Posts for August 21, 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:
Crunching Data From this
Past Term
[Empirical SCOTUS blog, 8/20/17]: This
post utilizes some of these newly released data to uncover three unique aspects
of the Court from this past term.
Gorsuch's speaking
engagement undermines Supreme Court's integrity [St. Louis Post Dispatch,
8/20/17]: At a time when President Donald Trump is dividing the nation and the
system of checks and balances is essential to restrain him, Supreme Court
Justice Neil Gorsuch has compromised his colleagues’ ability to execute their
constitutional duties effectively. Gorsuch, who is only in his fifth month on
the job, has agreed to be the headline speaker at a conservative event at
Washington’s Trump International Hotel.
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]
The Trump Team Picture [CNN, 8/20/17]: On
Friday, President Donald Trump gathered more than a dozen of
his top advisers at Camp David to discuss the future of the American military
strategy in Afghanistan.
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:
Texas seeks Supreme Court intervention in congressional
redistricting case [Corpus Christi Caller-Times /
Dallas Morning News, 8/19/17]: The fight over two Texas congressional
districts is heading to the Supreme Court. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton
has appealed a federal district court's ruling to the Supreme Court after a
three-judge panel in San Antonio invalidated Congressional Districts 27
and 35 earlier this week, the office announced in a news release late Friday.
Jesse Jackson: Electoral college must be abolished [LA
Times, 8/20/17]: Speaking at the Islamic Center of Southern California, Jackson
blamed the electoral college system, giving disproportionate influence to less
populated states, for the 2000 and 2016 loss of Democratic presidential
candidates Al Gore and Hillary Clinton despite their winning the popular vote.
More GOP lawmakers bucking their party on climate change [Politico,
8/19/17]: While President Donald Trump continues to dismantle Obama-era climate
policies, an unlikely surge of Republican lawmakers has begun taking steps to
distance themselves from the GOP’s hard line on climate change.
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
Observers Find Violations in Nashville
Misdemeanor Court [CNS, 8/21/17]: On a Monday last fall, a group of
court watchers say they witnessed the machine of a high-volume misdemeanor
court in Nashville violating the rights of the poor and those who represented
themselves.
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:
White nationalism on rise in California as Bay Area girds
for rallies next weekend [SJ Merc / SF Chron, 8/20/17]: As the Central
Valley’s flatlands give way to the rolling hills of California horse country,
this quiet city that calls itself “the Cowboy Capital of the World” and
features weekly rodeos seems but a blip on Highway 120, halfway between San
Francisco and Yosemite National Park.
The Emperor’s New
Climate Science [Newseum, 8/16/17]: Federal environment agencies are refusing
to disclose possible influence from fossil fuel companies. The new administration’s
attitude towards climate science has federal employees afraid to open up to
journalists.
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:
The Original Understanding of the ERA [Gerard Magliocca
in Concurring Opinions, 8/19/16]: Suppose that
the Equal Rights Amendment is somehow ratified. How should we interpret a text
proposed in 1972 and ratified, say, 50 years later?
International Law, Citizenship
and Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]
Symbols and
Distractions [Justia, 8/21/17]: Cornell University law professor Joseph
Margulies comments on the announcement by the White House that it would expand
the U.S. prison at Guantanamo. Margulies describes the role that Guantanamo has
taken on—including its extremely high cost of operations—and the symbolic role
it has for Donald Trump and his supporters.
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