make cakes for every event."

Federal appeals court upholds North Carolina same-sex marriage recusal law [Jurist, 6/30/17]: The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Wednesday upheld North Carolina's Senate Bill 2, which allows magistrates to refuse to perform same-sex marriages if doing so would conflict with their religious beliefs. The court ruled that the plaintiffs, three couples, did not have standing to bring the case because they could not claim that the law hindered their marriages, and the plaintiffs claimed instead that the law affected them as taxpayers. 

Germany parliament votes to legalize same-sex marriage [Jurist, 6/30/17]: The lower house of the German Parliament voted 393-226 Friday to legalize same-sex marriage. The decision came shortly after Chancellor Angela Merkel changed her conservative stance on the issue. 

Eighth Circuit Holds That Private School Student with Special Needs Entitled to FAPE Under Minnesota Law [EdLawProfs Blog, 6/30/17]: Although the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) does not guarantee a right to special education services for private school students with disabilities, the Eighth Circuit recently held that Minnesota law does require public school districts to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for private school students, as well as the right to dispute the provisions of special education services in an impartial due process hearing.

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

Travel ban, with qualification, is underway again after Supreme Court ruling [SF Chron / Jurist, 6/29/17]: Visitors from six predominantly Muslim countries and refugees from around the world lost their ability to gain permission to enter the United States starting Thursday evening unless they could prove a “bona fide relationship” to the country, the latest step in a historic fight over the Trump administration’s travel ban that is playing out in the courts.

Hawaii Challenges Travel Ban’s Family Rules As Partial Ban Begins [CNS, 6/30/17]: Hawaii’s attorney general filed an emergency motion Thursday asking a federal judge to clarify the scope of a preliminary injunction he placed on President Donald Trump’s travel ban in March.

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