Posts for August 18, 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:
Federal Judicial Nominations: A Quick Recap [“Above the Law” blog, 8/17/17]: The August recess
offers a good opportunity to evaluate the state of play in judicial
nominations.
Gorsuch to headline event
at Trump Hotel [Politico, 8/17/17]: The
“Defending Freedom Luncheon,” hosted by the nonprofit Fund for American
Studies, is an invitation-only event to celebrate “the constitutional framework
that has protected our free society and made America exceptional,” according to
the group’s website.
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 Strategist Steve Bannon
Reportedly Out at White House
[CNS / CNN, 8/18/17]: President Donald Trump’s embattled chief
strategist Steve Bannon is reportedly out at the White House.
White House aides squirm at Trump’s rhetoric but stay put [Politico,
8/17/17]: National security adviser H.R. McMaster and his deputy, Dina Powell,
have been unhappy with Trump’s rhetoric on race over the past week, according
to a White House official. But neither of them is considering resigning — they
have told people it is too serious and dangerous a moment in the world for them
to simply walk away.
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:
Federal court invalidates two Texas congressional
districts [Jurist, 8/17/17]: A three-judge
panel for the US District Court for the Western District of Texas held on
Tuesday that two congressional districts were invalid.
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:
In Backing Alt-Right, A.C.L.U. Embraces Role in Defending
'Groups We Detest' [NY Times, 8/17/17]: The American Civil Liberties Union was under severe duress. Hate mail
poured in, death threats, and the executive director was spat on. That moment,
40 years ago, fought over a planned rally by a small group of neo-Nazis in
Skokie, Ill., would become one of the organization’s most notable cases, and to
some, among its finest moments. The A.C.L.U. cemented its reputation for
fighting for civil liberties, even, or especially, if it meant, in the words of
its director at the time, “defending my enemy.”
ACLU Won’t Defend Hate Groups That
Protest With Firearms [CNS, 8/18/17]: After drawing heavy criticism
for defending the right of white supremacists to hold their rally in
Charlottesville, Va. last Saturday, the American Civil Liberties Union said
Thursday it will no longer represent hate groups that demonstrate with loaded
firearms.
Charlottesville and
the Trouble with Civil War Hypotheticals [New Yorker, 8/16/17]:
Charlottesville reminded us that the world of “Confederate,” a forthcoming HBO
series that imagines an America in which the South won the Civil War, isn’t
that far away from our own. The
white nationalists who marched through Charlottesville bearing torches last
Friday night were, on some level, the culmination of decades of politics that
had validated their world view, albeit tacitly and in coded language.
Pitfalls of false equivalence
seen in Trump’s comments on Charlottesvillee [FAC, 8/17/17]:
Margaret Sullivan of The Washington Post, August 16, 2017, argues that in its
drive to appear even-handed, during the 2016 presidential election, the press
too often equated Hillary Clinton's failings with those of Donald Trump, a
false equivalency.
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:
Is Being a White
Supremacist Grounds for Firing? [The Atlantic, 8/14/17]: Americans are pressuring employers to
prove that hate speech has real consequences. The
efforts to push employers to fire the offending employees are an example of how
the public—but, importantly, not the government—can strengthen the norms
against these ideas, attach a stigma to them, and try to move society away from
them. Historically it's more dangerous as an employee to be associated with
racial justice and the NAACP, than it was to be affiliated with the KKK. Federal law
doesn’t offer any protections for expressing political views or participating
in political activities for those who work in
the private sector and don’t have a contract stating otherwise
Can employees like
those who took part in Charlottesville rally be fired? [ABA Journal, 8/15/17]: Do protesters who appear in photographs and are
affiliated with white nationalist and similar groups have job protections in
spite of the potential issues they may bring? The issue is complicated.
Labour brawl: A new threat to public-sector unions is
headed to the Supreme Court [The
Economist, 8/17/17]: Can a union charge non-members for negotiating on their
behalf?
International Law, Citizenship
and Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]
Settlement reached in lawsuit
over CIA interrogation techniques [Jurist, 8/17/17]: The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Thursday
announced a settlement in a lawsuit against two psychologists who devised the
torture techniques used on three former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
prisoners.
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