Monday, June 5, 2017

Posts for June 5, 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:

A Ban The Court Would Love to Avoid [“Empirical SCOTUS” blog, 6/5/17]: This case is important both for its potential repercussions as well as for its symbolism.  For these reasons the Court may wish to avoid making substantial inroads in this matter.  While it is unlikely that Court will be able to fully extricate itself from this matter, it will probably minimize its involvement to the maximum degree possible.

Justices Side with Religious Hospitals in Pension Disputes [AP, 6/5/17]: Religious hospitals don't have to comply with federal laws protecting pension plans, a unanimous Supreme Court ruled Monday in a case that affects retirement benefits for roughly a million workers nationwide.
The opinion in Advocate Health Care Network v. Stapleton can be found at:

Justices Set Time Limits for SEC Disgorgement Actions [CNS, 6/5/17]: The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that the Securities and Exchange Commission has a five-year limit to make securities fraudsters disgorge ill-gotten gains.
The decision in Kokesh v. SEC can be found at:

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]

Trump urges tougher U.S. travel ban, expedited court review [Reuters / AP, 6/5/17]: U.S. President Donald Trump urged his administration to seek a tougher version of his controversial travel ban proposal on Monday following a weekend attack in London, and pressed for an expedited judicial review by the nation's top court.

The Key Word for Travel Ban Is 'Animus' [Bloomberg, 6/4/17]: Court rulings against Trump so far keep mentioning one of Justice Kennedy's favorite concepts.

How Reince Priebus hangs on [Politico, 6/5/17]: Despite constant rumors about his departure, the former RNC head has held onto his senior West Wing role — partly because no one else wants the job. 

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:

Justices affirm ruling striking NC legislative districts [AP / Jurist, 6/5/17]: The Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that struck down 28 state House and Senate districts in North Carolina because they violated the rights of black voters. But the justices rejected the court's order to redraw the districts and hold a special election.

Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)

What You Didn’t Know About our Federal Income Tax [Justia, 6/5/17]: Chapman University Fowler School of Law professor Ronald D. Rotunda comments on a few aspects of the U.S. federal income tax. Specifically, Rotunda discusses some of the proposals for tax reform and the tax revenue each reform might affect.

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

High court limits seizure of assets from drug conspiracies [AP, 6/5/17]: The Supreme Court is limiting the government's ability to seize assets from people who are convicted of drug crimes but receive little of the illegal proceeds.
The decision in Honeycutt v. U.S. can be found at:

Justices will review police use of cellphone tower data [AP, 6/5/17]: In a new case about digital age technology and privacy, the Supreme Court will consider whether police need warrants to review cellphone towers records that help them track the location of criminal suspects. The case is Carpenter v. U.S.

State high court ruling on death penalty could restart executions [SF Chron, 6/4/17]: The California Supreme Court hears many high-stakes cases on issues such as individual rights, taxes, and the lawmaking powers of the state and its voters. But it has seldom confronted a case with such potentially dramatic consequences as Tuesday’s hearing on the Proposition 66 death-penalty initiative. 

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:

How Trump Has Stoked the Campus Debate on Speech and Violence [New Yorker, 6/4/17]: Nearly a century ago, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., famously suggested, in defense of free speech, that “every idea is an incitement.” But are words themselves violence? The striking acceptance of the notion that some speech can constitute violence—and therefore has no place on a university campus—has coincided, this year, with the eruption of actual physical violence over speech.

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:

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

HRW: Fifty years of human rights violations in the West Bank [Jurist, 6/4/17]: Israel has occupied the West Bank through human rights abuses for the past fifty-years, stated Human Rights Watch (HRW) Sunday.



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