It appears that the Battle Royale over immigration is on. The Supreme Court issued the following order: “We grant the petitions for certiorari and grant the stay applications in part.” The Court also reversed in the state in the major religious clause case in Trinity Lutheran. Continue reading “Supreme Court Reinstates Part of Immigration Order In Clear Victory For Trump”
Month: June 2017
Ivanka Trump is facing a difficult lawsuit over alleged theft of the designs of an Italian shoemaker, Aquazurra Italia, as part of their “Wild Things” line. The company filed a trademark infringement claim against her and her company in June 2016 and a court recently rejected motions filed on Trump’s behalf. Those motions included a claim that Ivanka Trump’s duties as a high-ranking government official made her participation in the litigation too difficult. The claim was rejected. Part of the court’s rationale for rejected her arguments are distinctly reminiscent of the litigation over her father’s immigration order.
There is an interesting conviction in the United Kingdom this month where Andrew Dobson, 49, was sentenced for the importation of a sex doll. The problem is that the doll was too childlike. As a result, he pleaded guilty to importing an indecent object, two counts of making indecent images of children and one count of possessing indecent images of children. The plea resulted in a sentence of two years and eight months in prison.
Continue reading “English Man Sentenced To Jail For Importation Of Childlike Sex Doll”
We just discussed the free speech and academic freedom issues of schools investigating professors for their postings on social media. Now we have A New Jersey college professor who was fired by Essex County College after appearing on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” Professor Lisa Durden staunchly defended a black-only Black Lives Matter event and caused an uproar of criticism over her highly insulting comments about “white people.”
Continue reading “College Professor Is Fired After Appearance on Tucker Carlson”
The giant replica of Noah’s Ark built by Creationist Ken Ham appears to be a failure on a truly biblical proportion. Built with contributions from public funds, Ham is blamed the dismal sales of “intolerant secularists” and the media who have spread lies about the attraction. It is a curious excuse since the Ark is symbol of ignoring doubters and critics to prevail with divine intervention.
There is a new controversy involving an investigation of a professor for statements made on social media. Trinity College Professor Johnny Williams has fled Connecticut after receiving death threats over his postings, including an inflammatory reference to people considered bigots and how we should “Let Them. F**king Die.” Williams teaches classes on race and racism and clearly wanted to get others to read this hateful screed.
There is an interesting possible criminal law and torts case out of Santa Clarita, California where a motorcyclist kicked a car on the 14 Freeway and triggered a series of accidents. The motorcyclist is seen speeding from the scene of the accident.
Continue reading “Road Rage Leads To California Pile Up As Police Searched For Motorcyclist”
The Supreme Court handed down a stinging defeat for the Trump Administration in a unanimous decision in Maslenjak v. United States, where the Administration sought to strip an immigrant of U.S. citizenship over a false statement made on an immigration form. In a decision by Justice Elena Kagan, the justices declared that the government could not strip citizenship from Divna Maslenjak because she falsely stated that her husband had not served in the Bosnian Serb army in the 1990s. Notably, the Obama Administration had taken the same hard position in the case and the Trump Administration continued that position on the appeal.
Continue reading “Supreme Court Rules 9-0 Against Trump Administration in Immigration Case”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been denounced worldwide for this attack on the free speech, free speech, and democratic traditions in Turkey. He is viewed as a leader with a highly limited intellect who has used Islamic values to get Turks to give him unchecked power. Now he has fittingly rejected the concept of evolution after his government announced that the subject will no longer be taught to children because it is unproven and too controversial. Instead, Turkish children will be raised with the type of distorted, uninformed perspective of their President.
That did not take long. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and National Security Agency Director Adm. Mike Rogers met with Special Counsel Robert Mueller to discuss the subjects that they declined to discuss with Congress. Congress then released the information. It now appears that congressional briefings from the Special Counsel are proxy press conferences in this increasingly strange process. As expected, Coats and Rogers admitted that Trump did in fact ask them to tell the public that there was no evidence of collusion between his campaign and the Russians. That was, again, an inappropriate and ill-considered request. However, the disclosure raises a far more worrisome questions with regard to the role of White House Counsel Donald F. “Don” McGahn II. The two intelligence chiefs said that they took anticipated the questions over their conversations and asked McGahn if there was an executive privilege assertion. McGahn simply never responded. That is a highly disturbing account. Executive privilege is not some tactical toy. It has been defended as a core protection of inherent presidential powers. No high ranking officials should be sent into a committee without a clear understanding of the status of information or conversations relevant to congressional inquiries. The non-response was either negligence by the White House Counsel or, more likely and more seriously, a conscious decision to avoid the politically risky decision of either allowing answers or publicly preventing answers.
Today I will the great honor of serving as the inaugural speaker at the W. Eugene Davis Lecture in Lafayette, Louisiana. This event holds a particular personal meaning for me because I clerked for Judge Davis on the Fifth Circuit in the late 1980s. Serving as his clerk was the single most transformative decision that I have made in my professional life. The clerkship started a lifelong friendship that I cherish to this day. Judge Davis is adored by everyone who has worked with him for his unflagging decency, civility, and integrity. When I think back to my time in his chambers, I realize how much the experience — and Judge Davis — shaped my views of legal ethics, professionalism, and civility. This lecture is a fitting tribute to a man who served justice for decades as a trial judge and later an appellate judge. He is the classic and genuine judicial article. He still relishes the simple task of judging — fairly and honestly. He has spent his lifetime eschewing ideology in favor of resolving cases in an unbiased and consistent manner. He is my ideal of what everyone judge should strive to be. He remains a humble and decent man who seeks to do justice. That is why this lecture series is such a fitting testament to the legacy of W. Eugene Davis.
Continue reading “Turley To Speak At Inaugural W. Eugene Davis Lecture In Lafayette, Louisiana”
An 18-page investigation memorandum has been obtained by NBC News that raises some disturbing questions about the Nixon White House and specifically the role of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. The memo details the campaign of political violence by Nixon aides. The memo references a plot to have Daniel Ellsberg beaten up by surrogates of the Nixon Administration. Kissinger has been cited as one of those pushing Nixon to deal with Ellsberg.
Continue reading “Did Henry Kissinger Push Nixon To Assault Daniel Ellsberg?”
In the coming weeks, I will be addressing a number of novel constitutional issues that are being raised in relation to the Russian investigation. The first such issue has been widely discussed: is there a constitutional barrier to any federal charge against President Donald Trump for obstruction of justice.
Here is my recent column in USA Today:
Continue reading “Is President Trump Immune From An Obstruction of Justice Charge?”
We recently discussed the controversy surrounding postings by June Chu, dean of the school’s Pierson College, on Yelp. She was called classist for such comments as “This establishment is definitely not authentic by any stretch of any imagination and perfect for those low class folks who believe this is a real night out.” Chu has now been fired by the university in a move that makes many academics feel uncomfortable over the monitoring of their statements outside of school in social media.
Continue reading “Yale Sacks Dean Over “Classist” and “Insensitive” Yelp Reviews”
We have previously discussed the erosion of free speech rights in high schools as well as the expansion of discipline for students for discussions and postings outside of school. That conflict was vividly shown in Pennsylvania where Peter Butera was speaking to the graduating class of his high school when he criticized the lack of power in student government. The response from Principal Jon Pollard was swift. Butera’s mike was cut off and he was escorted stage.