Category: Constitutional Law

Constitutional Law, Media, Military, Politics, Society

The Shame and Waste of Fusion Centers
New Jersey Fusion Center, Photo by DHS. Used without permission.

by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger

The 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads, “[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

Seems pretty straight forward, doesn’t it? Continue reading “The Shame and Waste of Fusion Centers” →

Constitutional Law, Free Speech, International, Religion

Student Group Forced To Remove “Blasphemous Pineapple”

Reading University Atheist, Humanist and Secularist Society was forced to remove a “blasphemous pineapple” named Mohammed as a form of hateful or discriminatory speech. The pineapple was intended to spark debate over whether

The Reading University Atheist, Humanist and Secularist Society (RAHS) took part in the fair on Wednesday, in order to to “encourage discussion about blasphemy, religion, and liberty.”

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Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Media, Society

Metropolitan Transit Authority Adopts New Rule Barring Some Ads In Wake Of Controversial Pro-Israel Campaign

While it has attracted little media attention, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has quietly changed its policy on the posting of ads deemed controversial after the outcry over an ad campaign by American Freedom Defense Initiative executive director and blogger Pamela Geller. Muslims and others objected to the ads and at least one columnist was arrested for destroying the posters. The ads read “In any war between civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad.” Now MTA has announced that it will reserve the right to refuse any ads deemed likely to “incite” violence or “other breach of peace.” It is another measure rolling on free speech and forcing speakers to adhere to the anticipated reaction of third parties.

Continue reading “Metropolitan Transit Authority Adopts New Rule Barring Some Ads In Wake Of Controversial Pro-Israel Campaign” →

Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics, Religion

Controversial Filmmaker Nakoula Arrested For Alleged Probation Violations

The filmmaker of “Innocence of Muslims,” the anti-Mohammad video that sparked the recent protests and deaths around the world, has been arrested by federal authorities for allegedly violating the condition for his probation on a 2010 conviction for bank fraud — violations that could land him in jail for three years. Given the calls for his arrest and even execution by Muslim allies, the arrest raises obvious concerns that the Administration is again defending free speech while quietly moving to punish those who cause religious strife.

Continue reading “Controversial Filmmaker Nakoula Arrested For Alleged Probation Violations” →

Constitutional Law, International, Society

The Trust for the National Mall Celebrates The Magna Carta

Last night I had the honor of speaking at the celebration of the Magna Carta at the National Archives in Washington. The event is part of the new campaign by the Trust for the National Mall. The dinner was held in the Rotunda Gallery with the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, and one of the copies of the Magna Carta. Introducing me was the man who owns that Magna Carta, David Rubenstein. That’s right, he owns the 1297 version of Magna Carta.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, Media, Society

Columnist Arrested In New York While Trying To Spray Paint Over Anti-Muslim Poster

The video below has attracted considerable interest in the latest confrontation over an anti-Muslim ad campaign in the New York subway system. Many people have objected to the campaign by the American Freedom Defense Initiative which has put up signs reading “In any war between civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad.” However, columnist Mona Eltahawy who appears regularly on CNN and MSNBC took that opposition to a new level in this confrontation with a woman who tried to stop her from spray painting over one of the signs — an act that led to Eltahawy’s arrest. The incident involved a sharp difference of opinion on what constitutes protected freedom of speech.

Continue reading “Columnist Arrested In New York While Trying To Spray Paint Over Anti-Muslim Poster” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Justice, Society

Federal Appellate Court Allows Innocent Man To Sue LAPD After Serving 19 Years For Murder He Did Not Commit

Calling a case “exceptional,” a panel of judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that Harold C. Hall can sue the Los Angeles Police Department after serving 19 years for murders that he did not commit and allegedly confessed to under coercion by the police. The panel began its presentation with the understatement of a lifetime: “Some might call Hall an unlucky fellow.”

Continue reading “Federal Appellate Court Allows Innocent Man To Sue LAPD After Serving 19 Years For Murder He Did Not Commit” →

Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics, Religion

Egyptian President Demands Criminalization of Anti-Islamic Speech At United Nations

For many years, I have been writing about the threat of an international blasphemy standard and the continuing rollback on free speech in the West. Much of this writing has focused on the effort of the Obama Administration to reach an accommodation with allies like Egypt to develop a standard for criminalizing anti-religious speech.  We have been following the rise of anti-blasphemy laws around the world, including the increase in prosecutions in the West and the support of the Obama Administration for the prosecution of some anti-religious speech under the controversial Brandenburg standard.  Now that effort has come to a head with the new President of Egypt President Mohamed Mursi calling for enactment of an anti-blasphemy law at the United Nations. Mursi is also demanding legal action against the filmmaker by the United States despite the fact that the film is clearly protected by the first amendment.

Continue reading “Egyptian President Demands Criminalization of Anti-Islamic Speech At United Nations” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Free Speech, Justice, Politics, Religion, Supreme Court, Uncategorized

Pastors Take on the IRS

Respectfully Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger

In light of the ever-increasing influence on National and local politics by churches and clergy, I was interested in the recent news that over 1,000 churches will be challenging the IRS by telling their parishioners who they want them to vote for in the upcoming national elections.  The event is dubbed “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” by its organizers and it is designed to challenge the IRS on its prohibition of churches from intertwining politics and religion, as a requirement of maintaining their tax-free status. Continue reading “Pastors Take on the IRS” →

Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Supreme Court

Is “Innocence of Muslims” Protected Speech?

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

The film “Innocence of Muslims” and the violence in Libya, Egypt, and Yemen, are at the heart of a debate as to whether the film falls within the category of “freedom of speech.” In an Op-ed in the LA Times, Sarah Chayes writes that it’s not “free speech protected under the U.S. Constitution.” In USA Today, Anthea Butler calls for the arrest of the filmmaker and writes that the film denigrates religion and “is not about expressing a personal opinion about Islam.”

Continue reading “Is “Innocence of Muslims” Protected Speech?” →

Academia, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Politics, Religion, Society

“Cease and Desist, Brother Twede”: Mormon Blogger Says Church Officials Threatened Excommunication Over Criticism of Romney and the Church

I am still in Utah for a speech and I have spoken to many people here about the current presidential campaign. Many locals here have expressed dismay over the missteps of the Romney campaign. However, David Twede, 47, a scientist and managing editor of the online magazine MormonThink.com, says that his criticism of Mitt Romney has led to his being called to account — and possible excommunication — from the Church of Latter Day Saints. The fifth-generation Mormon says that Church elders demanded names of other Mormons with which he was working on the site. He says he was told “Cease and desist, Brother Twede.” The controversy has now been reported on the Washington Post, Huffington Post and a number of other sites – though primarily as a political story. From a legal standpoint, the case raises a classic conflict between free speech and free exercise that we have discussed in other areas.

Continue reading ““Cease and Desist, Brother Twede”: Mormon Blogger Says Church Officials Threatened Excommunication Over Criticism of Romney and the Church” →

Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Society, Torts

California Judge Refuses To Order YouTube To Remove “Innocence of Muslims”

Cindy Lee Garcia, the actress in the anti-Muslim film “Innocence of Muslims,’ has failed in her attempt to get Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Luis Lavin to order YouTube to remove the film. Garcia insists that she was not told of the real nature of the film and said that she has lived in fear since the protests erupted over the trailer of the film.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, International, Military, Society

Afghan Judicial Panel Refuses To Accept Indefinite Detention Law While Federal Court Allows It To Continue Under U.S. Law

In the last decade, the United States has increasingly become a symbol of hypocrisy as a nation that has violated many international principles that it helped create after 9-11.  That record was reinforced this week after the Afghan government (not exactly the paragon of civil liberties) refused to adopt indefinite detention rules pushed by the Obama Administration. Of course, President Obama has continued the indefinite detention of the Bush Administration and the operation of the Guantanamo Bay facility over the objections of civil libertarians. We recently saw the death of a detainee who was found years ago not to be a national security risk and never proven to be guilty of a single crime. Yet, in its effort to create a “new Democracy” in the Afghanistan, the Obama Administration was insisting that it replicate our own indefinite detention rules. In the meantime, a federal court has stayed a prior court order that enjoined the provision on indefinite detention under the Obama Administration’s 2012 National Defense Authorization Act.

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Academia, Constitutional Law, Society

David McCullough Opens New Constitutional Center With Warning Over The Passivity Of Citizens

I am in Utah today to give a keynote address at the opening of the new Center for Constitutional Studies at the Utah Valley University. I am honored to follow Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough who gave the opening keynote yesterday. It was an ironic pairing since they will open with a devotee of John Adams and close with a Madisonian scholar. They were able to keep us separate to avoid any fights in the halls. Despite our disagreement over the legacy of John Adams (McCullough seems to blow through that whole Alien and Sedition Act business pretty quickly in his extraordinary book on Adams), I was pleased to read how McCullough warned the audience about the rising dangers posed by citizens who are increasingly passive and detached from their government.

Continue reading “David McCullough Opens New Constitutional Center With Warning Over The Passivity Of Citizens” →

Academia, Constitutional Law, Politics, Society

California College Professor Is Hit With Sexual Harassment Charge After Publicly Opposing Gay Studies Program

There is a growing controversy involving a community college professor who claims to have been placed under investigation after he publicly questioned his school’s decision to begin a gay studies program. Professor Jay Rubin wrote a letter to the editor at Alameda Journal that challenged the fiscal basis for the creation of a new program. While he did not sign the letter with his academic title, Rubin was reportedly subjected to a charge of sexual harassment based on that letter by a colleague. I have been pursuing this story for days because of the lack of details and documents in the media. I was able to secure some of this information from Matthew McReynolds, his counsel, with the Pacific Justice Institute.

Continue reading “California College Professor Is Hit With Sexual Harassment Charge After Publicly Opposing Gay Studies Program” →