Posts for August 30, 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:
Designated driver has no heightened duty of care under North
Dakota law, Eighth Circuit rules (8th Cir. North Dakota,
8/29/17):
Amy Hiltner v. Owners Insurance Co.
Amy Hiltner v. Owners Insurance Co.
http://media.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/17/08/163217P.pdf
This might be an interesting case to have kids look at torts
and also the appellate process.
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:
Originalism as a
Constraint on Judge [Univ. of Chicago Law Rev. SSRN, 8/29/17]: Originalism can still have constraining power, but mostly for those who
seek to be bound.
Can Texas Require
Separate Insurance Coverage For Abortion? [Justia, 8/30/17]: Professor Colb
considers a recently passed Texas law that will require people who want
insurance coverage for non-emergency abortions to buy an additional, separate
policy from their regular health insurance policy. Colb explains that
proponents of the law argue that individuals should not have to fund practices
with which they fundamentally disagree, but she points out that many taxpayers provide
funding for government activities with which they fundamentally disagree and
this situation is arguably no different from those.
The
American Presidency [TOPIC 15]
Trump Says ‘All Options on Table’ After
North Korea Missile Test [CNS, 8/29/17]: President Trump on Tuesday
said “all options are on the table” the day after North Korea’s latest show of
force sent a missile flying over northern Japan.
Trump’s mouth battles the storm [Politico,
8/29/17]: When it rains, it seems to pour — right out of President Donald
Trump’s mouth.
Poll Finds Most Americans Think Trump Prejudiced [CNS,
8/30/17]: Most Americans disapprove of the way Donald Trump has conducted
himself as president and believe he is prejudiced and selfish, according to a
Pew Research Center report released Tuesday.
Trump Tweet Rejects Diplomacy With North Korea [CNS, 8/30/17]:
President Donald Trump lashed out at North Korea on Twitter Wednesday,
seemingly backing away from a diplomatic solution to the country’s recent
provocations by saying “talking is not the answer.”
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:
Court: Excluding outside
parties from presidential debates does not violate First Amendment [The Hill, 8/29/17]: Third-party candidates Gary Johnson's and Jill Stein's rights were not violated when they were excluded
from presidential debates during the 2012 campaign, a federal appeals court
ruled on Tuesday.
The New Front in the Gerrymandering Wars: Democracy
vs. Math [NY Times Mag, 8/29/17]:
Sophisticated computer modeling has taken district manipulation to new
extremes; To fix this, courts might have to learn how to run the numbers
themselves.
Feinstein Advises Patience for Trump, Risks Angering Democrats
[KQED, 8/29/17]: In an appearance at a Commonwealth Club event in San
Francisco, Dianne Feinstein urged patience before judging the presidency of
Donald Trump, leading some to wonder if she's out of touch with her party's
base.
Legislation and the Legislative
Process (TOPIC 20)
Mueller Probe Into Russian Meddling
Faces Budget Threat [CNS, 8/29/17]: Like a poison pill in the
corporate world, a Florida Republican introduced a legislative amendment to
sink Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe.
Capitol Weekly’s Top 100 List – 2017 [Capitol
Report, 8/30/17]: There are 22 people new to this year’s ranking compared with
2016 — changes that we believe reflect political and policy developments in the
Capitol. And for those who aren’t on the list this time around: Some retired,
some got new gigs, and some just weren’t as central to the political zeitgeist
as they were last year. Others have simply moved up or down the ranks. The
biggest single change is in our No. 1 position, which is held this year by Gov.
Brown’s chief of staff, Nancy McFadden.
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:
Appeals Panel Sides With
Lincoln in Religious Fliers Lawsuit [AP, 8/29/17]: In
a split decision, a federal appeals panel has sided with the city of Lincoln
(Nebraska) in a civil rights lawsuit by a man who was arrested and convicted of
trespassing for handing out religious leaflets outside an arena on public land.
The opinion in Ball v. Lincoln, Nebraska can be
found at:
Court asks Mississippi
governor to defend Confederate emblem [AP, 8/29/17]: The
U.S. Supreme Court is asking attorneys for Mississippi's governor to file
arguments defending the Confederate battle emblem on the state flag.
Big challenge in stemming Berkeley protest violence:
Bringing cases to court [SF Chron, 8/29/17]: Scenes of chaos have
repeatedly emerged from Berkeley this year — people pummeling each other with
punches, kicks and makeshift weapons, from sticks to pepper spray to bike
locks, amid clashes between right-wing activists and left-wing
counterprotesters in the famously political city.
Federal judge dismisses Palin
defamation lawsuit against The New York Times [FAC,
8/29/17]: Sarah Palin's defamation
lawsuit against the New York Times failed the actual malice test as federal
judge Jed Rakoff dismissed it with the comment, "Responsible journals will
promptly correct their errors; others will not. But if political journalism is
to achieve its constitutionally endorsed role of challenging the powerful,
legal redress
by a public figure must be limited to those cases where the public figure has a
plausible factual basis for complaining that the mistake was made maliciously,
that is, with knowledge it was false or with reckless disregard of its falsity.
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:
Ninth Circuit grants rehearing en banc to decide
whether paying a woman less than a man for the same work, if the man was paid
more at his previous job, violates federal laws against sex discrimination. The 3-judge panel decision, now vacated, held that
such pay disparity under the circumstances did not constitute unlawful sex
discrimination. The case is Rizo v.
Yovino. The vacated decision can be read at:
International Law, Citizenship
and Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]
UN rights committee urges Russia to address hate speech [Jurist,
8/29/17]: In a periodic report published on Friday, the UN's Committee on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) expressed concern about the racist
speech used by politicians and neo-Nazi groups in Russia. According to the
report, such speech often targets Central Asians, the Roma, migrants and people
of African descent
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