Category: Constitutional Law

Constitutional Law, Courts, Free Speech, Justice

The Irony of Free Speech in California

Respectfully submitted by Lawrence Rafferty(rafflaw)-Guest Blogger

The term is one that is familiar to all of us.  The First Amendment gives all citizens the right of Freedom of Speech and the right to assemble.  Simple enough, right?  Evidently it is not so simple in the State of California.  Recently, members of Occupy Los Angeles were arrested while making full use of their First Amendment rights and after posting a $5,000 bond to get out of jail, were offered a deal to avoid a trial.  The Free Speech defendants were told that if they took a class offered by a private company for the mere cost of $355.00, they would not have to go to court for a trial.

At first glance that offer sounds reasonable.  Just what is the “class” all about? “For $355, protesters can pay a private company for lessons in free speech. American Justice Associates offers the educational program taught by an attorney – Neil G. Anderson – a former police officer and Supervising Deputy District Attorney for Sacramento County, and his partner attorney Deborah Bryce McKinley of Atlanta, GA.”  Crooks and Liars  Continue reading “The Irony of Free Speech in California” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Lawyering

Judge and Former Prosecutor of the Year Accused Of Withholding Evidence That Sent Innocent Man To Jail For 25 Years

Michael Morton, 57, spent nearly 25 years in prison for murdering his wife before he was able to force Texas authorities to finally test DNA evidence that proved his innocence. Now he is demanding that the prosecutor be held accountable for withholding evidence. The problem is that the then-Williamson County District Attorney Ken Anderson, now a district judge in Georgetown (left).
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Academia, Constitutional Law, Justice, Media, Politics, Society

Gingrich: The Great Emancipator From History?

Newt Gingrich this week unleashed a series of attacks on the judiciary, calling for abolishing judges, getting rid of lifetime tenure, and ignoring judicial rulings that he does not agree with. We discussed yesterday his suggestion that judges could be arrested by federal officers and forced to appear before Congress to answer for their unpopular decisions. However, last night on Hardball I took Gingrich to task for what I consider a misrepresentation of not just the law but history in his reference to Lincoln.

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

Israelis Confront Demands Of Orthodox Jews For Segregation of Buses and Public Spaces

We have previously discussed attacks by orthodox Jews on women and others in Israel. The demand for segregation of the sexes however has triggered a national debate after accounts of women being asked to sit in the back of buses. There is also an outcry over Orthodox Jews ripping down any advertisements showing women in public areas.

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Bizarre, Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts

Gingrich: I Will Arrest Federal Judges

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich appears to be running against the Constitution as much as against President Obama these days. Gingrich has been promising to round up judges who do not agree with him — statements that have even conservative figures like Michael Mukasey, former attorney general during the George W. Bush administration, denouncing him. Mukasey was the attorney general who blocked prosecutions into torture, but finds Gingrich truly scary. I am currently scheduled to be on Hardball tonight to discuss this latest attack on the judiciary.
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Constitutional Law, Justice, Lawyering, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

Newt Gingrich Channels His Inner Dictator

Submitted by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger

Newt Gingrich made statements this weekend that leave little doubt he would drag the already overreaching Office of the President over the threshold of dictatorship.  First, let us be clear about what a dictatorship is:  a dictatorship is autocratic rule, control, or leadership; a form of government in which absolute power is concentrated in a dictator or a small clique; a government organization or group in which absolute power is so concentrated.  Second, let us be clear that such a concentration of power in a single branch of government is clearly unconstitutional under the Separation of Powers doctrine.

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Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law, International, Justice, Military, Politics, Society

Forget Wall Street, Occupy Corporate Boardrooms

Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger

Sometimes a story comes around that writes itself and merely needs highlighting of certain facts to make its points. This link below will provide concrete data on why this country has become a corrupted corporatist state, along with why the federal budget deficit is so high. Its title is “For Hire: Lobbyists or the 99%? How Corporations Pay More for Lobbyists Than in Taxes”

http://publicampaign.org/sites/default/files/ReportTaxDodgerLobbyingDec6.pdf

What this document clearly shows, with highly readable charts is that 30 of the top US Corporations not only pay more for lobbying than in taxes, but in fact that they receive huge tax credits, although being highly profitable. Over a three year period 2008-2010 these companies had combined profits of $163.691 billion, received tax credits of $10.602 billion and spent $475.67 million on lobbying. Only one of these companies, FedEx, actually paid taxes. They paid $37 million in taxes, on a profit of $4.247 billion and spent $50.81 million for lobbying. As you might guess the most glaring example was General Electric whose profits were $10.460 billion, received tax credits of $4.737 billion and who spent $84.35 million in lobbying.

I could certainly provide you with commentary on this report, but the starkly written manner of the report and the easily read charts do a far better job of explanation, than would my rhetoric. The next time someone comments on the “theft” that is taxes and the need to defend the 1% and their corporations from government intrusion show them this. If they defend the inequity shown here then you will know they are either part of the 1%, brain-washed or brain dead. It isn’t of course that many of us haven’t known the state of things, or these facts, we have discussed them here repeatedly. Nevertheless, each time the message of the destruction of our Constitution, our America and our people in the service of greed and ego is shown to me, my blood boils. Please check out the link and share your thoughts.

Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Justice, Society

BLOG DELETED – A 50 Year Restraining Order and the Resolution of Conflicting Rights

Submitted by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger

“Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.” – The Mourning Bride, Act III, Sc. VIII, by William Congreve

“The right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose begins.” – Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes

Your rights end where the rights of others begin is a maxim that posits you are free to exercise your rights until such exercise infringes upon the rights of others.  It seems like a straight forward proposition, but like many seemingly straight forward propositions, sorting out the primacy of rights when they are equally valid yet conflicting is the basis of many a lawsuit.  An interesting case from Minnesota provides an example that illustrates the balancing act between competing individual rights.  The decision also provides a solution that while it may address the problem at bar may also be overreaching and a threat to the rights of all.

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Constitutional Law, Courts, Society

Federal Court Considers Standing in Sister Wives Case

Today I will be appearing in federal court in Salt Lake City, Utah to argue for standing in our challenge to the Utah statute criminalizing bigamy and cohabitation. I have previously written about the constitutional issues raised by the action. This hearing, however, concerns the effort of the state to avoid review of the law by claiming that the family lacks standing, even though the state has declared their family to be a criminal association and prosecutors have declared them to be guilty under the law.
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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Politics, Religion

In God We Trust: Kentucky Defends Law Requiring State Homeland Security Officers To Proclaim God’s Greatness

The lawsuit in Kentucky is working its way through the legal system contesting a 2006 state law requiring state homeland security material to recognize the necessity of faith in God for true security. State Rep. Tom Riner, an ordained Baptist minister, has defended the law out of his belief that “the safety and security of the state cannot be achieved apart from recognizing our dependence upon God.”
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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, International, Politics, Society

Happy Birthday, Bill [of Rights]: Obama Breaks Promise To Veto Bill Allowing Indefinite Detention of Americans

There was a brief moment when civil libertarians were stunned to see President Barack Obama actually take a stand in favor of civil liberties after years to rolling back on basic rights of citizens and moving beyond the Bush Administration in building up the security state. Obama said that he would veto the defense bill that contained a horrific provision for the indefinite detention of American citizens. While many predicted it, Obama has now again betrayed the civil liberties community and lifted the threat of the veto. Americans will now be subject to indefinite detention without trial in federal courts in a measure supported by both Democrats and Republicans. It is a curious way to celebrate the 220th anniversary of the Bill of Rights.
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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Politics, Religion

Religious Groups in Santa Monica Call For Changes After Atheists Win Majority of Places Set Aside For Holiday Scenes

Religious folk in California are outraged after learning that atheists won the right to 14 out of 21 spaces for holiday scenes. The city has a lottery system and, while God may not have favored them, fate did in selecting two atheists with claims to over two dozen spaces.
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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics, Society

China Arrests Two Bloggers For The Crime Of Spreading Rumors

The Chinese government is obsessed with suppressing free speech on the Internet — legitimately fearful that citizens speaking with each other could bring an end to its regime. The recent protests in Russia likely reinforced those fears for the Chinese. Thus, it should come as no surprise that when two men told people online about a huge police presence supporting a wedding, the Chinese government had them arrested.
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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics, Religion, Society

Criminalizing Intolerance: Obama Administration Moves Forward On United Nations Resolution Targeting Anti-Religious Speech

Below is my column today in The Los Angeles Times on the conference this week in Washington on religious speech. I have previously written about the Obama Administration’s break with past policies to support Muslim countries in cracking down on speech deemed “defamatory” to religion. While the latest resolution does not repeat the defamation language, the purpose remains unchanged and the dangers for free speech are obvious. The non-binding resolution was passed in March, largely in response to the assassinations of two Pakistani officials who had spoken out against the nation’s blasphemy law. Ironically, however, the resolution will likely reinforce the right of countries to criminalize anti-religious speech and blasphemy laws.

Continue reading “Criminalizing Intolerance: Obama Administration Moves Forward On United Nations Resolution Targeting Anti-Religious Speech” →