Category: Constitutional Law

Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Society

Durham Police Admit To Lying About 911 Calls To Enter Homes Without Warrants

chiefweb11USA_-_NORTH_CAROLINA_-_City_of_Durham_police_departmentWe have followed the scandals in Durham involving its police chief and former district attorneys. Now Durham police officers have been shown to have lied about non-existent 911 calls to enter the homes of citizens without a warrant. Despite this illegal tactic that was admitted on the stand, no officers have been fired. Instead, Durham Police Chief Jose Lopez (left) has sent out a memo. You may recall Lopez who earlier reportedly said that a public defender deserved to be shot.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, International

Singapore Government Supports The Destruction Of Book Of Same-Sex Penguin Couple and Non-Traditional Families

220px-TangopenguinThe Singapore government is supporting the National Library Board in the plan to destroy a children’s book detailing the real-life story of two male penguins raising a baby chick in New York’s zoo. It appears that the government views “And Tango Makes Three” to be nothing more than penguin perversion.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Justice, Lawyering, Politics, Supreme Court

Corporate Veil and Hobby Lobby

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Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Weekend Contributor

We have heard the phrase for quite some time now.  “Corporations are people”.  It sounds so simple, but what does it mean in practice?  The corporate structure is designed to protect individual shareholder assets from creditors of the corporation.  If you maintain your corporate structure requirements and corporate book, the individual’s assets cannot be attached or claimed by a creditor of the corporation.

Corporations are also afforded special tax breaks and tax rates that individual persons cannot take advantage of.  How has the Hobby Lobby decision altered or not altered the corporate veil protection provided to corporations?  Continue reading “Corporate Veil and Hobby Lobby” →

Constitutional Law, Media, Politics, Society

Coalition of Journalism Groups Denounce Obama Administration for “Politically-Driven Suppression of the News”

100px-Society_of_Professional_Journalists_logoPresident_Barack_ObamaWe have previously discussed the attacks by the Obama Administration on civil liberties and privacy. Obama has also been accused of attacks on press freedoms — resulting in a sharp decline in the standing of the United States on press rights. Now 38 journalism groups have denounced the Obama Administration for censoring media coverage, limiting access to top officials and overall “politically-driven suppression of the news.”

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Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law

Wisconsin Court Throws Out Conviction For Disorderly Conduct Based On Facebook Rant Against Police

gavel2I wanted to share an opinion this month out of Wisconsin where Fourth District Court of Appeals Judge Paul Lundsten overturned the conviction of Thomas Smith for criticizing his local police department on Facebook. Prosecutors charged Smith with disorderly conduct and unlawful use of a computerized communications system after he made vulgar comments on a police department’s Facebook page. It was an abusive charge by the police and an abusive prosecution. Unbelievably, the lower court allowed this citizen to be convicted for the misdemeanor offenses. Prosecutors argued that Smith, 25, used profanity and vulgar language to comment on a police posting that thanked local citizens for their help in apprehending two black juveniles in the area. It was clearly protected speech but Smith was forced to go through a trial and an appeal to find a judge who upheld the first amendment claim. Below is the full decision.

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Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Media, Politics, Society

POLITICS BY OTHER MEANS: OBAMA’S WATER WAR OVER POT

President_Barack_Obama220px-Water_droplet_blue_bg05Below is my column today in USA Today on the Obama Administration’s decision to cut off water to legal marijuana growers. Notably, the business concern today for the rollout of legal pot sales in Washington is greater demand than supply. I previously wrote about how a little known board had effectively moved to end the debate over the Redskins name, an example of agencies increasingly intervening in social and political disputes. This move by the Bureau of Reclamation is a prime example of such intervention into political disputes and a troubling precedent for the future.

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Constitutional Law, Politics, Society

Obama Administration Sues Wisconsin Company For Requiring All Employees To Speak English

720px-US-EEOC-Seal.svgThere is an interesting case out of Green Bay, Wisconsin where Wisconsin Plastics, Inc. (WPI) is being sued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for making English speaking a condition of employment. WPI was found by the EEOC to be in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects employees from discrimination based on national origin. The company fired Hispanic and Asian employees on the basis of not speaking English in the workplace.

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Academia, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Politics, Society

22,000,000

We only recently passed the 21,000,000 mark last April but we just hit 22,000,000 today, according to WordPress. Congratulations everyone. This has been a banner year for the site with a continuing increase in traffic, links on other sites, and new voices on the blog. These milestones are coming faster and they give us a chance to look at the spread of our regular readers and commentators. As always, I want to offer special thanks for our weekend contributors: Mark Esposito, Eliane Magliaro, Mike Appleton, Larry Rafferty, Charlton Stanley, Darren Smith, and Kimberly Deines. The increasing traffic on the site is gratifying and reaffirms that there are many people looking for mature and civil debate. Even among the top ten sites, I believe that we offer a unique forum of different views and backgrounds in the discussion of law and politics (and a few quirky items).

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Constitutional Law, Courts, International, Media, Politics, Religion, Society

Saudi Arabia Sentences Another Leading Reformer To 15 Years In Prison For “Insulting The Country’s Leaders and Judiciary”

Waleed_Abu_AlkhairSaudi Arabia’s medieval legal system has added a new outrage to its record: On Sunday, Saudi lawyer and reform advocate Waleed Abulkhair was sentenced on Sunday to 15 years in prison and a 15-year travel ban (to start after his release). He was also ordered to pay 200,000 Saudi riyals ($53,000). His offense? “inciting public opinion against the government” and “insulting the country’s leaders and judiciary.” The sentence once again raises the question over our level of support for Saudi Arabia and its distinction from our distinction with other countries viewed as extreme and inimical to the rule of law. Abulkhair is the head of the “Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia” organization and was ranked by Forbes magazine as one of Top 100 Most Influential Arabs on Twitter.

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Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

“So Sue Me”: Presidential Taunts and Constitutional Consequences

President_Barack_ObamaBelow is my column yesterday in the Sunday New York Daily News on the unfolding controversy over President Obama’s unilateral actions to circumvent Congress. The pledge of the President to “go it alone” has already resulted in court losses for the Administration and a growing separation of powers crisis. I testified (here and here and here) and wrote a column on President Obama’s increasing circumvention of Congress in negating or suspending U.S. laws. I ran another column recently listing such incidents of executive over-reach that ideally would have included this potentially huge commitment under Obama’s claimed discretionary authority. I happen to believe that the President is right in many of these areas but that does not excuse the means that he is using to achieve these goals.

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Bizarre, Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, International, Justice, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

The Boehner Manifesto: How To Do Nothing And Look Constitutional?

By Mark Esposito, Weekend Contributor

The Antagonists
The Antagonists

I think it was Winston Churchill who reminded us that the “supreme virtue” of government is action. In fact, the greatest of  modern British prime ministers, who often marked his staff memoranda in red with the words “Action This Day,” counseled that ” I never worry about action, but only inaction.” Action in recognizing problems. Action in mobilizing support and action in addressing the causes of human suffering and improving the lives of those over whom you have power and authority.

On this side of the Atlantic, the framers understood this seemingly obvious facet of government. Jefferson wrote, “The purpose of government is to maintain a society which secures to every member the inherent and inalienable rights of man, and promotes the safety and happiness of its people.” Protecting individual  rights and promoting the security and happiness of those individuals is the essential business of government. Not “either-or” but both.

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Constitutional Law, Politics, Society

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!

Happy Fourth of July to everyone on our blog. The Turleys will hold our annual Fourth of July celebration with fireworks tonight with a cookout, pies, and of course fireworks. However, this year I am also going to watch my Chicago Cubs play the Nationals as the guest of a friend. I will then return to watch them again on Sunday with one of my sons and a very generous friend and his son. (Yes I am completely scarfing off friends).
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Congress, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Justice, Media, Politics, Society

Gallup Poll: Satisfaction With Their Freedoms Has Record Drop Among Americans

220px-Scene_at_the_Signing_of_the_Constitution_of_the_United_StatesWe have long discussed the erosion of civil liberties in the United States, including the attacks on privacy and other rights by the Obama Administration. It appears that we are not alone in those concerns. A new Gallup poll shows a record drop in the satisfaction of Americans over their freedoms. The massive drop is matched in such countries as Egypt, Pakistan, and Venezuela.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, Society

No Joke: Indianapolis Police Stop Minivan With “Unmarked Police Car” Bumper Sticker and Force Mother To Remove The Sticker As Impersonating a Police Officer

article-2678407-1F5783BE00000578-929_634x341Pamela Konchinsky, 56, was headed to work on June 17th in her silver 2004 Toyota minivan when she was pulled over by two police cars — one with its lights going. The officers spotted a joke bumper sticker on the minivan window reading “Unmarked police car” and were not amused. The officers made Konchinsky pull off the bumper sticker. The Indianapolis police department is now being sued for good reason for the abusive stop and treatment. The ACLU has filed the case.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Society

Simi Valley Police Officer Refuses To Take Report From Citizen in Accident Due To His Videotaping Their Conversation

185px-CA_-_Simi_Valley_Policevideo cameraThere is a controversy in Simi Valley, California where a police officer refused to take the statement on a car accident of a man who wanted to videotape their conversation. While the officer in the video below acknowledges the right of the citizen to videotape, Simi Valley police officer Corey Baker states that he is not going to allow the man to effectively portray him as causing some violation by filming him. While the officer cannot refuse to take a statement on this basis, the man in the video (identified as Jeff Knapp) struck me as highly rude in his encounter with both the other driver and the officer.

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