Posts October 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 (5^th ed.) student textbook.

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:

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:

Originalism [Cass Sussman on SSRN, 10/21/17]: Originalism might be defended on two very different grounds. The first is that it is in some sense mandatory – for example, that it follows from the very idea of interpretation, from having a written Constitution, or from the only legitimate justifications for judicial review. The second is that originalism is best on broadly consequentialist grounds.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3055093

http://lsolum.typepad.com/legaltheory/2017/10/sunstein-on-originalism.html

The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]

The cascade of missteps that turned one White House error into a messy week [Wash Post, 10/21/17]: Hindsight is 20/20, but sometimes foresight has a sharp focus, too. It was fairly clear a week ago that the White House should have gotten out in front of questions about the deaths of four Special Forces soldiers earlier this month in Niger. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/10/21/the-cascade-of-missteps-that-turned-one-white-house-error-into-a-messy-week/

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:

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

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:

When Can Private Entities Censor Speech? [The Atlantic, 10/21/17]: Trump's pressure on the NFL to censor its players is a First Amendment issue.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/10/when-can-private-entities-censor-speech/543588/

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: