Posts November 30,
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 toaw, 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:
What Robert Bork Learned from Judicial Activism, Right
and Left Law and Liberty” blog, 11/29/17]: ave been thinking
about Robert Bork
recently, prompted in part by the 30th anniversary of his rejection by the
Senate on November 23, 1987. Next month will mark the fifth anniversary
of his passing on December 19, 2012. Bork was profoundly
influential in
conservative legal circles when I graduated from law school in 1980 and started
paying closer attention to constitutional theory. I was impressed with both
Bork’s scholarly writings and his more polemical articles in publications such
as National Review. A 1982
essay he wrote in NR,
entitled “The Struggle Over the Role of the Court,” reprinted in his 2008
anthology A Time to Speak, remains timely—even prescient. Ramesh Ponnuru has called Bork’s 1990 book, The Tempting of America, written in the wake of his
confirmation defeat, “the most important popular statement of judicial
conservatism yet produced.”
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's tweets could again complicate effort to
defend travel ban
[Wash
Post, 11/29/17]:
III. The Political System: Voting and Campaigns
(See Topic 16-20 in
the 5th edition of Constitutional
Law] Here are someecent articles that are relevant to this unit:
House Democrats Target Most California Republican
Districts --]: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has
indicated the party will actively compete in 10 of the 14 California districts
currently held by Republicans. In 2016, the DCCC listed four Republican-held
districts as battlegrounds.
Legislation and the Legislative
Process (TOPIC 20)
It Started as a Tax Cut. Now
It Could Change American Life [MY Times, 11/29/16]: The result
is a behemoth piece of legislation that could widen American economic
inequality while diminishing the power of local communities to marshal relief
for vulnerable people — especially in high-tax states like California and New
York, which, not coincidentally, tend to vote Democratic. All of this is taking
shape at such extraordinary velocity, absent the usual analyses and hearings,
that even the most savvy Washington lobbyist cannot be fully certain of the
implications.
Why Washington Reacts 281More Slowly to Sexual Misconduct
Allegations Than Hollywood [Justia, 11/29/17]: Dorf considers the recent
spate of sexual misconduct allegations in the political sphere and
entertainment industry, and notes how much less inclined to action and
condemnation the former is compared to the latter. Dorf illustrates this point
by considering the allegations against Donald Trump and Roy Moore, as well as
various well-known Hollywood players, then evaluates several factors that may
explain the contrast in reactions. Dorf concludes that the polarized, partisan
state of our government, coupled with weak political parties, ultimately leaves
Washington far more powerless to purge offending individuals than Hollywood.
IV. Criminal Law and Procedure
(4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th amendments)
[See TOPICS 21-28 in the 5th
edition of Constitutional Law Profs Blawf] Here are some recent
articles that are relevant to this unit :
Can You Track Me Now?
[Slate, 11/30/16]: The Supreme Court weighs whether the government should be
able to get its hands on your cellphone location data.
ustices Seem Ready to Boost Protection of Digital
Privacy [NY Times / USA Today /
Reuters / NPR, 11/29/17]: U.S. Supreme Court justices signaled on Wednesday
they may impose limits on the ability of police to obtain cellphone data from
wireless providers to track the location of criminal suspects in a major test
of privacy rights in the digital age.
https://www.npr.org/2017/11/29/567313569/supreme-court-hears-case-on-cell-phone-location-information
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
Walmart Pulls T-Shirts That Hint At Lynching Journalists [NPR,
11/30/17]: Walmart has removed a controversial T-shirt with a simple message —
"Rope. Tree. Journalist. SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED" — from its website,
after the Radio Television Digital News Association sent the largest retailer
in the U.S. a note flagging the shirt's message.
rivacy,
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:
Cake stand [“Democracy in America blog in The
Economist, 11/30/17]: A row over a wedding cake pits religious liberty against
LGBT rights; A scholar's attempt to stand up for a socially conservative baker
may not agree with Supreme Court precedent.
The Reliable Justice [Slate, 11/29/17]: Anthony Kennedy's equal rights rulings prior to Cakeshopshou should have been
easy to predict.
California Law Doesn’t Require Employers to Keep Track of
Sexual Harassment Complaints [CPR, At Tuesday’s California Assembly hearing on
sexual harassment prevention, chief administrator Debra Gravert stunned
observers when she was asked how many victim complaints have come in during her
three-and-a-half years on the job. “We do not track complaints. We only track
investigations,” she responded.
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