Posts November 5, 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:

Meet the Texas Lawyer Who Helped an Undocumented Teen Fight for an Abortion [[The Cut / Slate, 11/3/17]: The first time attorney Rochelle Garza stood up to the federal government was in a Texas courthouse one day in late September. A field representative for the Office of Refugee Resettlement, the section of the Department of Health and Human Services that looks afterunaccompanied minors, had received word that Garza was there with “Jane Doe,” an undocumented teen who was seeking judicial authorization to opt to have an abortion. A few days earlier, Garza had been court-appointed to represent the 17-year-old as her case made its way through the legal system.

https://www.thecut.com/2017/11/this-lawyer-helped-undocumented-teen-fight-for-an-abortion.html

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/11/03/justice_department_declares_war_on_aclu_attorneys_who_oppose_trump.html

  

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:

Willie Brown: Bailout gave Clinton right to take over Democratic National Committee [SF Chron, 11/4/17]: Like it or not, political parties are private businesses. The DNC was broke, and Clinton bailed it out. And like any investor in a business being saved from bankruptcy, Clinton had the right to do want she wanted to do with the operation. After all, she was paying the bills. 

http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/williesworld/article/Hillary-Clinton-had-every-right-to-use-the-DNC-12331294.php

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 :

The Supreme Court should strike down the death penalty [Wash Post, 11/5/17]: So says Professor Laurence Tribe in this essay.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-supreme-court-should-strike-down-the-death-penalty/2017/11/02/8d3c31be-bd86-11e7-8444-a0d4f04b89eb_story.html

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:

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:

International Law, Citizenship and Immigration [TOPIC 40-42]

Guantanamo Is Where Justice Goes to Die [Slate, 11/3/17]: A judicial meltdown this week shows why it is the wrong place to prosecute a terrorist—or anyone else.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2017/11/marine_corps_brig_gen_john_baker_detained_at_guantanamo_in_a_dysfunctional.html