The court in the trial of Casey Anthony has been asked to bar questions over her sex life and habits. She is accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter Caylee. Police have gathered evidence on such facts as whether she was “clingy” after sex or had unprotected sex.
Continue reading “Is It Relevant Whether Casey Anthony Was “Clingy””
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger.
Herrera v Oregon is a pending case before the Supreme Court, where Alonso Herrera, an Oregon man, was convicted by 10-2 jury vote of unauthorized use of a vehicle. At issue is whether the Sixth Amendment, as incorporated against the states by the Fourteenth Amendment, requires a unanimous jury verdict to convict a person of a crime. Also at issue is whether the Bill of Rights, as incorporated against the states by the Fourteenth Amendment, should apply equally to the states as to the federal government, jot-for-jot incorporation. It is long overdue that these issues be resolved.
SUBMITTED BY LAWRENCE RAFFERTY, GUEST BLOGGER
Now that the end of the year is just hours away, I thought it would be nice to put into writing some of the New Years resolutions that I have for 2011. This year has been a year of highs and lows for myself and for the country. These resolutions are my hopes and dreams for myself, the country and the world in the coming year.
The Innocence Project is reporting that Robert Stinson is eligible for only $25,000 of compensation in Wisconsin after serving 23 years in prison for a crime that he did not commit. The outrageously low compensation is the result of a statutory compensation level that has not been changed since 1913.
Continue reading “Wisconsin Man Given Only $25,000 For 23 Years in Jail for Murder That He Did Not Commit”
President Barack Obama has finally received praise for his terror policies . . . from Bush officials. Two of the officials commonly named as responsible for allegedly criminal acts during the Bush Administration, former National Intelligence Director retired Vice Admiral Michael McConnel and former Central Intelligence Agency Director Michael Hayden, are heaping praise on Obama for going even farther than George Bush in his policies. Now, there is an ignoble accomplishment.
Continue reading “Bush Officials Praise Obama For Going Further Than Bush in Terror Crackdown”
The Chinese government has cut off access of lawyers to leading human rights advocate, Liu Xianbin, 42. He was charged in June for subversion for “incitement to subvert state power” for his articles that included his reflections on the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and the arrest of Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo.
Continue reading “China Cuts Off Access Of Lawyers to Leading Human Rights Advocate”
A survey conducted of people in England established this year that, for the first time, the majority of that nation are not religious. Fifty-one percent of those polled reported that they have no religion — a sharp contrast to the same poll conducted in 1985 when 67% said that they were Christians.
Continue reading “For God and Country: England Now Non-Religious Nation For First Time in History”
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
FAIR and its legal arm, Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI), have been busy. FAIR and IRLI have been hopping state-to-state helping local governments craft anti-immigration ordinances, like Arizona’s infamous SB 1070. Arizona’s legal fees have already exceeded $1 million.
Desperately needed tax payer funds are being used by local governments to fight legal challenges to the ordinances drafted with the assistance of IRLI.
Continue reading “Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)”
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
Texas Civil Rights Project attorney James C. Harrington has filed a lawsuit in United States District Court against the Kilgore [TX] Independent School District and softball coaches Rhonda Fletcher and Cassandra Newell. The suit was brought on behalf of the mother of the minor daughter, referred to as S.W. The suit alleges that the coaches violated the daughter’s fourteenth amendment right to privacy by disclosing the girl’s sexual orientation to her mother.
The KISD claims their policy mandates that teachers reveal students’ sexual orientation to their parents.
In one of the great civil liberties victories of our age, President Barack Obama this morning signed the formal repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell — an obnoxious policy of discrimination put into effect under President Bill Clinton. At the time, many of us criticized Clinton for not having the courage to reject discrimination against gays and lesbians — even if we lost the fight on principle. Instead, we have had this insidious and hypocritical policy in place — resulting in the discharge or rejections of thousands of brave citizens. It is now relegated to the dustbin of history with the other discriminatory policies once embraced by our nation.
Law professors David Rudovsky of the University of Pennsylvania and Leonard Sosnov of Widener University have won an extraordinary verdict: $5.2 million in compensatory and punitive damages for defamation by West Publishing. At issue was a shoddy 2008 pocket part issued under their names. Rudovsky (left) called the update a “poorly researched ‘sham’ pocket part.”
There is an interesting case out of Perkins, Oklahoma where Federal Reserve officials reportedly ordered a small bank (The Payne County Bank) to remove religious Christmas displays. I fail to see the authority of Federal Reserve officials to limit the free speech to a bank, particularly religious-based speech. If the bank wants to marginalize non-Christian customers through sectarian displays, I think it has a constitutionally protected right to do so. What it cannot do is actually discriminate in the establishment or handling of accounts.
Continue reading “Federal Reserve Bank Examiners Demand Removal of Crosses and Merry Christmas Buttons at Oklahoma Bank”
For Republican legislators in Iowa, it was not enough that three state supreme court justices who voted to strike down a ban on gay marriage were recently defeated in their reelection bids after being targeted by conservatives. Now, legislators want to impeach the remaining four justices from the unanimous decision.
Continue reading “Iowa Legislators To Impeach Iowa Justices Who Voted For Same-Sex Marriage”
SUBMITTED BY LAWRENCE RAFFERTY, GUEST BLOGGER
I recently read that U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann is coordinating a crash course on the Constitution for the new members that will be joining the House in January. I was a little surprised that one of the guest speakers for that course will be Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. While it is not unusual for Supreme Court Justices to interact with members of Congress, it disturbs me that Justice Scalia will be meeting with the Tea Party Caucus behind closed doors. These very same members of the Tea Party Caucus have very definite ideas and opinions on current national issues that may reach the Supreme Court in the near future. This recent article in Bloomberg suggests that Justice Scalia’s presentation will “…focus on separation of powers, said Kathy Arberg, the Supreme Court’s spokeswoman.” http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-15/scalia-will-deliver-speech-before-bachmann-s-tea-party-caucus.html Continue reading “IS IT ETHICAL ERROR FOR JUSTICE SCALIA TO MEET THE TEA PARTY CAUCUS?”
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
That would be Judge Henry Hudson who recently struck down the Minimum Essential Coverage Provision of the Affordable Care Act that requiring all citizens obtain health care coverage, here. In one corner we have Orin S. Kerr, professor of law at The George Washington University Law School. In the other corner we have Kurt T. Lash professor of law at The University of Illinois College of Law.
It is Necessary and Proper that you read on.