To:
Teachers of Constitutional Law in
high school
From: Rich Kitchens,
Director, Constitutional Law Education Project (CLEP) (http://conlawed.com)
(Email us at: rich@conlawed.com)
Sub: Newsletter #307
(May 2,
2008)
This is an
occasional FREE newsletter for the teachers of Constitutional Law
(3rd) and others interested in teaching such a
subject to high school students. Currently, it goes out to more than
160 teachers. It is organized to suggest strategies in each of
the five units in the Constitutional Law (3rd)
text. Of course, you can use any of this information
without the text as well. More information can be obtained by using
the Teacher’s Guide to Constitutional Law (3rd),
published by the CLEP.
If you
wish to be removed from this newsletter mailing list, please reply
with the designation “Remove” in the subject box.
Please let
us know what you would like to see in this newsletter as it evolves.
To view past issues of the newsletter, contact Rich Kitchens at our
email address. To see Rich Kitchens’ classroom, check out: http://www.edutopia.org/room-learn-speak-your-mind
=====================================================
General Articles, Hints and
Reminders:
Latinos still
the largest, fastest-growing minority, census shows [LA Times,
5/1/08]: They account for 15% of the
U.S. population, according to new 2007 data.
Minorities overall make up 34%.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-census1-2008may01,1,4727970.story
Rise in
Minorities Is Led by Children, Census Finds [NY Times, 5/1/08]: Since 2000, members
of racial and ethnic minorities have become a majority of youngsters
under 15 in two of the nation’s fastest-growing states, Florida and
Nevada, with Georgia, Maryland and New York poised to follow,
according to census data released on
Wednesday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/washington/01census.html
I.
Introduction to Law, the Constitution, and the Supreme
Court
[See TOPICS 1-10 in the
3rd edition of Constitutional Law]
Some recent articles that
are relevant to this unit:
Tension Mounts
Over U.S. Bench Vacancies [NLJ, 4/30/08]: Republican senators are
anxious about 28 judicial nominees awaiting confirmation, the 46
total vacancies and the dwindling time left in President Bush's term
to get more of his candidates on the federal bench. Of the 28
nominees waiting approval by the Senate, 10 are appellate court
nominees and 18 are trial court selections. The 4th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals, in particular, is in the political crosshairs --
the president who fills those vacancies could shift the
philosophical balance of the court.
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1209459930161
The
U.S. Supreme
Court
[TOPICS 7, 8, 9, 11, 12]
Scalia: I'm
Conservative, but Not Biased [AP, 4/25/08]: The Constitution doesn't
prohibit abortion any more than it allows it, Supreme Court Justice
Antonin Scalia says in a television news interview to be broadcast
Sunday. Scalia told CBS News' "60 Minutes" that he may be
conservative, but he is not biased on issues that come before the
Court. "I mean, I confess to being a social conservative, but it
does not affect my views on cases," Scalia said in excerpts released
Thursday.
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1209047610639
Scalia Talks to
NPR [NPR, 4/28/08]:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/bryantpark/2008/04/scalia_talks_to_npr.html
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90011526
II.
Defining the Political System: Federalism and Checks and Balances
[See TOPICS 11-15 in the
3rd edition of Constitutional Law]
Some recent articles that
are relevant to this unit:
The American
Presidency [TOPIC 15]
Saying Times
Are Difficult, Bush Presses Congress to Act [NY Times, 4/29/08]:
The president called on
Congress to expand energy production, stem the mortgage crisis and
reduce what he called lavish subsidies to
farmers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/30/washington/29cnd-Bush.html
III. The
Political System: Voting and Campaigns
[See TOPICS 16-20 in the 3rd
edition of Constitutional Law]
Some recent articles that are relevant to
this unit:
John Dean, “Contrary to His
Claims, Senator John McCain Is Not a Goldwater Conservative.”
Writ, 5/2/08: Dean contends that
presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain's claims to be a
conservative in the tradition of Barry Goldwater are far off the
mark. Dean, who recently co-authored a book on Goldwater with
Goldwater's son, Barry Jr., explains why he believes that Goldwater
had negative views of McCain, and contrasts Goldwater's and McCain's
views of and approaches to government.
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20080502.html
Voter IDs
upheld; debate still rages [NY Times / Sac Bee, 4/29/08]:The
Supreme Court's decision Monday to uphold Indiana's photo ID law in
elections will permit Republican-dominated legislatures in nearly a
dozen other states to pass legislation that liberal political
advocates say will disenfranchise poorer, Democratic-leaning
voters.
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/897128.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/washington/29scotus.html
Despite youth
hoopla, it's seniors who vote [SF Chron, 4/25/08]: Democrats and youth organizers have
been crowing for four months about the record turnout among voters
under 30. Despite that, voters over 60 are still a much more
reliable voting bloc, and they don't need to get a text message to
remind them to go to the polls.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/25/MNF910BGH4.DTL
High percentage
of kids with immigrant parents could transform California
electorate, report says [LA Times, 4/29/08]: Forty-nine percent of
California's children between 12 and 17 have at least one immigrant
parent, a phenomenon that could dramatically change the composition
of the state's electorate within several years, according to a
report released Tuesday.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-immigvote29apr29,1,4474097.story
Using New Math,
Clinton Contends She’s Ahead [NY Times, 4/25/08]: Seizing on her
Pennsylvania primary victory, Senator Clinton and her surrogates are
renewing their efforts to have the disputed Michigan and Florida
convention delegates seated and pushing the argument that she now
leads in the total number of votes cast when the tallies in those
two states are included.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/25/us/politics/25campaign.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Superdelegate
Stalemate Shows No Sign of Easing [NY Times, 4/27/08]: Jeanne Lemire Dahlman, a
Montana superdelegate and rancher, has declared
her allegiance to Senator Barack Obama. But she said voters in her
state, whose primary is June 3, are thrilled by the unresolved
Democratic nominating fight, which gives them a potential voice in a
nominating process that has usually bypassed
them.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/26/us/politics/26delegates.html
What to make of
Props. 98 and 99 [LA Times, 5/1/08]: Ballot proposition numbers should be
retired like athlete jersey numbers. No. 3 -- Babe Ruth. No. 42 --
Jackie Robinson. Proposition 13 -- property tax relief. Proposition
98 -- school funding guarantees. Hall of Famers
all.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-cap1-2008may01,0,3811227.column
Schwarzenegger
opposes Proposition 98 [Sac Bee, 4/26/08]: The governor says the measure would
restrict the ability to exercise eminent domain. Backers say he is
relying on a flawed legal analysis.
http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/891273.html
Party Fears
Racial Divide [Wash Post, 4/26/08]: The protracted and increasingly
acrimonious fight for the Democratic presidential nomination is
unnerving core constituencies -- African Americans and wealthy
liberals -- who are becoming convinced that the party could suffer
irreversible harm if Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton maintains her sharp
line of attack against Sen. Barack Obama.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/25/AR2008042503707.html
Superdelegate
Stalemate Shows No Sign of Easing [NY
TIMES, 4/26/08]: The Pennsylvania primary was supposed to
help clarify the picture for the 795 Democratic superdelegates, but
Senator Clinton’s strong victory there on Tuesday has in many ways
complicated matters for them, furthering a stalemate that has deeply
divided the party even as top Democrats called this week for them to
make up their minds by June.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/26/us/politics/26delegates.htmL
Legislation
and the Legislative Process (TOPIC
20)
Wiegand: The
latest from the goofy front [Sac Bee, 5/1/08]: Exactly two months ago, I regaled or
bored you with some synopses of proposed legislation that we in
political journalism sometimes refer to as
"goofy."
http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/903875.html
Californians
divided over new taxes for schools, poll finds [LA Times, 5/1/08]:
Californians want their public schools protected from state budget
cuts and are willing to tax the rich to make that happen. But
despite the threat of schools taking a beating in next year's state
budget, residents are sharply divided over whether they would
support higher taxes for themselves, according to a statewide poll
released late Wednesday.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-poll1-2008may01,1,4775983.story
Governor boosts
deficit forecast to $20 billion as he bids to change state's
spending system [Sac Bee, 4/30/08]: In a startling revelation, Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger said this week that the state's budget deficit
could grow to as much as $20 billion as he prepared to unveil a
revised spending plan for the coming year that is likely to include
deep cuts in education, health services and
prisons.
http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/900749.html
Schools
reclassify students, pass test under federal law [Sac Bee,
4/27/08]: Will C. Wood Middle
School faced a vexing situation when last
year's test results came out in August. Most students had met the
mark set by No Child Left Behind. But African American students'
math scores fell far short of it, bringing the school into failing
status in the eyes of the federal law.
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/893199.html
IV.
Criminal Law and Procedure (4th, 5th,
6th, and 8th amendments)
[See TOPICS 21-28 in the
3rd edition of Constitutional Law]
Some recent articles that are relevant to
this unit:
Sherry Colb,
“Kennedy v.
Louisiana
and the Lessons of a Supreme Court Oral Argument.” Writ, 4/30/08: Professor Colb
discusses the Supreme Court's recent oral argument regarding whether
it is constitutional to impose the death penalty for the rape of a
child. As Colb explains, the oral argument revealed that several of
the Justices appear to differ in their interpretation of the
precedential effect of a prior Court decision, which held
unconstitutional the imposition of the death penalty for the rape of
an adult woman. Moreover, the argument indicated how Chief Justice
Roberts and Justice Ginsburg view the evolution of society's views
on the crime of rape itself.
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/colb/20080430.html
Study: Juvenile
delinquency courts overwhelmed [SJ Merc, 4/26/08]: California
juvenile delinquency courts are plagued by too many cases, too few
services for troubled youth and a total bewilderment among many
families involved, a two-year study by the state court system has
found.
http://www.mercurynews.com/localnewsheadlines/ci_9064288?nclick_check=1
Oakland police
probe alleged bullying incident [SF Chron, 4/25/08]: Oakland police
have opened an investigation into the case of a first-grade boy
whose skull was fractured Monday when, he said, an older student
slammed him against a tree as he waited for a ride from a family
friend.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/25/MNKS10BAQV.DTL
Felony cases
tossed due to lack of judges [LA Times, 4/25/08]: More felony cases are being dropped in
Riverside County because there aren't enough judges to
hear them. Supervising Superior Court Judge Helios Hernandez this
week dismissed two more felony cases -- one of them an assault case,
the second for burglary. Prosecutors immediately refiled the
cases.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-cases24apr24,1,6070664.story
Marci Hamilton, “The Rescue of
Children from the FLDS Compound in
Texas:
Why the Arguments Claiming Due Process Violations and Religious
Freedom Infringement Have No Merit.” Writ, 5/1/08: Professor
Hamilton takes on critics of the
Texas authorities'
handling of the raid on the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints
compound there -- which revealed evidence of multiple instances in
which adult men had impregnated underage girls. Hamilton contends
that critics of the raid are flat-out wrong to claim the raid was
invalid because the authorities relied upon a source who,
unbeknownst to them, may not have been who she claimed; the
question, she says, is whether the authorities knowingly erred, and
there is no evidence of that. in addition,
Hamilton argues that there
is no genuine religious freedom issue because religious motivation
is no defense to criminal behavior.
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hamilton/20080501.html
V.
1st Amendment (Speech, Religion, Press and
Assembly)
[See TOPICS 29-33 in the
3rd edition of Constitutional Law]
Some recent articles that are relevant to
this unit:
High schoolers
lend silent support to gay peers [Modesto Bee, 4/26/08]: Sophomore
Jacob Shackelford walked an Enochs High School hallway on Friday
with his girlfriend on one arm and a black armband that said "Erase
Hate" on the other.
http://www.modbee.com/local/story/280784.html
Suburban
Chicago student can wear anti-gay T-shirt to school [First Amendment Center / AP, 4/26/08]: A federal
appeals court has ruled that a suburban Chicago student should be
allowed to wear an anti-gay T-shirt at his high school — a decision
the teen's attorneys describe as a victory for First Amendment
rights. In granting a preliminary injunction, the 7th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals instructed the district court to order the Neuqua
Valley High School to suspend its ban on the "Be Happy, Not Gay"
T-shirt while a civil rights lawsuit in the case
proceeds.
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=19965
An inquiry into
how Islam elicits fears [SF Chron, 4/26/08]: Does the fact that
Barack Hussein Obama's last name rhymes with that of the al Qaeda
leader mean that he loves terrorists? Or how about that dangerous
middle name? Should all women who wear head scarves be searched for
weapons by airport security? Do we "know," as some allege, what
terrorists look like?
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/26/MN5110C2DN.DTL
Wis.
parents accused of praying instead of treating dying daughter [AP,
4/29/08]:
Friends had urged Neumanns
to get help for Madeline, who had undiagnosed diabetes, but
according to criminal complaint, father considered illness 'a test
of faith.'
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=19976
Featured Lesson
- Cantwell v. Connnecticut
(1940) [Bill of Rights Institute, 4/28/08]: This month we spotlight the landmark
free exercise case Cantwell v.
Connecticut (1940). In this case, the Court held that
the government has no role in determining religious truth.
Furthermore, the Court also held that the peaceful expression of
beliefs—including religious views that might offend some
listeners—is protected by the First Amendment from infringement by
the federal government as well as state
governments.
http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/Teach/freeResources/Lessons/?action=showDetails&id=205&ref=showCatD&catId=7
Polygamy
showdown: balancing child welfare, religious freedom [First
Amendment Center, 4/27/08]: Religious freedom ends where child abuse
begins, but Texas officials face tricky task in determining whether
abuse occurred; outcome could create new grounds for government
intervention in religious groups.
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/commentary.aspx?id=19969
Vikram Amar and Alan Brownstein,
“Does a Minority Religion Have a Right to Join Majority
Religions in Placing Its Own Monument in a Public Park?
The Supreme Court Opts to
Resolve the Question.” Writ, 4/25/08:
Professors Amar and Brownstein discuss a First Amendment case
that the Supreme Court recently decided to review. The case raises
the question whether, when the government allows a privately-donated
religous monument to be placed in a public park, it has created a
public forum, such that it must also welcome other religious
monuments. Amar and Brownstein critique one possible approach to the
question, which would deem parks public forums with respect to
instances of transitory speech, such as protests, but not of
permanent speech, such as monuments. They argue that the distinction
cannot stand because, under some circumstances, it seems clear that
a set of permanent additions to a public space should be deemed a
public forum for purposes of constitutional
analysis.
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/commentary/20080425_brownstein.html
Julie Hilden, “J.K. Rowling's Suit
Against Those Who Plan to Publish an Unauthorized Harry Potter
Encyclopedia: Who Should Win?”
Writ,4/28/08:
Hilden comments on the
suit by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. against a
small publisher that plans to bring out an unauthorized
lexicon/encyclopedia relating to Rowling's books.
Hilden analyzes the
factors that courts typically apply in determining whether a
challenged use of a copyrighted work constitutes a legal "fair use,"
and concludes that while Rowling's case may be strong, the damages
to which she is entitled may be limited. In particular,
Hilden is skeptical that
an unauthorized encyclopedia could cut substantially into the market
for an encyclopedia authorized by Rowling
herself.
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hilden/20080428.html
Law Professor
Accuses Students of Defamation [NY Times, 5/1/08]: At the University of Arkansas in
Little
Rock,
a law professor has sued two of his students, alleging that they
defamed him by unfairly describing him as a
racist.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/us/01legal.html
VI.
14th Amendment, Discrimination, Privacy, Working,
Citizenship & Immigration
[See TOPICS 34-41 in the 3rd
edition of Constitutional Law]
Some recent articles that are relevant to
this unit:
Effort
intensifies for same-sex marriage ban [SF Chron, 4/25/08]: The
battle over same-sex marriage in California heated up Thursday, when
supporters of an initiative to ban it in the state's Constitution
submitted more than 1.1 million signatures in an effort to qualify
the measure for the November ballot.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/25/MNIF10BFT8.DTL
Last issue
tossed in UCD gender suit [Sac Bee, 4/25/08]: A federal judge has thrown out the
last remaining issue in an 8-year-old legal battle over equal rights
for female athletes at the University of California, Davis.
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/889277.html
The Law of
Working [TOPIC
39]
Study Warns Job
Losses Will Strain Government Health Programs [NY Times, 4/29/08]:
Leading health
researchers projected Monday that each percentage-point rise in
unemployment during the economic downturn would swell the uninsured
by 1.1 million, stoking demand for government health coverage just
as states face pressure to cut benefits.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/health/policy/29kaiser.html
Inequalities
[NY Times’ Mag, 4/27/08]: Since World War II, Republicans and
Democrats have presided over startlingly different economies. The past three decades
have seen a momentous shift: The rich became vastly richer while
working-class wages stagnated. Economists say 80 percent of net
income gains since 1980 went to people in the top 1 percent of the
income distribution, boosting their share of total income to levels
unseen since before the Great Depression.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/magazine/27wwln-idealab-t.html
International
Law, Citizenship and Immigration [TOPIC
40-42]
Letters Give
C.I.A. Tactics a Legal Rationale [NY Times, 4.27.2008]: The Justice
Department has told Congress that
U.S. operatives trying to thwart terrorist
attacks may use interrogation methods that might otherwise be barred
under international law.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/washington/27intel.html?hp
Last-ditch bid
to halt new crackdown on illegals [SF Chron, 4/26/08]: As Bush
administration officials prepared Friday to finalize rules cracking
down on employers of illegal immigrants, business and civil rights
advocates continued to hammer the plan, calling it an expensive and
ill-conceived attack on legitimate workers and their
employers.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/26/MNDP10C1S8.DTL
Detainees’
Mental Health Is Latest Legal Battle [NY Times, 4/26/08]: Next
month, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a Yemeni who was once a driver for Osama
bin Laden, could become the first detainee to be tried for war
crimes in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. By now, he should be busily working
on his defense. But his lawyers say he cannot. They say Mr. Hamdan
has essentially been driven crazy by solitary confinement in an
8-foot-by-12-foot cell where he spends at least 22 hours a day, goes
to the bathroom and eats all his meals. His defense team says he is
suicidal, hears voices, has flashbacks, talks to himself and says
the restrictions of Guantánamo “boil his
mind.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/26/washington/26gitmo.html
Lawyers Fear
Monitoring in Cases on Terrorism [NY Times, 4/28/08]: Thomas Nelson, an
Oregon lawyer, has lived in a state of
perpetual jet lag for the last two years. Every few weeks, he boards
a plane in Portland and flies to the Middle East to meet with a
high-profile Saudi client who cannot enter the United States because
he faces charges here of financing terrorism.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/28/us/28lawyers.html
Anthony Sebok and Spencer Waller,
“The European Union's New Antitrust Law Reforms.” Writ,
4/29/08: Professors Sebok
and Waller discuss the new antitrust law reforms the European Union
is contemplating. Sebok and Waller contrast the EU's proposals with
the system currently in place for private plaintiffs to bring
antitrust claims in the
U.S. -- including the
U.S.'s current class
action rules. They also note the irony that even as class actions
and other pro-plaintiff measures are coming under fire in the
U.S., they are, at the
same time, seeming quite attractive to EU regulators, who fear that
antitrust law is seriously underenforced in
Europe.
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/commentary/20080429_waller.html
Editorial:
Pulling Back
the Immigration Posses [NY Times, 4/30/08]:
Many parts of the nation have tilted severely toward harsh,
unyielding policies to catch and punish illegal immigrants, but not
everyone has gone over the edge. Gov. Janet Napolitano of
Arizona on Monday pushed back, vetoing a bill
that would have required all police and sheriff’s departments in the
state to join the federal immigration posse.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/30/opinion/30wed2.html
=========================================================
To:
Teachers of Constitutional Law in
high school
