Posts for September 11, 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.

Marin educators teach 9/11 to post-attack generation [Marin I-J, 9/10/17]: For Terra Linda High School sophomore Molly Madden, terrorist attacks around the world and long airport Transportation Security Administration lines are an established part of life and all she has ever known. 

http://www.marinij.com/general-news/20170910/marin-educators-teach-911-to-post-attack-generation

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:

Our Living (That Is, Amendable) Constitution [Library of Law & Liberty, 9/10/17]: The amendment process in Article V was intended to be onerous so that hasty and ill-considered changes could be weeded out. A host of amendments have been proposed but never ratified. 

http://www.libertylawsite.org/2017/09/11/our-living-that-is-amendable-constitution/

More on Interpreting the ERA [Concurring Opinions, 9/8/17]: In Dillon v. Gloss, the Supreme Court stated in dicta that the ratification of a constitutional amendment must “sufficiently contemporaneous in that number of states to reflect the will of the people in all sections at relatively the same period, which, of course, ratification scattered through a long series of years would not do.” The Twenty-Seventh Amendment violates this principle, but Dillon does highlight an important assumption of originalism.

https://concurringopinions.com/archives/2017/09/more-on-interpreting-the-era.html

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:

The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]

Trump review leans toward proposing mini-nuke [Politico, 9/9/17]: The Trump administration is considering proposing smaller, more tactical nuclear weapons that would cause less damage than traditional thermonuclear bombs — a move that would give military commanders more options but could also make the use of atomic arms more likely.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/09/trump-reviews-mini-nuke-242513

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:

Bound to No Party, Trump Upends 150 Years of Two-Party Rule [NY Times, 9/9/17]: When Donald J. Trump set his sights on the presidency in the 2000 election, he pursued the nomination of the Reform Party, a home for disenchanted independents. “The Republican Party has just moved too far to the extreme right,” he explained. “The Democrats are too far to the left.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/09/us/politics/trump-republicans-third-parties.html

The top 15 possible 2020 Democratic nominees, ranked [Wash Post, 9/8/17]: We are a little more than a year away from the start of the 2020 presidential race. In many ways it's already begun, of course, with President Trump running ads and doing campaign rallies. One Democratic congressman has even launched a campaign.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/09/08/the-top-15-possible-2020-democratic-nominees-ranked/?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories_fix-top15-910am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.881b779972f2

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

Virginia Supreme Court to weigh Franklin County man's noose conviction [Roanoke Times, 9/8/17]: The Virginia Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of a Rocky Mount man convicted of a felony after he hung a dark-colored, life-sized dummy from a rope in his yard during a 2015 feud with his black neighbors.

http://www.roanoke.com/news/crime/franklin_county/virginia-supreme-court-to-weigh-franklin-county-man-s-noose/article_b37c0f2f-15b0-55b0-a308-d868497d6fb3.html

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:

State High Courts Can Provide Greater Free-Speech Protections[Newseum, 9/8/17]: With regard to individual rights, the U.S. Constitution sits as a floor, not a ceiling.

http://www.newseuminstitute.org/2017/09/09/state-high-courts-can-provide-greater-free-speech-protections/

Pre-trial Detainee Loses 1^st Amendment Claim for Skype Visitation [Newseum, 9/8/17]: A federal district court ruled that Florida did not violate the First Amendment by refusing Skype visitation to a pre-trial detainee. 

http://www.newseuminstitute.org/2017/09/09/pre-trial-detainee-loses-first-amendment-claim-for-skype-visitation/

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: