Posts for August 13, 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 (5^th ed.) student textbook.

I. Introduction to Law, the Constitution, and the Supreme Court [See TOPICS 1-10 in the 5^th 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 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

III. The Political System: Voting and Campaigns [See TOPICS 16-20 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)

Our Unconstitutional Reapportionment Process [Gerard Magliocca SSRN, 8/11/17]: This Article argues that the process used to reapportion representatives among the states after each census violates Section Two of the Fourteenth Amendment. Section Two states that the apportionment of representatives must be done based on population unless a state disenfranchises a sufficient number of people who are presumptively eligible voters. 

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3017614

IV. Criminal Law and Procedure (4^th, 5^th, 6^th, and 8^th amendments) [See TOPICS 21-28 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to this unit

What I Learned From the Neo-Nazi in My Prison Book Club [Marshall Project, 8/10/17]: An inmate who grew up worshipping Hitler forces a reading group facilitator to challenge her own beliefs. “His words forced me to check my own mantra, one I’d had to hone in order to work in a prison: Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, their own story.”

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2017/08/10/what-i-learned-from-the-neo-nazi-in-my-prison-book-club?ref=hp-1-121#.AUzCbMp1d

Illinois Governor signs legislation removing statutes of limitations on sexual abuse crimes [Jurist, 8/13/17]: Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed SB 189 on Friday removing the statutes of limitations on certain sexual abuse crimes. Under the previous code a victim of these sex crimes had to report the crime within 20 years of reaching age 18.

http://www.jurist.org/paperchase/2017/08/illinois-governor-signed-legislation-to-remove-the-statutes-of-limitations-for-sexual-abuse-crimes--.php

V. 1^st Amendment (Speech, Religion, Press and Assembly) [See TOPICS 29-33 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

The Right of Petition and Official Social Media [Gerard Magliocca in “Concurring Opinion,” 8/11/17]: “Here’s something I’m going to start thinking about. Could one say that the First Amendment right to petition is implicated when a public official excludes someone from their social media account (say Twitter)?”

https://concurringopinions.com/archives/2017/08/the-right-of-petition-and-official-social-media.html

22 states back bid to keep New Mexico 10 Commandments statue [AP, 8/11/17]: A coalition of nearly two dozen states led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is stepping into a dispute in northwestern New Mexico over a Ten Commandments monument.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TEN_COMMANDMENTS_SUPREME_COURT

Protesters rally in downtown Los Angeles to denounce racially-charged violence in Charlottesville [LA Times, 8/11/17]:  More than a hundred demonstrators marched in front of Los Angeles Police Department headquarters, chanting, “No justice, no peace,” and waving signs that read “Solidarity with Charlottesville,” “White Silence = Violence” and “Stop White Terrorists.”

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-downtown-rally-20170812-story.html

VI. 14^th Amendment, Discrimination, Privacy, Working, Citizenship & Immigration [See TOPICS 34-41 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Here are some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

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

The Discussion People AREN’T Having About Sanctuary Cities [Jurist, 8/13/17]: In the legal battle between “sanctuary cities” and the federal government one directly related issue has received notably less attention: whether sanctuary cities may incur civil liabilities in the event that an undocumented immigrant commits a crime.

http://www.jurist.org/hotline/2017/08/Colin-Whitlow-sanctuary-cities.php