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Monday, March 4, 2019

From Slate: Federal Judge Cites RBG, Rules That Men-Only Draft Registration Is Unconstitutional

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A great look at how Supreme Court justices can slowly build shifts in precedent. - Click here for the article . Nearly 23 years ago, Justice...
Thursday, February 28, 2019

From the Crystal Ball: The 2020 Electoral College: Our First Look

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Were are within a year of the primaries. - Click here for the article .  With an approval rating in the low-to-mid 40s — and, perhaps m...

From the Hill: Ohio city votes to give Lake Erie same legal rights as a person

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A slight twist on the concept of civil rights. - Click here for the article . Voters in Toledo, Ohio, approved the Lake Erie Bill of Righ...

From CNBC: Arguments over WWI cross showcase stark religious divide at Supreme Court, and possible split between Trump's two justices

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Changes might be in store for the Lemon Test. - Click here for the article . A fiery debate at the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday showcased...

From Scousblog: American Legion v. American Humanist Association

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The case presents a challenge to the Lemon Test. - Click here for the article . Issues: (1) Whether a 93-year-old memorial to the fallen of ...
Monday, February 25, 2019

From the Texas Tribune:Texas community colleges warn they may consider tuition hikes in the face of property tax reform

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As discussed in class, a consequence of the ongoing weakness of groups representing the interests of community college students. - Click her...

From the Texas Tribune: Houston judge tosses same-sex marriage benefits challenge, but plaintiffs pledge to appeal

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This a case in the state, not national, courts. - Click here for the article . A Houston judge has thrown out the six-year-old lawsuit a pa...

More on the Voter Citizenship Review

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Altogether these provide a nice look at the interplay and conflict between the national, state, and local governments. - Federal judge direc...
Sunday, February 24, 2019

This week's written assignments

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For 2305: What is the Green New Deal anyway? - Wikipedia . - The Green New Deal, explained . - Nine Key Questions About the Green New De...

The Blocker Bill!!!

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It's SB 409: Relating to the creation, purpose, implementation, and funding of the County Park Beautification and Improvement Program. ...

From the Texas Secretary of State: Starting a Party and Nominating Candidates

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In case you're curious. - Click here for the page . The page covers the following: - Candidate Eligibility - Procedures for Establishing...
Friday, February 22, 2019

For 2305 - Three stories from Vox

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- Democrats welcome an increasingly diverse America; Republicans aren’t so sure . Related items: polling, public opinion, party identificati...
Thursday, February 21, 2019

From the Texas Tribune: Texas police made more than $50 million in 2017 from seizing people’s property. Not everyone was guilty of a crime.

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This relates to the previous post about Timbs v. Indiana. - Click here for the article . Under a process known as civil asset forfeiture, l...
Wednesday, February 20, 2019

The excessive fines clause has been incorporated to the states

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About time. The case in question is Timbs v Indiana . - Commentary from ScotusBlog : The Supreme Court today ruled that the Eighth Amendme...

McKee v. Cosby

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This is the case referred to in the post below. The Supreme Court denied the writ of certiorari, meaning they decided to not hear the appeal...

From the LA Times: Clarence Thomas agrees with Trump that libel laws should be eased

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This would reverse NYT v Sullivan, but no one signed onto his opinion, which suggests the current rule on libel laws is safe. This fits with...
Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Some explainers regarding the 25th Amendment

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For more on the amendment: - Constitution Center . - Applications and implications of the 25th Amendment . - The 25th Amendment Makes Presid...

The Full Text of the 25th Amendment

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Since this is topical, its worth a review in class: Section 1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resig...
Monday, February 18, 2019

From Slate: At Least 13 States Will Join Lawsuit Challenging Trump’s Emergency Declaration

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California leads the way. The key argument is the Trump has violated the separated powers by spending money in violation of the appropriatio...

From the Texas Tribune: Here’s your property tax cut, maybe. Heads up — it’s expensive.

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More on a dominant issue in this legislative session. - Click here for the article . Willing to give up some sales tax exemptions to pay fo...

From the Texas Tribune: How the federal government abused its power to seize property for a border fence

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Suddenly topical again. This is mostly for 2305, since it is a national policy, but it impacts homeowners in Texas obviously. - Click here f...

From Governing: Tennessee Becomes 1st Southern State With Hate Crime Protections for Transgender People

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An example of policy diffusion - Click here for the article . Tennessee has become the first state in the South with a hate crime statute ...

From Governing: The Growing Need for Opposition Research -- on Yourself -- in Today's Political World

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For our look at campaigns - Click here for the article . The past is never dead. For all the warnings millennials have received about ma...

From The Texas Tribune: Sen. Angela Paxton files bill that would allow her husband, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, to issue exemptions from securities regulations

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More on the plural executive, and perhaps checks and balances as well. - Click here for the article . In what state Sen. Angela Paxton desc...

Fro this week's written assignments

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For ACC anyway. 2305:  Does Trump’s National Emergency Set A Problematic Precedent For Conservatives ? 2306: Texas' school finance syste...
Thursday, February 14, 2019

From the Hill: Rule change sharpens Dem investigations into Trump

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For 2305's future look at Congress. - Click here for the article . A change to House rules is putting sharper teeth into Democratic inv...

From Vox: 2 women were detained solely for speaking Spanish. Now they’re suing the Border Patrol.

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A story involving the 4th and 14th Amendments, in addition to the broad authority of the Border Patrol. - Click here for the article . Two ...

From Wikipedia: Freedom suits

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This adds helpful info to the Dred Scott case. His suit for freedom was not unusual, the decision by the court to throw it out was. As with ...

From Wikipedia: The Shame of Minneapolis

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A story that highlights the problems of patronage. This is what the Progressives were trying to eradicate with civil service reform. - Click...

From Bloomberg: Sleazy Journalism Can Serve the Public Good

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Commentary on the fight between Jeff Bezos and the National Enquirer - Click here for the article . There are plenty of reasons to sympathiz...
Monday, February 11, 2019

Catching up with the Rainy Day Fund

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Expect more. - Texas’ savings account is poised to hit $15 billion. How much will lawmakers spend ? More than in any legislative session si...

From the Texas Tribune: With eager candidates waiting in the wings, Texas Supreme Court slot sits open

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A look at the governor's power to appoint members to the Texas courts - especially the Texas Supreme Court. - For a look at recent appoi...

Property Tax Bill in the Texas Senate

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One of the governor's emergency items gets moving. The bill in question is Senate Bill 2 . - Days after heated meeting, Texas Senate pro...
Tuesday, February 5, 2019

From the Texas Tribune: Gov. Greg Abbott names school finance, property tax reform emergency items

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One of the governor's constitutions powers over the legislature. - Click here for the article . Gov. Greg Abbott , in his biennial Stat...

From tyhe Texas Tribune: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is seeking more power this session to prosecute voter fraud and abortion-related crimes

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More attempts to expand state power over cities in Texas. - Click here for the article . As he begins his second term, Texas Attorney Gener...
Monday, February 4, 2019

From the Texas Tribune: Courts have called Texas bail practices unconstitutional. Will that push this year's reform efforts to success? Two years after a bail reform bill died in the Legislature, new bail legislation has other factors working in its favor.

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One of a variety of bills related to criminal justice reform in Texas this session. - Click here for the article . A lot has changed in ...

From the Texas Tribune: Naturalized citizens suing over Texas voter citizenship review, calling it conspiracy to single out foreign-born Texans The plaintiffs allege the state's move to flag tens of thousands of registered voters for citizenship reviews violates the U.S. Constitution and the federal Voting Rights Act.

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This was easy to foresee. - Click here for the article. The lawsuit was filed a week after the Texas secretary of state’s office said it...

From the Texas Monthly: A No-Knock Raid in Houston Led to Deaths and Police Injuries. Should Police Rethink the Practice?

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Recent events have put a particular type of warrant in the news. - Click here for the article . . . . On Wednesday, Acevedo released par...

From the Texas Tribune: Many see "Robin Hood" as a villain. But lawmakers rely on it to pay for schools. Even outspoken critics of Robin Hood, the controversial program that redistributes money among school districts, acknowledge that they need it to avoid future school finance lawsuits.

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For 2306 - a look at an item on the agenda of the Texas Legislature. It's also an example of a reserved power, fiscal policy, checks an...

From Vox: The White House quietly rolled back workplace safety rules during the shutdown Public health groups are suing the Trump administration for blocking a rule requiring employers to report details of workplace injuries.

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An example of an implied power. There's nothing about workplace safety in the U.S. Constitution. This is likely to be constitutional thr...

From the Texas Tribune: Despite beer and lobby ties, Speaker Dennis Bonnen sees no need for recusals or new disclosures Bonnen, who married into a beer distributing family, says he doesn't need to recuse himself on alcohol issues and won't name the lobbyists who own a piece of his bank — a list that is much longer than previously reported.

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For 2306 - this highlights the conflicts created by a "citizen" legislature. - Click here for the article . When Republican st...
Tuesday, January 29, 2019

From the Texas Tribune: In the Texas House, they're seen as lobbyists. In the Senate, they sit at the press table.

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For our look at lobbying - and senate rules in Texas. And the powers of the lieutenant governor. - Click here for the article . It’s bec...
Monday, January 28, 2019

From the Texas Tribune:Texas officials flag tens of thousands of voters for citizenship checks

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For 2306 today - Click here for the article . The Texas secretary of state's office announced Friday it would send local election offici...

From CNN: Trump signs bill ending shutdown, official says

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For review in 2305: https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/22/politics/senate-shutdown-vote-congress/index.html For background on the budgetting pr...
Wednesday, January 23, 2019

From Grits for Breakfast: TDCJ suicide record argues against state takeover of Harris County Jail

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A look at the relationship between state and local government in the context of criminal justice. - Click here for the article . In a roundu...