^{Posts January 3, 2018}

^{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 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] 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] Some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

^\ Will California outmaneuver a new federal cap on tax deductions? [SJ Merc, 1/2/18]: California Democrats are toying with a brash scheme to skirt a new federal cap on state and local tax deductions: Instead of paying taxes to the Golden State, Californians would be allowed to donate the money to the state’s coffers — and deduct the entire sum from their federal taxes. 

^{https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/01/02/will-california-outmaneuver-a-new-federal-cap-on-tax-deductions/}

Californians, economics and environmental protection [Capitol Weekly, 1/2/18]: Something that isn’t too surprising for legislators or Gov. Brown as California continues to be on the forefront of environmental policies: A major survey shows strong majority (62 percent) of Californians believe air pollution is a problem in their part of California. 

^{http://capitolweekly.net/voters-environmental-protection-survey/}

^{The American Presidency [TOPIC 15_]}

Fusion GPS to Congress: Release our testimony [Politico, 1/2/17]: The founders of Fusion GPS took to the pages of the New York Times to push back against Republicans who have attacked the firm over a dossier related to the Trump Russia investigation — and to urge that their testimony be released. 

^{https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/02/fusion-gps-steele-dossier-trump-russia-320236}

PolitifactCA: Trump’s False claim Dianne Feinstein said ‘there is no collusion’[PolitiFactCA, 1/2/18]:  Fact-checkers found President Trump’s recent interview in The New York Times chock-full of false and misleading statements. Trump rattled off falsehoods published in the Dec. 28, 2017 article on everything from how many social media followers he has to what’s known about possible collusion between Russia and his presidential campaign.

^{http://www.politifact.com/california/statements/2018/jan/02/donald-trump/trumps-false-claim-dianne-feinstein-said-there-no-/}

III.        The Political System: Voting and Campaigns [See TOPICS 16-20 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

Warren positions herself for potential 2020 run [Politico, 1/2/18]: Elizabeth Warren has spent the past year making a series of below-the-radar moves that would put her in prime  position to run for president in 2020 if she decides to.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/02/elizabeth-warren-2020-election-democrats-319045

^{Legislation and the Legislative Process}

 California Senate Knew Of Sexual Misconduct Claim But Left Young Woman In Lawmaker’s Office, Critics Question HR Competency [CPR, 1/2/18]: The California Senate’s human resources office knew about Sen. Tony Mendoza’s alleged sexual misconduct with a female student Fellow in late September. But instead of immediately placing the lawmaker on leave, or finding a safer place for the young woman — as experts say a properly trained, experienced HR professional might have done — Senate leaders left the Fellow in Mendoza’s office for another six weeks. 

^{http://www.capradio.org/articles/2018/01/02/california-senate-knew-of-sexual-misconduct-claim-but-left-young-woman-in-lawmakers-office-critics-question-hr-competency/}

Walters: Uncle Sam gives school reformers a gift [CalMatters, 1/2/18]: A new year brings renewal of hope, it’s said, but it also means renewed political and legal hostilities over the direction of California’s public school system.

^{https://calmatters.org/articles/commentary/commentary-uncle-sam-gives-school-reformers-gift/}

IV.       Cminal 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] 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] Some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

Speaking Freely with Adam Liptak [Free Speech Project, 1/3/18]: Historical perspective of the Court discussed with the NY Times Court correspondent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJWpGrnDK54

Lindsay Lohan, Grand Theft Auto V, the First Amendment, and the Right of Publicity [The Volokh Conspiracy, 1/3/18]:  An amicus brief we recently filed in an interesting and important New York high court case.

http://reason.com/volokh/2018/01/03/lindsay-lohan-grand-theft-auto-v-the-fir

VI.       14^th Amendment, Discrimination, Privacy, Working, Citizenship & Immigration [See TOPICS 34-41 in the 5^th edition of Constitutional Law] Some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

Did the Sexual Revolution Cause the Sexual Misconduct Revealed by #MeToo? [Justia, 1/3/18]: Professor  F. Colb considers the claim by some people that the increase in accusations and occurrences of rape and other sexual misconduct is attributable to the sexual revolution of the late 1960s and mid-1970s. Colb points out that both rape and sexual misconduct existed well before the sexual revolution, and in fact the legal system until very recently either condoned or made it very difficult to prove rape (and categorically excluded the possibility of marital rape). In contrast, the sexual revolution was about liberating consenting adults to have sex with one another and giving women ownership over their own bodies.

^{https://verdict.justia.com/2018/01/03/sexual-revolution-cause-sexual-misconduct-revealed-metoo}