My 16 week 2302 classes will begin wrapping up our discussion of the judiciary this week. I want us to get comfortable with how the Supreme Court determines what the Constitution means. Was the document meant to be interpreted strictly or loosely? This is an important point since it determines how certain disputes are resolved.
Since secession has been in the news recently, it's useful to revisit Texas v. White, the case argued in 1869 which decided that not only can states not secede form the union, they did not actually secede during the Civil War.
We will also look at Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, the case decided last year which determined that a law which required voters to show a photo ID did not impose an undue burden on voters and reflected a legitimate state interest in preventing voter fraud. This is an appropriate topic for us to cover since a voter ID bill is still winding its way through the Texas Legislature.
Neither case was unanimous so we will be able to explore conflicts among justices.
