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 #469 (October 16, 2011)

This is an occasional FREE newsletter for the teachers of Constitutional Law (4^th) 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 (4^th)  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 (4^th), 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

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General Articles, Hints and Reminders:

Secret U.S. Memo Made Legal Case to Kill a Citizen [NY Times, 10/8/11]: The Obama administration’s secret legal memorandum that opened the door to the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born radical Muslim cleric hiding in Yemen, found that it would be lawful only if it were not feasible to take him alive, according to people who have read the document.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/world/middleeast/secret-us-memo-made-legal-case-to-kill-a-citizen.html

Former Supreme Court justice now pushing education [Chicago Tribune, 10/16/11]: After more than 24 years in the U.S. Supreme Court, former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor now strives to make civics and government more interesting for young children than it was for her growing up in El Paso, Texas.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-former-supreme-court-justice-now-pushing-education-20111015,0,1935296.story

I. Introduction to Law, the Constitution, and the Supreme Court

[See TOPICS 1-10 in the 4^th edition of Constitutional Law]

Some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

The U.S. Supreme Court [TOPICS 7, 8, 9, 11, 12]

Clarence Thomas' Influence On The Supreme Court [NPR, All Things Considered, 10/12/11]: Twenty years ago, Justice Clarence Thomas was confirmed to the Supreme Court by the narrowest margin in 100 years. He's the most conservative justice since the 1930s, and, in his passion for his own version of "original intent," he's willing to reverse whole lines of previous rulings. He's an enigmatic figure — silent at oral arguments, beloved by his law clerks and court employees. Most analysts say that his extreme views limit his influence on the court, except to set markers for where a future court could go. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports.

http://www.npr.org/2011/10/11/141246695/clarence-thomas-influence-on-the-court

II. Defining the Political System: Federalism and Checks and Balances

[See TOPICS 11-15 in the 4^th edition of Constitutional Law]

Some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

Under the U.S. Supreme Court: Healthcare in the hands of an angry court [UPI, 10/9/11]: The bitter fight over healthcare is rolling toward the U.S. Supreme Court like a big wheel, destined for a probable resolution of the legal and constitutional debate, if not the large political debate. While Republicans use the Affordable Care Act as a hammer against embattled Democrats across the nation—a spot prepared for the West Virginia gubernatorial race was airing on Washington television, citing unnamed “experts” who said the law would destroy jobs—the fight in the nation’s highest court is supposed to be non-political. Except it won’t be. Not completely.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/10/09/Under-the-US-Supreme-Court-Healthcare-in-the-hands-of-an-angry-court/UPI-78801318145400/

The American Presidency [TOPIC 15]

For Obama Campaign, It's Game On Vs. Romney [Politico, 10/13/11]: Mitt Romney hasn’t won anything yet but President Barack Obama’s campaign team is confident enough that Romney is the probable - if not the presumptive - Republican nominee that they have begun aiming their fire almost exclusively at him. 

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/65827.html

Obama Plans To Turn Anti-Wall Street Anger On Mitt Romney, Republicans [Wash Post, 10/15/11]: President Obama and his team have decided to turn public anger at Wall Street into a central tenet of their reelection strategy.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/obama-plans-to-turn-anti-wall-street-anger-on-mitt-romney-republicans/2011/10/14/gIQAZfiwkL_story.html

III. The Political System: Voting and Campaigns

[See TOPICS 16-20 in the 4^th edition of Constitutional Law]

Some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

Herman Cain and the Non-Politician Politician [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 10/6/11]: n the last election cycle, several “non-politician politicians” — candidates who have never held public office who ran for a major office — went from obscurity to high office. These non-politician politicians include Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), Gov. Rick Snyder (R-MI) and Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL), all 2010 winners. Bob Turner, the upset Republican winner of the New York Ninth Congressional District special election last month, is another good example. And now, a non-politician politician — Herman Cain — is making what appears to be, at first blush, a credible campaign for the highest office in the land.

http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/KDK2011100601/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/herman-cain-takes-the-lead-in-new-2012-poll/2011/10/12/gIQAJ00DgL_blog.html?wprss=election-2012

Republicans Increasingly See Mitt Romney As The ‘Inevitable Candidate’ [Wash Post, 10/13/11]: Buoyed by a series of strong debate performances, Mitt Romney is suddenly attracting new support from major donors and elected officials, some of whom had resisted his previous entreaties, as people across the GOP grow more accepting of the presidential contender as the party’s standard-bearer.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/republicans-increasingly-see-mitt-romney-as-the-inevitable-candidate/2011/10/12/gIQAh7GMgL_story.html

Primary Madness: The Eternal Campaign [Sabato’s Crystal Ball, 10/13/11]: With 13 months still to go before the end of another presidential cycle that began the day after the last one finished, it’s worth asking: Does it have to be this way? The First Amendment guarantees candidates an unfettered campaign of indeterminate length. If you wanted, you could today declare for president in 2016 or beyond. A handful of ambitious politicians have doubtless already written the announcement in their heads. Luckily for the rest of us, they will say nothing publicly.

http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/LJS2011101301/

Legislation and the Legislative Process (TOPIC 20)

California Voters More Cynical About Ballot Measures, Field Poll Finds [Sac Bee, 10/13/11]:As it hits its 100th birthday, California's initiative process is losing its luster. But followers of Hiram Johnson's landmark move toward direct democracy can take heart: the Legislature has even bigger problems.

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/10/13/3977598/california-voters-more-cynical.html

Fensterwald: Teacher Evaluation Bill 2012 Priority [Educated Guess, 10/13/11]: A bill that would vastly change how teachers are evaluated is 75 percent of the way there, the bill’s sponsor, Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes, reports.

http://toped.svefoundation.org/2011/08/30/teacher-evaluation-bill-2012-priority/

IV. Criminal Law and Procedure (4^th, 5^th, 6^th, and 8^th amendments)

[See TOPICS 21-28 in the 4^th edition of Constitutional Law]

Some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

Under the U.S. Supreme Court: Unreliable eyewitnesses put defendants on death row [UPI, 10/16/11]: Does the routine use of eyewitnesses in American criminal cases contribute to trials that put innocent people behind bars—even on death row? Evidence suggests it does. The U.S. Supreme Court is getting ready to hear a case out of New Hampshire that deals with a subtle but important point in the witness process.  

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/10/16/Under-the-US-Supreme-Court-Unreliable-eyewitnesses-put-defendants-on-death-row/UPI-70051318750200/

Gallup Poll: 35% oppose death penalty [USA TODAY, 10/13/11]: More than one-third of Americans now oppose the death penalty — the highest level in nearly 40 years — according to a Gallup Poll out Thursday.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/judicial/story/2011-10-12/gallup-poll-death-penalty/50747430/1

California's Execution Machine Could Crank Up CC Times, 10/16/11]: Amid renewed efforts to repeal California's death penalty and nearly six years into a de facto moratorium on executions, San Quentin's death row has quietly piled up an unprecedented number of inmates who have exhausted their legal appeals and would face imminent death by lethal injection if the state resumes carrying out the ultimate punishment.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/politics-government/ci_19123019

Supreme Court has trouble balancing strip-searches with privacy rights [Wash Post / NY Times / CSM, 10/12/11]: The Supreme Court on Wednesday had trouble drawing a boundary for how intimately corrections officials may search those entering jail without violating constitutional rights of privacy. After an hour of often graphic arguments about strip-searches and body-cavity inspections, the justices seemed to accept that even those picked up for minor violations could be required to strip and shower under the watchful eyes of jailers.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/supreme-court-has-trouble-balancing-strip-searches-with-privacy-rights/2011/10/12/gIQAaleGgL_story.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/13/us/strip-search-argument-before-supreme-court-justices.html

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2011/1012/Can-right-to-privacy-bar-a-strip-search-in-jail-Supreme-Court-hears-case

Read and hear and see the PBS presentation on the Evening News Hour:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law/july-dec11/scotus_10-12.html

Feds To Target Newspapers, Radio For Marijuana Ads [Cal Watch, 10/13/11]:  Federal prosecutors are preparing to target newspapers, radio stations and other media outlets that advertise medical marijuana dispensaries in California, another escalation in the Obama administration's newly invigorated war against the state's pot industry. 

http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/feds-target-newspapers-radio-marijuana-ads-13049

The Supreme Court: When Double Jeopardy Isn't Double Jeopardy [Time, 10/14/11]: Even Americans who know very little about the Constitution know this much: once a jury decides you are innocent of a crime, the government can’t keep hauling you back into court to try your case over again….But like most truisms in American law…there are exceptions large enough to drive a prison bus through.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2096915,00.html

V. 1^st Amendment (Speech, Religion, Press and Assembly)

[See TOPICS 29-33 in the 4^th edition of Constitutional Law]

Some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

‘Occupy’ protests, tea party rallies: assembly, petition in action [First Amendment Center, 10/14/11]: The “Occupy Wall Street” movement and its rapidly spreading urban echoes are — like the tea party movement — grand examples of Americans using at least two of our lesser-known First Amendment freedoms: assembly and petition.

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/%E2%80%98occupy%E2%80%99-protests-tea-party-rallies-assembly-petition-in-action

N.J. district probes teacher’s Facebook remarks on gays [AP / First Amendment Center, 10/14/11]: Officials in a New Jersey school district are investigating claims that a high school teacher who advises a prayer group posted remarks on her Facebook page that described homosexuality as “perverted” and said it “breeds like cancer.”

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/n-j-district-probes-teacher%E2%80%99s-facebook-remarks-on-gays

What’s at stake for free speech in copyright case [First Amendment Center, 10/12/11 Removal of many foreign works from the public domain — at issue before the Supreme Court in Golan v. Holder — burdens freedom of expression.

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/whats-at-stake-for-free-speech-in-copyright-case

At the high court, high stakes for religious freedom [Charles C. Haynes of the First Amendment Center, 10/7/11]: A church-state dispute about employment discrimination argued before the U.S. Supreme Court this week doesn’t have the headline appeal of culture-war battles over “prayer in school” or crèches in courthouse lobbies. But pay close attention: The outcome in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission may have far more impact on religious freedom than any ruling handed down by the high court in more than a decade.

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/at-the-high-court-high-stakes-for-religious-freedom

Suit Settled Over Denial of Muslim Teacher's Pilgrimage [School Law Blog, 10/11/11]: The U.S. Department of Justice has reached a consent decree with an Illinois school district over a lawsuit alleged.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/school_law/2011/10/suit_settled_over_denial_of_mu.html

In Private, Wall St. Bankers Dismiss Protesters As Unsophisticated [NY Times, 10/15/11]: Publicly, bankers say they understand the anger at Wall Street — but believe they are misunderstood by the protesters camped on their doorstep. But when they speak privately, it is often a different story.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/15/business/in-private-conversation-wall-street-is-more-critical-of-protesters.html

VI. 14^th Amendment, Discrimination, Privacy, Working, Citizenship & Immigration

[See TOPICS 34-41 in the 4^th edition of Constitutional Law]

Some recent articles that are relevant to this unit:

Bid To Reverse California School Instruction Bill Won't Qualify [Capitol Alert, 10/13/11]: An effort to repeal a new law requiring that California school instruction includes the contributions and role of gay and lesbian individuals has failed. 

http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/10/supporters-of-sb-48-referndum-say-they-wont-qualify-for-ballot.html

California Schools Scrambling To Add Lessons On LGBT Americans [LA Times, 10/16/11]: Many are flummoxed about how to carry out a new law requiring California public schools to teach all students, from kindergartners to 12th-graders, about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. 

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/education/la-me-gay-schools-20111016,0,3906923.story

Freedman: The Seven Broken Premises Of Special Education In California [ToPEd, 10/13/11]:It’s not a typo. It’s meant to be an “e.” Today’s special education system is built on many broken premises that detract from the law’s purpose: to provide students with disabilities (SWD) a free, appropriate public education in the least restrictive (appropriate) environment so that they can learn and make progress.

http://toped.svefoundation.org/2011/10/13/the-seven-broken-premises-of-special-education-in-california/

The Law of Working [TOPIC 39]

Supreme Court: Ministerial Exception [“Religion and Ethics Newsweekly,” PBS, 10/14/11]: The case involves Cheryl Perich, a fourth-grade teacher at a Lutheran Church Missouri-Synod school in Michigan who mainly taught secular subjects, but also taught religion and led prayers. She took a leave of absence to get treatment for a sleep disorder. When the school was reluctant to let her return, she threatened to sue for violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/october-7-2011/supreme-court-ministerial-exception/9664/

GOP: Gays Don't Need Special Legal Protections [SF Chron, 10/15/11]: With more than half of Americans in a recent poll accepting same-sex marriage, gays and lesbians need no judicial protection from laws passed by Congress, House Republicans argued Friday in a San Francisco court in defense of a law denying federal benefits to same-sex spouses

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/15/BANT1LI0F4.DTL

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

Court blocks Ala. from checking student status [AP, 10/14/11]: A federal appeals court issued a ruling Friday that temporarily blocked parts of an Alabama law requiring schools to check the immigration status of students but let stand a provision that allows police to detain immigrants that are suspected of being in the country illegally.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ALABAMA_IMMIGRATION_LAW?SITE

At Rallies, 2 Candidates Deliver Blistering Attacks On Illegal Immigration[NY Times, 10/16/11]: Two Republican candidates vying for of the party’s conservative base issued full-throated attacks Saturday on illegal immigration.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/us/politics/bachmann-and-cain-deliver-blistering-attacks-on-illegal-immigration.html

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