Posts October 24,
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:
'Front Row Kids' and values have taken over our courts
[USA Today, 10/23/17]: The problem is
not just that Back Row America's values won't be considered -- it's that the
Supreme Court may not even realize it's ignoring them.
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:
First major abortion battle of Trump era could be headed for
Supreme Court [CNN, 10/24/17]: The case
of a pregnant migrant teen held in Texas and blocked by the Trump
administration from obtaining an abortion may be heading toward a point of no
return. When the legal
drama began last month, she was about 11 weeks pregnant. She is now at about 16
weeks, and her lawyers say her options for an abortion in Texas are dwindling.
At the same time, the chances of a showdown among federal judges is increasing.
A Vision of Our Post-Roe Future [Slate, 10/23/17]: The government's ban on abortions
for undocumented minors is a preview of an America with one more conservative
Supreme Court justice.
The Handmaid’s
Tale—Junior Version [Justia, 10/24/17]: Professor Grossman analogizes a
situation in the present United States to the dystopic circumstances of The Handmaid’s Tale. In each, Grossman
points out that men have taken upon themselves the right and responsibility to
mandate what women may (and must) do during pregnancy, despite what are
indisputably their constitutional rights.
The
American Presidency [TOPIC 15]
The National-Security-Law Expert Who Blocked Trump's
Travel Ban [The Atlantic, 10/24/17]: The former federal prosecutor and deputy
counsel to the Department of Homeland Security writes that the prohibition
violates the Constitution.
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:
Supreme Court to decide
when state voter purges cross the line [McClatchy, 10/23/17]: After tackling partisan gerrymandering in October, the
U.S. Supreme Court will take on the controversial issue of voter purges in a
November case that could have major implications for the 2018 mid-term
elections.
In Major Victory in
Case with National Significance, Ninth Circuit on 2-1 Vote Upholds Montana
Contribution Limits [Rick Hasen at the “Election Law” blog, 10/23/17]: Judge Bea Would Appear to Hold
*All* Limits Unconstitutional.
Read the ruling in Lair
v. Motl [9th
Circuit, 10/23/17]:
Want the Sierra Club's endorsement? Here are its
standards [LA Times, 10/24/17]: No. 1 on the list is independence from
the oil industry, which has been a fault line in the Capitol during debates
over climate change policies.
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
The California Inmates
Fighting the Wine Country Wildfires [Marshall Project, 10/23/17]: A
photographer captures the lives of the men on the fire lines and at home in
prison conservation camps.
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:
State Asks U.S. Supreme Court To Take Case Involving
Abusive Language
[Hartford (Conn.) Courant, 10/23/17]: In a case that implicates free speech, fighting words
and the coarsening of public discourse, state prosecutors are asking the U.S.
Supreme Court to reinstate a 25-day jail term on a Rockville woman convicted of
upsetting public order by flinging disgustingly vile insults at a grocery store
manager.
Speech, religion and bias
all weighed in Masterpiece Cakeshop
case [ABA Journal,
10/23/17]: The encounter in a Lakewood,
Colorado, bakery was brief, but it has had a lasting impact on the lives of its
central participants. And it has led to a major clash in the U.S. Supreme
Court, pitting the rights of free speech and free exercise of religion against
anti-discrimination law.
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:
‘Everything is at stake:’ California unions brace for a
Supreme Court loss [Sac Bee, 10/24/17]: California labor leaders sound
almost apocalyptic when they describe a looming Supreme Court case that many of
them concede likely will cost them members and money.
International Law, Citizenship and
Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]
Native Hawaiians wage an ongoing battle to organize into a
sovereign nation
[ABA Journal, 10/23/17]: Native Hawaiians have been considered Americans
for more than 100 years. But they haven’t forgotten the original sin that created
their state. That sin—the forcible ouster of the Hawaiian monarchy—has some
Native Hawaiians waging a legal battle to this day to regain some measure of
independence.
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