September 24, 2012

POS 282 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LAW
In class today, Monday, 9/24, we continued going over the Glucksberg case brief. We got as far as the first issue that the Court dealt with, the question of whether the right to assist a suicide was a fundamental right. We will continue with the next issue, the use of precedent, when I am next in class, which will be on Friday 9/28. On Wednesday 9/26 (another religious holiday for me), the class will watch the next part of the PBS Supreme Court series, this one about the recognition of individual liberties.

POS 359 FEDERALISM
In class today, Monday, 9/24, we started going over the Comstock decision. I began with the background of the case of Kansas v, Hendricks, in which the Court conservatives fought back a challenge to the state assertion of power to lock up sexual predators under the ex post facto prohibition. We got as far in Comstock as the fourth of Justice Breyer's justification for the use of the Necessary and Proper clause, that there is no great threat in this case to state sovereignty. We will continue with the rest of the Breyer opinion, the concurrences, and the dissent, when I am next in class, which will be on Friday 9/28. On Wednesday 9/26 (another religious holiday for me), the class will watch the next part of the Founding Brothers series, this one starting with the Adams presidency and continuing on from there with the story of Federalists versus Jeffersonians, with many interesting twists.

POS 359 THE CURRENT SUPREME COURT TERM
In class today, Monday 9/24, I began class by going over the 1978 Bakke case, and then the two 2003 University of Michigan cases that were decided by 5-4 votes, Gratz and Grutter. We went through the lineup of Justices in all three cases, and also talked about how strict scrutiny was used in the analysis. We will continue with Grutter when I am next in class, which will be on Friday 9/28. On Wednesday 9/26 (another religious holiday for me), the class will watch the next part of the PBS Supreme Court series, this one about the creation of substantive due process and the protection of economic interests. The additional reading for Friday 9/28 is to read the dissents of Justice Scalia and Justice Kennedy in Grutter (or, go ahead and read all of the opinions).