Posts October 4, 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:
The Authority of the Court [“Balkinization” blog, 10/3/17]: The Justices of the Supreme Court are nine of the most powerful
people on the face of the earth. Yet it seems to be their lot to be
forever anxious that exercising their power might undermine it.
The New term:
Gorsuch's Rejection of a Politicized Executive Branch [Bloomberg, 10/4/17]: When the Trump administration
is challenged for crossing legal lines, how will the new justice vote?
Gorsuch Could Disappoint
Conservatives On Immigration [538, 10/3/17]: He is poised to serve as the tie-breaking vote in the two cases, which
were heard last year when the court had only eight justices.
Fearing his retirement, liberals hope Anthony Kennedy
can help resist the conservative tide
[CNN, 10/2/17]: It's all about Anthony Kennedy. As lawyers prepare for a
blockbuster Supreme Court term that will feature a constitutional scholar's
dream docket of issues, some aren't even trying to hide their game. Lawyers are
tailoring their arguments to the justice -- peppering court papers with
references to his jurisprudence. If they could, they'd feature his picture on
the front page of legal briefs.
In partisan times, chief justice worries about the court's
image [CNN, 10/3/17]: During
heated Supreme Court arguments Tuesday over whether the justices should take up
challenges to politically gerrymandered voting districts, Chief Justice John
Roberts confessed what matters to him. It comes down to how things look and what people think.
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:
Judge OK's Iowa's Abortion Waiting Period [CNS,
10/3/17]: Ruling against Planned Parenthood, an Iowa judge found Monday that
the state’s newly amended abortion law requiring a 72-hour waiting period does
not impose an undue burden on women seeking the procedure.
The
American Presidency [TOPIC 15]
Trump brings harsh edge to Puerto Rico trip [Politico,
10/3/17]: President Donald Trump brought a jarring tone to Puerto Rico as he
toured the hurricane devastation Tuesday, appearing to blame the U.S. territory
for having “thrown our budget a little out of whack” and complimenting
officials for sustaining only 16 deaths, compared with the much higher human
toll of Hurricane Katrina.
What’s Different—And What Isn’t—About Travel Ban 3.0 [Justia, 10/4/17]: Professor Dorf describes some of
the key similarities and differences between the most recent iteration of
President Trump’s ban on entry to the US by certain foreign nationals (“Travel
Ban 3.0”) and earlier versions, and considers whether these differences will
affect the determination of the policy’s legality. Although the Supreme Court
might not ultimately be the court that answers the question, Dorf points out
that we may have an answer before too long.
Could Joe Arpaio Break the Presidential Pardon? His
case is still alive [Politico,
10/4/17]: It could test the limits of pardon power -- and not just for Trump.
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:
A View from the
Courtroom: A big windup on partisan gerrymandering [SCOTUS blog,
10/3/17]: There
is some extra wattage here this morning for arguments in one of the marquee
cases of the new term, Gill v.
Whitford, about the
constitutionality of partisan gerrymandering. This a great, short read that
students of the Court will enjoy. The 2nd article is more technical
about the case argued.
With Justice Kennedy Seriously Considering Being the
5th Vote to Rein in Partisan Gerrymandering, The Chief Justice Worries About
the Political Thicket [Election Law
blog, 10/3/17]: “Perhaps most interesting to me about the argument aside
from Justice Kennedy’s lean was the Chief Justice’s professed concern that
having courts deciding these partisan gerrymandering cases would inject the
courts too much in the political thicket and harm the courts’ legitimacy.”
Supreme Court debates politics, and Kennedy's silence speaks
volumes [USA
Today / Politico / CNS, 10/3/17]: The Supreme Court's conservative justices
were in a lather Tuesday over the potential repercussions of a ruling that
would force judges to insert themselves into the political business of drawing
election maps. But Justice Anthony Kennedy just leaned back in his leather
chair and smiled.
Gerrymandering and Association
[SSRN, 10/3/17]: This article argues
that the First Amendment expressive right of association prohibits excessive
partisan gerrymanders
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
Bringing the party to the
Supreme Court in a case about searches and arrests [Wash Post, 10/3/17]: One
of the most buttoned-up institutions in the country will wrestle with the
free-for-all culture of the house party as the Supreme Court hears a case set
for Wednesday that began in a brick duplex in the District.
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:
U.S. Supreme Court to rule on key First Amendment cases
in fall term [FAC, 10/3/17]: In its new
term, the U.S. Supreme Court is slated to rule on two First Amendment issues,
the first concerning mandatory union dues which a state governor worker in
Illinois claims violates his free speech rights.
White supremacists deserve free speech, California
lawmakers told [AP / FAC, 10/3/17]: California is home to the largest
skinhead population and the most developed white supremacist gangs in the
country, the Anti-Defamation League told state senators during a hearing at the
Capitol on Tuesday.
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:
International Law, Citizenship
and Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]
Supreme Court hears oral arguments in immigration
detention case [Jurist, 10/4/17]: The
Supreme Court heard arguments in Jennings v. Rodriguez, a case which will
determine whether or not non-citizen aliens may be held indefinitely without a
bond hearing on Tuesday. The case is Jennings v. Rodriguez.
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