Posts for August 3, 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:
The Clarence Thomas Takeover [Slate, 8/2/17]: The justice has spent his career pushing a fringy,
right-wing ideology; Now, he has an army of acolytes who can make his vision a
reality.
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:
Concealed Carry Could Be Headed for the Supreme Court [Bloomberg, 8/2/18]: A recent appeals-court ruling on
concealed handguns includes a cry for clarity,
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:
Finding Common Ground,
Despite Ideological Divides [Linda Greenhouse in the NY Times, 8/3/17]: Just when it seems that there is absolutely nothing on
which left and right can agree, along comes Delbert Hosemann, Mississippi’s
Republican secretary of state, to tell Kris Kobach and his dangerous joke of an
“election fraud” commission to “go jump in the Gulf of Mexico.”
Forecast Model
Suggests Demo Gains Likely in 2018 Gubernatorial Contests [Sabato’s
CrystalBall, 8/3/17]: In addition to the entire
U.S. House of Representatives and about one-third of the U.S. Senate, Americans
will be choosing 36 state governors in 2018. Control of statehouses is crucial
not only because many important policy decisions are made at the state level,
but because the governors elected next year will, in many cases, play key roles
in redrawing congressional and state legislative district lines after the 2020
census.
Legislation and the Legislative
Process (TOPIC 20)
New bipartisan Obamacare push faces steep climb
[Politico, 8/3/17]: Dealmakers Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray might be facing
their biggest challenge yet.
Lawmakers unmoved by Trump threat to ax money for
their insurance [Politico, 8/2/17]:
President Donald Trump is threatening to ax money for lawmakers’ health insurance
until they repeal Obamacare. Senate Republicans aren't trying to stop him.
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
Check out the “Summer
Symposium on Carpenter v. U.S.”: [SCOTUS blog]:
U.S. teen texting
manslaughter verdict could face legal challenge [Reuters, 8/2/17]: A Massachusetts woman could be sentenced to up to 20
years in prison this week for sending text messages to her boyfriend urging him
to commit suicide. The verdict was the first of its kind in the state, and
legal experts said it is likely to be appealed.
High court juvenile lifer ban spurs wider
review of cases [AP, 8/2/17]: A
U.S. Supreme Court decision triggering new sentences for inmates serving
mandatory life without parole for crimes committed as juveniles has had a far
greater effect: The ruling is prompting lawyers to apply its fundamental logic
-- that it's cruel and unusual to lock teens up for life -- to a larger
population, those whose sentences include a parole provision but who stand
little chance of getting out.
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:
Podcast:
Access Denied [Newseum, 8/2/17]: Journalists are supposed to serve as
“watchdogs” on the government. But how do they get access to the information
they need to do that? In this episode, we talk to Buzzfeed lawyer Nabiha
Syed about “freedom of information” laws with –which are often the secret to
getting government secrets.
When Religious
Liberty Becomes Religious Intolerance [Newseum, 8/2/17]: Jeff Session
speaks to conservative Christian group about ‘religious liberty’ amidst a
backdrop of escalating religious intolerance in the United States.
“We can change the meaning” [Wash Post, 8/2/17]: Trademarks filed for n-word
after Supreme Court decision.
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 Trump
Administration’s Relentless Anti-LGBTQ Agenda [Justia, 8/3/17]: Leading
church-state scholar Marci A. Hamilton describes the Trump Administration’s
aggressive attempts to marginalize and discriminate against LGBTQ individuals.
Hamilton points specifically to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Trump’s
personal lawyer Jay Sekulow as the sources of this agenda.
Judges send transgender
bathroom case back to lower court [AP, 8/2/17]: A
federal lawsuit over a transgender teen's demand to use the boy's bathroom at
his high school is being sent back to a lower court.
International Law, Citizenship
and Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]
Trump
announces support for skill-based immigration system [Jurist, 8/3/17]: President Trump on Wednesday announced his
support for a Senate bill to cut immigration levels over a decade. Arkansas
Senator Tom Cotton and Georgia Senator David Perdue introduced the Reforming
American Immigration for a Strong Economy (RAISE) Act to "spur economic
growth and raise working Americans' wages by giving priority to the best-skilled
immigrants from around the world and reducing overall immigration by
half."
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