Below is my column in The Hill to help readers survive this year’s the holiday dinners with friends and family. The cards below can be printed and cut down for easy palming or secreting in a napkin for reference during meals.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Your 2021 Holiday Dinner Political Survival Guide”
We have been discussing the growing attack on free speech in this country, including a widespread movement in academia to curtail free speech rights. Indeed, this movement largely began on college campuses and spread to social media, politics, and journalism. It is now an article of faith for the left to demand censorship or the regulation of speech in the name of social justice. University of Miami’s Mary Anne Franks has a simple solution, and The Boston Globe wants people to consider it: just gut the First and Second Amendments. That’s right, the problem with the Bill of Rights, according to Franks, is that it is too “aggressively individualistic” so the solution is to “redo” the work of the Framers to be more woke compliant. All of those pesky constitutional rulings in favor of free speech rights will then fall away and society can move on with social justice unimpeded by constitutional niceties. Continue reading ““Aggressively Individualistic”: Miami Law Professor Proposes a “Redo” of the First and Second Amendments” 
Below is my column in The Hill on New York’s latest gun control measure — and the latest challenge to a New York law. What is most striking in reviewing the line of gun cases coming out of New York is that the Empire State has done more for gun rights than any “pro-gun” state. Indeed, if you look at the cases expanding gun rights, New York is the greater enabler of Second Amendment expansion of any state. The reason is that these legislative measures are propelled by political rather than legal judgment. For gun owners, New York is proof of what “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” The gun nuisance law is the latest in a long line of mistakes by New York.
Here is the column: Continue reading “New York’s Circular Firing Squad: Gun Groups Sue Over Latest Legislative Misfire”
Below is my column in The Hill on the recent bills proposed in Florida and California on immigration and guns. The bills are the latest examples of “gotcha legislation,” though the Florida bill could raise some interesting legal questions if Gov. Ron DeSantis moves forward with his plan on relocating undocumented persons to Delaware.
Here is the column: Continue reading “The Rise of Gotcha Legislation: Newsom and DeSantis are Legislating Soundbites and Voters are Loving it.”
This week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) finally buried her former persona as a law professor. In a transition that began in 2011, Warren has struggled with the demands of politics that often pit her against core legal principles.
The Livingston County (Mich.) Sheriff’s Office is seeking criminal charges against a Howell woman who posted nasty attacks on Twitter to criticize recent public meeting comments by anti-maskers. Kasey Helton seems an entirely unhinged and uncivil person. However, as will come as no surprise to regulars on this blog, I do not see the basis for such a criminal referral, which creates a chilling effect on free speech. Continue reading “Michigan Woman Criminally Investigated for Social Media Attacks on Anti-Maskers”
There was a surprising claim by Prince Andrew this week by his defense in the lawsuit from Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who claims that she was forced to have sex with him at the behest of Jeffrey Epstein. The Duke of York is arguing that Giuffre was too old at the time of the alleged sexual acts to use the New York Child Victims Act (CVA) to “revive” her claims now. He also repeats his main defense that Giuffre signed a release that bars her lawsuit against him.
Continue reading “Aged Out at 17? Prince Andrew Raises Surprising Defense to Giuffre Lawsuit”
U.S. District Judge James Peterson this week upheld Wisconsin’s voter identification rules for college students. Common Cause and other groups challenged the requirement that student IDs display the student’s signature, an issuance date, and an expiration date. Peterson found that such rules were rationally related to the purpose of combatting voter fraud. Continue reading “Wisconsin Voter ID Law for College Students Upheld”
Below is my column in The Hill on the call by the Biden White House and many in the media to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) in light of the recent decision of the Supreme Court not to enjoin the new abortion law in Texas. The WHPA is routinely described in the media as a “codification of Roe,” the description used by the White House and many Democratic sponsors. It is not. It is in fact what many pro-choice advocates have always wanted Roe to be but have been unsuccessful in establishing through the court system. There are legitimate issues raised by the bill but the sponsors should not hoodwink voters by claiming that this merely codifies the status quo of Roe.
Here is the column:
California Gov. Gavin Newsom thrilled many this weekend by saying that his administration will model a new law on Texas’ abortion ban that would let private citizens sue anyone who makes or sells assault weapons or ghost guns. It won’t work. Legally, that is. It will be hugely successful politically, but not without costs to the state and potential litigants. Continue reading “Send Lawyers, Guns, and Money: Newsom Calls For Gun Ban Modeled on Texas Abortion Law”
The Supreme Court issued decisions today in the pending issues in Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson and United States v. Texas. As anticipated in the earlier column, the Supreme Court did not grant an injunction and dismissed the Biden Administration’s lawsuit. The Court again rejected the notion of enjoining the judge and clerk but it did identify some private parties who can be sued as part of a pre-enforcement action. That represents a partial victory for pro-choice litigants, but the Court returned to a single track for its abortion review. That track originates in Mississippi, not Texas. Dobbs will remain the key decision on reproductive rights and is likely to answer many of the questions in the ongoing Texas litigation. Continue reading “Supreme Court Rejects Injunction of Texas Abortion Law But Allows the Challenge to Proceed in Lower Court”
This week, New York became the latest city to grant voting rights to non-residents – a move that could give voting rights to 800,000 non-citizens in city elections. There are roughly a dozen such cities granting voting rights across the country but there are major questions over the legality of this measure in New York. Continue reading “Is New York’s Voting Rights For Non-Citizens Legal?”
Many of us were watching the oral argument in Carson v. Makin over the exclusion of certain religious schools from the state subsidies in Maine. A majority of conservative justices seemed to be leaning toward supporting the challengers in demanding that the state remain strictly neutral in such tuition programs. However, the moment that most struck me was an exchange between Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and Maine Chief Deputy Attorney General Christopher Taub where Taub appeared to acknowledge that legislatures have every right to ban critical race theory (CRT) from being taught. It is a legislative movement that is opposed by teacher unions and many Democrats. Continue reading “The Argument in Carson v. Makin Unexpectedly Turns To Critical Race Theory”
A U.S. district court in Georgia became the fourth court to enjoin a Biden Administration vaccine mandate this week. As with the other trial and appellate courts, District Judge R. Stan Baker found that President Biden has exceeded his authority in mandating the vaccine for all federal contractors. In the meantime, outgoing New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio has ordered all private workers to be vaccinated. All of these mandates are on course for a showdown in the Supreme Court where three justices have already expressed skepticism over the mandates. Continue reading “Is The “Workaround” Working? Fourth Court Enjoins Biden Vaccine Mandate”
Below is a version of my column in The Hill on the statement of Justice Sonya Sotomayor on the “stench” of politics in the oral argument in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a challenge to the Mississippi abortion law. The statement seemed directed at Sotomayor’s three new colleagues and the effort to use the new court composition to seek the reduction or overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Court on a Hot Tin Roof: Airing Out “the Stench” from the Oral Argument Over Abortion”