U.S. District Court Judge Clay Land issued a stern warning to attorney Orly Taitz (left) and others in the so-called “birther” campaign: do not file another such “frivolous” lawsuit or you will face sanctions. Land threw out the lawsuit filed on behalf of Capt. Connie Rhodes who is an Army surgeon challenging her deployment orders due to President Barack Obama’s alleged ineligibility to serve as President. Land (a Bush appointee) noted that “[u]nlike in ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ simply saying something is so does not make it so.”
Category: Constitutional Law
Romell Broom, 52, was given a rare one-week reprieve when officials struggled for hours to find a vein strong enough to handle lethal injection. The scene was particularly grotesque for critics of the death penalty as Broom awaited his death for hours as he was pricked and probed. Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland eventually ordered the one-week delay to allow prison officials time to figure out the best vein to use to execute him.
Continue reading “Ohio Death Row Inmate Given One-Week Reprieve After Officials Fail to Find a Vein”
In a move that raises serious questions under Article One and the First Amendment to the Constitution, House Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY) has announced new rules for what members can and cannot say on the floor and in committee. The rules are remarkably broad and arbitrary in limiting comments regarding the President.
Continue reading “House Democrats Seek to Curtail Member Speech in the Wake of Wilson Controversy”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) appears to have joined those governors threatening constitutional challenges under the Tenth Amendment to any federal health care bill. I discussed these arguments last night on this segment of Countdown and earlier on this segment of the Rachel Maddow show.
Republicans may want to just keep away from open mikes for a while. After a ranking Republican in California was caught describing in disgusting detail sex with a lobbyist, Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) was caught whispering to a constituent that she agrees that President Obama is not a legitimate president due to his birth.
Continue reading “Video: Ohio Congresswoman Tells Supporter that Obama is Not a Citizen and Can’t Be President”
Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael Virga improperly influenced a jury to find a defendant guilty in a sexual assault case. The actions of the former prosecutor have resulted in a new trial being ordered by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Continue reading “Ninth Circuit: California Judge Improperly Influenced Jury to Convict Defendant”
Most of us despise sequels, but the Supreme Court has a hankering to rehear the case of Hillary: the Movie. Today, the Supreme Court will be taking up the case for a second time — and its ultimate reviews could hold great significance for campaign financing. We have been following the case involving “Hillary: The Movie” since it first came out during the last presidential campaign. The legal dispute over the film was always more interesting than the film itself — whether this is a film or a 90-minute campaign ad. I will be discussing the case this morning on the CNN Morning show.
Continue reading “Now Playing at the Supremes: Hillary the Movie (The Sequel)”
Texas legislators have continued their battle to add religious training in public schools. The state has a new law that requires that Texas public schools incorporate Bible literacy into the curriculum — though it offers no guidelines or instructions in how to do so.
Continue reading “Constitutional Illiteracy: Texas Orders All Schools To Teach “Bible Literacy””
The members of the Faithful Word Baptist Church have gathered to affirm their support for their pastor, Steven L. Anderson, who has called for the death of President Barack Obama and “melted like a snail.” Anderson went out of his way to reaffirm his desire to see Obama die.
Continue reading “Faithful Rally Around Paster Anderson as “Caring Human Being” as Anderson Reaffirms His Desire to See Obama Die”
School officials in at Atlantic High School (“Home of the Trojans & Trojanns“) in Des Moines, Iowa are facing questions of why five teenage girls were forced to take off their clothing for a search after a classmate reported $100 missing from her purse. No money was found. The Supreme Court just ruled in June 2009 that strip searches were unconstitutional in Safford Unified School District v. Redding. As in the Iowa search for money, no drugs were found in the Arizona middle school search.
Continue reading “Iowa School Accused of Strip Searching Teenage Girls in Search of Stolen Money”
We have been following the trend among Western countries in rolling back on free speech with different forms of blasphemy laws, here. Much of this attack on free speech began after the controversy over the publication of cartoons depicting Muhammad. Now, Dutch prosecutors are charging an Arab group for publishing cartoons questioning the Holocaust.
Continue reading “Dutch Prosecutors Charge Arab Group With Hate Speech Over Cartoon”
Suddenly, it appears that most extreme elements of our political debate have discovered the Tenth Amendment in arguing for either secession or a type of state independence that borders on separatism. This video of a Texas secessionist rally is shocking given the chants of “we hate the United States” but it is most telling in recognition that “legal secession” it no longer a serious claim. Others do not want to secede but rather to use the Tenth Amendment to bar such things as the national health bill from closing their borders. I discussed this story last night on this segment of the Rachel Maddow show.
Continue reading “Secessionists and Separatists Discover the Tenth Amendment”
In Lawrenceburg, Indiana, Officer Brian Miller was not happy when Jamie Lockard, 53, agreed to a Breathalyzer that showed that he was not driving drunk. So, Miller and his colleagues arrested Lockard anyway, strapped him to a gurney and took blood as well as allegedly using a catheter against his will to extract urine. It also proved that he was below the limit . . . so they charged him with obstruction.
There is an extraordinary case out of Queensland, Australia. Chris Illingworth, 61, is charged for merely copying and watching a viral video of a man swinging a baby. Prosecutors have charged that he distributed a child abuse video –even though the government itself rated the video as MA15+ (appropriate for anyone over 15). It is part of an ongoing trend in the West in rolling back on free speech rights.
Continue reading “Australian Man Faces Twenty Years for Sharing Baby-Swinging Video”
Last night I discussed the growing speculation that Justice John Paul Stevens, an icon of the Court with over three decades of service, may be preparing to retire (here). On both a personal and jurisprudential level, Stevens remains one of my favorite judicial figures. He is a man who had a transformative impact on his country. His place in history will likely be discussed for years to come. With this news and the justices returning to the city for the new term, this story may be of interest. Below is my cover article in the American History Magazine on my choices for the top nine justices — as well as my list of the Supreme failures on the Court.
Continue reading “The Supremes: Picking the Top Nine Justices of All Time”