This weekend, I had the honor of serving as the Constitution Day speaker for Grand Lake, Colorado. The town, established in 1881, is one of the most irresistibly charming places that I have ever encountered. Located next to Rocky Mountain National Park, it sits adjacent to Grand Lake, Colorado’s largest and deepest natural lake. Nestled between the mountains at roughly 9,000 feet above sea level, Grand Lake seems untouched by time. Continue reading “The Inspiring Beauty and Patriotism of Grand Lake, Colorado”
Category: Constitutional Law
There is a major ruling, Mead v. Rockford Public School Dist., a potentially precedent-setting case on parental rights in our public schools. Judge Paul Maloney (W.D. Mich.) ruled that Plaintiffs Dan and Jennifer Mead could move forward with their claims that the Rockford Public School district concealed changes to the gender identification of their biological daughter, identified as G.M. As I have previously written, parental rights are shaping up as a major battleground for the Supreme Court after years of decisions in the lower court undermining parental controls and disclosures. Continue reading “Federal Judge Rules for Parents in Case Involving Concealment of Child’s Gender Changes”
This afternoon, I will travel to Colgate University to participate in its annual Constitution Day Debate with Michael Klarman, the Charles Warren Professor of Legal History at Harvard Law School. The debate, sponsored by the Robert P. Kraynak Institute for the Study of Freedom and Western Traditions with support from the Office of the President, will address the following question: “Is There a Constitutional Crisis? How Would We Know?” Continue reading “Turley and Klarman to Debate the “Constitutional Crisis” at Colgate”
Below is my column that ran earlier on Fox.com on the calls for the termination of academics and others who have criticized Charlie Kirk or expressed satisfaction with his murder. Unfortunately, such hateful remarks are nothing new in academia. However, this is not about them. It is about us, and more importantly, it is about Charlie and what he fought for his entire life. We cannot allow our anger or sorrow to lead us into becoming the very people that Charlie denounced in his life. If you “Stand with Charlie,” you stand with free speech.
Here is the column: Continue reading “If You Want to “Stand with Charlie,” Stand With Free Speech”
The Supreme Court has again rebuffed lower courts seeking to block executive actions, from immigration to the downsizing of government. In the latest victory for the Trump Administration, the Court reversed decisions of a federal district court judge and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to enjoin new ICE raids in California. Continue reading “Supreme Court Reverses Lower Court and Allows ICE Raids in California to Resume”
Below is my column in The Hill on the controversial remarks of Sen. Tim Kaine (D. Va.) denouncing a nominee who believed in natural law and the concept of God-given rights. By the end of the hearing, Kaine effectively lumped Alexander Hamilton with Ayatollah Khomeini in his statement at the committee hearing.
Here is the column: Continue reading “The Mark of Kaine: How a Senator’s Remarks Border on Constitutional Blasphemy”
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he may strip comedian Rosie O’Donnell of her U.S. citizenship. He has made the threat previously, despite having no authority to do so. In the United States, political critics cannot be stripped of their citizenship, and pursuing such a course would be a fundamental denial of constitutional protections not only under the 14th Amendment but also under the 1st Amendment. Continue reading “No, the President Cannot Strip Rosie O’Donnell of Her Citizenship”
So an Alaskan bush pilot walks into the Supreme Court with a six-pack of beer. Sounds like the start of a good joke? Well, for Ken Jouppi, it is no laughing matter. Jouppi and his counsel at the Institute for Justice have just filed a petition for a writ of certiorari to appeal a decision from the Alaska Supreme Court that held the state could seize his $95,000 Cessna U206D airplane over a six-pack of beer found in a passenger’s bag of groceries.
This week, Elizabeth Baxter, an intern with the department’s environmental division, became the second Justice Department employee to be fired by Attorney General Pam Bondi for abusive conduct toward federal officers. Baxter shouted profanities and flipped off a member of the National Guard in Washington, D.C., on her way to work. The termination raises legitimate free speech issues, but Baxter may have crossed the line by recounting the abuse at work. Continue reading “Second DOJ Employee Fired Over Abusive Treatment of Federal Officers”
Within minutes of the shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic Church Mass on Wednesday, politicians and pundits were calling for new gun control measures and blaming conservatives for the deaths of the children. These are the same calls that have emerged after past shootings for everything from a ban on “assault weapons” to a total ban on all guns. What the public is not being told is the limited range of options under existing constitutional precedent.
Continue reading “The Rhetoric and Realities of Gun Control”
In the advertising world, there is an old adage that there are times when you take a pitch and “run it up the flagpole and see who salutes.” That expression came to mind yesterday when President Donald Trump signed an order to punish flag burning. The President may be hoping that the Supreme Court might salute and reverse long-standing precedent declaring flag burning to be protected speech under the First Amendment. If so, he is likely to be disappointed. The proposed prosecutions would be unconstitutional and, absent an unlikely major reversal of prior precedent by the Court, flag burning will remain a protected form of free speech. Continue reading “Running it up the Flagpole: Why the Trump Order on Flag Burning is Unconstitutional”
Below is my column in The Hill on the chilling jurisprudence of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Jackson’s description of opinions as an opportunity for commentary on contemporary issues is a radical departure from long-standing traditions on the Court. While justices have occasionally strayed into extraneous issues, Jackson appears to view her position as giving her a license to vent, including questioning the principles and integrity of her colleagues.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “The Judicial Calvinball of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson”
Below is my column in the New York Post on the appellate court decision to toss the entirety of the fine imposed against President Donald Trump in the civil action brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “The One That Got Away: Letitia James and the Perils of Trophy Fishing”
The House Oversight Committee is investigating the use of the autopen by Biden officials as allegations grow that President Joe Biden had little idea of some of the actions taken under his name, from executive orders to pardons. Now, the Committee has disclosed that at least one senior official warned that he had “no idea” what the parameters were for Biden’s blanket pardons and that the public was being misled about the pardons only applying to non-violent individuals. Continue reading ““I Have No Idea”: Justice Department Official Raised Objections to Ill-Defined Biden Pardons”
High School senior Sabrina Steffans is taking on Grand Island High School in New York for her parking space. The school said that graduating students could do their own designs for their parking spaces for a $50 fee so Steffans did a religious theme. However, Assistant Principals Adam Hernandez and Jaime Peld hit the brakes on the effort as unacceptable religious imagery in a public school. Continue reading ““Jesus Take the Wheel”: Student Fights New York High School Over Religious Parking Space Design”