Category: Constitutional Law

Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Politics, Society

Court Rules that Bush Surveillance Program Was Unlawful

Just as Democrats are leading the effort to extinguish lawsuits against telecommunication companies for unlawful surveillance of citizens, a federal judge has ruled that President Bush and his aides violated federal law in conducting the surveillance program. Not addressed in the opinion of U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker is that a violation of the FISA law (which he found trumps the military and state secrets privilege) is a felony. Meaning? President Bush knowingly committed felonies over thirty times and Congress has remained completely passive. In the meantime, Walker has ruled that the Al Haramain Islamic Foundation must still supply evidence that it was the subject of the illegal program despite the fact that the courts will not let it use evidence accidentally disclosed by the government (that seems to establish that fact).

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Lawyering, Military, Supreme Court

Military Blogger Finds Flaw in Supreme Court’s Child Rape Ruling

Dwight Sullivan, a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve, has some crowing rights this week. He found a serious factual error in the majority opinion barring the death penalty for child rape defendants — a flaw that was missed by both the majority and dissenting justices in Kennedy v. Louisiana as well as all of the attorneys in the case. The error was flagged by Sullivan on CFlog.

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Columns, Constitutional Law, Courts, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

The Roberts Court and The Return of the Four Horsemen

Below is today’s column on the end of the Supreme Court term. It looks at the implications of the current Court for either a President Obama or a President McCain. An interesting analogy can be drawn to the Four Horsemen and Three Musketeers of the Hughes Court during the first term of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

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Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Military

The Poetry of Presidential Abuse: The D.C. Circuit Rules Against the President With “Snarky” Poem

For years, many have cited international and domestic law to show that President Bush has committed grave crimes in office. Now, the Court of Appeals has enlisted Lewis Carroll and his poem “The Hunting of the Snark” to bring home the point in it ruling against the Administration in the case of a Huzaifa Parhat, a Chinese Muslim held at Guantanamo Bay.
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Constitutional Law, Politics, Society, Torts

Supreme Court of Canada Defends Fair Comment and Free Speech

In the last year, we have seen some alarming examples of how Canada has rolled back on free speech, particularly in cases of alleged discrimination (here and here). However, the Supreme Court of Canada has handed down a unanimous decision that offers great hope that free speech is not dead in the North. The Court ruled 9-0 in favor of controversial Vancouver radio broadcaster Rafe Mair in his libel case.
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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Society

Old Van w/ Low MPG, High FS (Free Speech): Ninth Circuit Rules in Favor of Van Speech

The Ninth Circuit has rendered an interesting first amendment decision on the right to cover one’s car with unpopular or obnoxious statements. Matthew Fogel painted his van with such ditties as “ALLAH PRAISE THE PATRIOT ACT . . . F***ING JIHAD ON THE FIRST AMENDMENT! Most notably, he taunted police with “PULL ME OVER! PLEASE, I DARE YA[.]” The police agreed and did precisely that. He was arrested- then forced by police to paint over the words as a condition for his release. He was charged as a bomb threat by Grass Valley, California police.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Politics, Society

Senior Pilots Challenge “The Fairness for Experienced Pilots Act”

Late last night, I filed our challenge to the ironically names “The Fairness for Experienced Pilots Act,” legislation that wipes out the seniority, benefits, and status of pilots who turned 60 before December 13, 2008 — the date of the Act’s enactment. This new Age 60 rule violates a host of constitutional and statutory laws, as the brief below explains.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Justice, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

The Lost Constitutional Continent Found: Supreme Court Recognizes Individual Right of Gun Ownership

The Second Amendment has always been like the lost continent of the Constitution. Well, today the Supreme Court discovered it — right between the first and third amendments — after 127 years. The Court ruled that the Second Amendment does indeed create an individual right to gun ownership. The opinion can be accessed here.

The Supreme Court also gave a victory to millionaires running for office who can finance their campaigns more freely — or buy guns more easily.

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Constitutional Law, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

George Carlin Dies at 71

George Carlin has died at 71. Carlin represents one of the few entertainers to have a significant impact on the law with his showdown over profanity in his monologues. His famous stand up routine on “”Seven Dirty Words You Can’t Say on Television” is linked below. The Supreme Court case on his “filthy words” is linked below as well.

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Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Justice, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

Supreme Court Holds Heller — Second Amendment Case Last Case to Be Announced from March Sitting

The Supreme Court knows how to build suspense. While many expected the Court to release its long-awaiting decision on the Second Amendment in the Heller and Parker cases, the Court did not release the decision today. The array of opinions today has fueled speculation that Scalia will author the historic decision.

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Academia, Constitutional Law, Religion, Society

Branding for Jesus: Ohio Teacher Accused of Teaching Creationism and Burning Crosses into Arms of Students

John Freshwater has long been a controversial teacher in Mount Vernon, Ohio. Parents and other teachers accused him of not teaching required science subjects while drilling in creationism into his students. Now, a lawsuit accused him of literally impressing his students with Christian values by branding them.

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Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Lawyering, Society, Supreme Court

Court Rules that Mentally Disturbed Defendants Can Be Competent to Stand Trial But Incompetent to Represent Themselves

The Supreme Court continued the downward spiral of our insanity rules this week. The majority held that a defendant can be held to be competent to stand trial but held incompetent to represent himself — a green light for judges to continue to find clearly crazed individuals sane while denying them the right to act in their own defense. Justices Scalia and Thomas wrote a stinging and well-founded dissent.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Politics, Society

Love Us or Pay Us: Congress Sets a High Price for Citizens to Renounce Their Citizenship

A little noticed provision in new legislation would cost some citizens hundreds of thousands of dollars to renounce their citizenship. Congress has come up with another moronically named bill, Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax (HEART) Act, that contains the provision. It is designed to stem the tide of Americans renouncing their citizenship due to the double taxation that they face when living abroad.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Politics, Society

Democratic Leadership Caves to the White House and Telecommunication Lobby on Immunity

The democratic leadership is preparing to move a final bill giving immunity to the telecommunication industry after months of waiting for public interest to wane. The new bill would give President Bush and the powerful lobby would it has long sought: immunity from violating federal law and the privacy of customers.

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Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

Administration Accused of Holding Detainees That It Knew Were Innocent

On the heels of the Supreme Court’s decision affirming basic constitutional protections for detainees, a report has emerged that shows precisely why habeas corpus is so important. The Administration is accused of knowing that certain detainees were in fact innocent but still held them for years.
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