Posts for September 22, 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.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor
Aims to Expand Scope of Civics Education Efforts [School Law Blog,
9/22/17]: U.S.
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, speaking as the keynoter at a forum on
civics education Thursday, stressed the importance of engaging young people of
various backgrounds on the topic.
New opinion --
student-athletes showing concussion signs have a right to be protected [CA3 blog, 9/21/17]: The 3rd Circuit held that a student-athlete
at a state school who is showing signs of a concussion has a constitutional
right to be protected from further violent hits.
The decision in Mann v.
Palmerton Area School Dist. can be found at:
Expanded rating system helps California parents
understand how schools are doing [EdSource, 9/21/17]: California is
the first state in the nation to get enhanced school ratings from GreatSchools,
an Oakland-based nonprofit. The improved ratings now include course access,
student progress and equity — which are intended to help parents choose
schools, advocate to improve them and support their children’s education.
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:
E&E News legal reporters preview Supreme Court's
fall term [YouTube, 9/21/17]: E&E
News legal reporters Amanda Reilly and Ellen M. Gilmer preview the Supreme
Court's fall term and highlight key energy and environment lawsuits causing a
nuisance for President Trump's agenda to rollback climate and other
environmental regulations.
Lainey Feingold:
Negotiating better access for the disabled [ABA Journal, 9/20/17]: Rather than litigation, Feingold finds solutions
through structured negotiation, a collaborative dispute resolution method.
Businesses like it because the process is cheaper and often faster than
litigation, she says. Also—because the settlement agreements always include
extensive product testing, input and feedback by people who are blind—it works
better for her clients.
In Trump's America, is the
Supreme Court still seen as legitimate? [“The Conversation” blog, 921/17]: Regardless of the Supreme Court’s [travel ban]
decision, some Americans will agree and others will not. And whatever the
decision, the court will expect the president to comply with its ruling.
Political leaders usually follow court decisions they disagree with out of a sense of
duty: They believe the Supreme Court’s decisions deserve respect because
obedience to the law is an essential feature of democracy. Political scientists
call this belief “legitimacy.”
Justice Sotomayor says
cameras intrude on the Supreme Court's process [Wash Times / CNN,
9/21/17]: Supreme Court Justice
Sonia Sotomayor said Thursday she doesn’t support having cameras inside the Supreme
Court, saying she fears they would distort the justices’ behavior and hurt the
court’s role in government.
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 aides begin looking for the exits [Politico,
9/22/17]: After a wave of high-profile White House departures this summer,
staffers who remained are reaching out to headhunters to discuss their next
moves.
Trump publicly backs healthcare effort, privately harbors
doubts [Politico, 9/22/17]: In public, President Trump is all-in on
the Senate’s final chance to repeal Obamacare. But privately, there’s
ambivalence in the White House about the bill’s contents and its chances of
clearing the tightly divided chamber next week.
Rep. Hunter calls for preemptive strike against North
Korea [SD Union-Trib, 9/21/17]: Rep. Duncan Hunter said that the
United States needs to launch a preemptive strike against North Korea in order
to prevent the rogue nation from harming the U.S. first.
Travel ban revisions may add countries, alter court challenge [USA Today, 9/22/17]: The long and winding road to the
Supreme Court for President Trump's travel ban may require yet another detour
as the White House prepares to revise or replace it.
The administration is planning to add additional countries to a list of
nations whose citizens’ travel to the United States would be banned or
restricted, an official familiar with the matter said Friday.
Can California Force Presidential Candidates to Release Tax
Returns? [KQED, 9/22/17]: The so-called Presidential Tax Transparency and
Accountability Act seems destined for a legal challenge, if signed by the
governor. “If he does sign it, I’m pretty sure the complaint is ready to be
filed about 45 seconds after he finishes signing,” said Jessica Levinson, a
professor at Loyola Law School.
Defamation lawsuit against Trump gets boost from law
professors [FAC, 9/21/17]: Three law
professors filed an amicus brief arguing that a sitting president, in this
case, Donald Trump, does not enjoy immunity from civil suits. The amicus brief
concerned a lawsuit against Trump by a woman who appeared on The Apprentice and
later alleged that Trump had kissed and attacked her.
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:
Pelosi, Feinstein facing challengers amid protests from
their left [SF Chron, 9/21/17]: It’s not a good time to be Nancy
Pelosi or Dianne Feinstein. After a combined six-plus decades in Washington,
they have become “the Man,” at least to a growing number of progressives who
see them as embodiments of a Democratic Party taken over by
“corporatists.”
Legislation and the Legislative
Process (TOPIC 20)
Kimmel tells viewers: ‘We have until Sept. 30’ to stop
GOP health bill [Politico, 9/21/17]: Jimmy Kimmel on Thursday said
it’s not his job to talk about health care — but he’s doing it anyway, until
Senate Republicans’ last-ditch bill to repeal Obamacare is stopped. “I should
not be the guy you go to for information on health care,” the late-night TV
host said on Thursday’s show. “And if these guys … would tell the truth for a
change, I wouldn’t have to.”
Vote Trading Or Compromise? How Water Bill Was
Resurrected In Legislature's Final Hours [CPR, 9/21/17]: It was
11:59pm last Friday, and Assembly Bill 313 sat silently in the Senate
Appropriations Committee, where it had slumbered untouched for weeks. Less than
three hours later, it had passed both chambers of the Legislature and was
heading to the governor’s desk.
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
Jeff’s Law [ABA
Journal, Oct. 2017]: The attorney general sees his role as pushing present-day
law enforcement toward a rose-colored past.
Fourth Amendment Blockbuster Tops Supreme Court Criminal
Docket [Bloomberg, 9/21/17]: A
relatively calm U.S. Supreme Court term will soon give way to what court
watchers say could be a stormy one when the justices take the bench Oct. 2.
Among the pivotal criminal law issues in the 2017 term are the balance between
surveillance and privacy in the mobile phone era, the treatment of immigrants
who break the nation’s laws, and whether death row inmates can challenge legal
errors they claim are grave enough to save them.
Mass. High Court Says Field Sobriety
Tests Don’t Work for Marijuana [CNS, 9/22/17]: Massachusetts’ highest court ruled this week
that field sobriety tests are not good enough to determine whether a driver is
too high on marijuana to be behind the wheel.
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:
Surveys show disturbing results for young people and
First Amendment [FAC, 9/21/17]: A Brooking
Institution survey revealed that one in five undergraduate college students
approved of using violence to stop controversial speakers while a majority
approved of disrupting speakers by shouting them down.
Cal in tough spot over Free Speech Week [SF
Chron, 9/21/17]: A four-day event featuring far-right speakers planned for UC
Berkeley next week is creating an environment unlike “any university has ever
faced,” and the campus is mobilizing hundreds of police officers to head off
potential trouble, Chancellor Carol Christ told The Chronicle on Thursday.
ACLU Challenges Michigan’s
Religious-Freedom Adoption Rule [CNS, 9/21/17]: The American Civil
Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of lesbians who were denied
the opportunity to adopt children through Michigan’s foster care system,
challenging the state’s practice of letting taxpayer-funded agencies reject
qualified same-sex couples because of religious objections.
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:
How First Amendment
Speech Doctrine Ought to Be Created and Applied in the Colorado Baker/Gay
Wedding Dispute at the Supreme Court [Justia, 9/22/17]: Professors Amar and
Brownstein point out that the US Supreme Court has no comprehensive doctrine on
compelled speech under the 1st Amendment, especially as compared to
its very nuanced doctrine on suppression of speech. Amar and Brownstein
identify core elements that should comprise a comprehensive doctrine and call
upon the Supreme Court to adopt similar guidelines when it decides an upcoming
case, Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado
Civil Rights Commission, in which a baker challenges a Colorado
public accommodations law on 1st Amendment grounds, citing compelled
speech. Without taking a position on how this dispute should be resolved as a
matter of social policy, Amar and Brownstein argue that the doctrinal framework
they describe does not support rigorous review in this case.
Obergefell Is
Already Under Attack [Slate,
9/22/17]: Trump is laying the groundwork to overturn marriage equality.
The Supreme Court Gets Its First Test of Gay Rights
Since 2015 [Bloomberg, 9/21/17]: A
case that began with a chat about a wedding cake has grown into a clash between
free speech and equality.
Trump's impact felt in Supreme Court labor rights cases [USA Today, 9/21/17]: When the Supreme Court opens its 2017 term
on the first Monday in October, its very first cases will serve as a stark
reminder of why elections matter. When the court was asked to hear three cases
on labor arbitration agreements last September, Barack Obama was president,
Hillary Clinton was heavily favored to succeed him, and federal appeals court
Judge Merrick Garland was in line to replace the late Antonin Scalia. Garland
had a strong record of defending
worker’s rights. Also, below, see the video.
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