Category: Constitutional Law

Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, International

“Deadnaming”: British Woman Arrested For Referring To Transgender Activist By Her Prior Gender

I have been a long critic of the hate crime laws in Great Britain which has devastated free speech protections with regular criminal charges against people deemed to be insulting or harassing to others. One case highlights how such speech codes have turned courts into micromanagers of manners and language used by citizens in public. It began with a mother, Kate Scottow (left), being arrested in front of her children for the crime of referring to a transgender woman as a man online. The alleged victim, transgender activist Stephanie Hayden, has now charged that she is being denied free speech after being accused of trolling on the Internet.

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Constitutional Law, Free Speech, International, Uncategorized

The U.S. Bars Entry To Founder Of The BDS Movement

We have previously discussed the decision to bar certain travelers from the United States based on their political views or associations. I have long opposed such orders as inimical to free speech and counterproductive for the country as a whole. The latest example of this policy is the barring of Omar Barghouti, the co-founder of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement. According to NPR, the Palestinian activist was prevented from entering to speak to various groups who wanted to hear from him. The government prevented that as well as his desire to attend his daughter’s wedding.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics

AND SO IT BEGINS . . . ASSANGE ARRESTED

On Thursday, British authorities arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy in London after Ecuador abandoned its long-standing commitment to protect Assange from a coordinated effort of the United States and a variety of other countries as intelligence organizations. American intelligence has long demanded the prosecution of Assange who disclosed controversial military operations in the United States. The arrest will now trigger litigation over the status of Assange. Was he acting as a journalist, a whistleblower, a spy, or a dupe?

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Academia, Constitutional Law, Media, Politics

Turley To Speak At Utah Valley University

I have the pleasure of speaking today and tomorrow at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. I will be speaking on Wednesday on “A Crisis of Faith: How Trump Has Changed Journalism in America.” The speech will explore the history and evolution of American journalism as well as the challenges presented in the last two years. While I have been critical of President Donald Trump over his attacks on the media, I also believe that American media has become more partisan and biased in its coverage. The speech will look at the changing standards and economics governing journalism in America.

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Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Politics

Unpacking The Court: Democrats Seek Expansion For The Wrong Reason And In The Wrong Way

Below is my column in the Los Angeles Times on the calls by various Democrats to “pack” the Supreme Court to break the conservative majority. Like the FDR scheme, it is a case of doing the right thing for the wrong reason and in the wrong way. As a longtime advocate of expansion (here and here and here and here), the column advocates an alternative approach — not to pack but to unpack the Court. While my approach has been criticized by justices who oppose any expansion, it would address some of the most dysfunctional aspects of the Court.

Here is the column:

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Politics, Society

Congress Moves To Grab Trump Tax Records From Last Six Years

As expected, the House Democrats demanded the last six years of President Donald Trump‘s tax returns from the Internal Revenue Service. In a letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., demanded both personal and business tax information from 2013-2018, including individual and corporate tax returns. Trump has failed to supply his tax records in a departure from decades of tradition. He is wrong to do so. However, the oversight value of these taxes seem sketchy at best.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Supreme Court

Supreme Court: No Constitutional Guarantee Of “Painless Death” In Executions

In a major 5-4 ruling on Monday, the United States Supreme Court ruled Monday that the Eighth Amendment does not guarantee a “painless death” in capital punishment. The opinion, written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, returned to the origins of the amendment and concluded that Russell Bucklew’s rare medical condition raising the danger of hemorrhage and choking does not constitute a constitutional barrier to execution. The opinion is Bucklew v. Precythe. 

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Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law, Media, Politics

Trump’s Noble Moment: Waiving Executive Privilege Over The Special Counsel Report

Below is my column in the Hill newspaper on the decision of President Donald Trump to waive executive privilege and the announcement of Attorney General Bill Barr that he has no intention to even give the White House an early look at the report. While Trump has not received any praise for that decision, it would (if true) represent a significant departure from past presidents and a major advance for transparency in government. Indeed, as discussed below, despite President Barack Obama’s pledge to be the most transparent president in history, Trump could have a greater claim to that distinction.

Here is the column:

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, International, Politics, Religion

Brunei Adopts Islamic Sharia Law To Stone Homosexuals and Adulterers To Death
Emblem of Brunei

The nation of Brunei has taken the final plunge into extreme Islamic laws with the adoption of the medieval Sharia law. As a result, the kingdom will stone to death homosexuals and adulterers. The expansion of Sharia law into Asia is a troubling development for human rights and civil liberties.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Politics

Fast and Curious: Holder Demands Full Disclosure of Mueller Report Despite His Own Record Of Contempt

Former Attorney General Eric Holder has declared that the findings of Special Counsel Robert Mueller is not the end of the obstruction inquiry but only the “beginning of obstruction.” Holder has demanded that Attorney General William Barr release the report despite the contrary precedent of Holder himself in refusing to disclose critical information in the “Fast and Furious” scandal. Holder previously declared that Mueller was certain to find criminal obstruction by Trump.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Politics

Mueller: No Russian Collusion

The summary of the findings of the Special Counsel is out and, as predicted, it has found no Russian collusion. It declined to make a finding on obstruction and left the matter to the Congress and the public. Frankly, the latter finding seems a bit curious. There is a criminal code on the elements of this crime and we did not wait for two years for Meuller to say “meh.” Attorney General Bill Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein however did look at the evidence and concluded that the evidence does not amount to obstruction.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, International, Society

Singer Complains About The Lack Of Free Speech In Egypt So Egypt Bans Her From Performing

Our close ally, Egypt, is again proving the worst expectations of its authoritarian rule. Singer Sherine Abdel-Wahabdemon commented to an audience in Bahrain that “Here I can say whatever I want. In Egypt, anyone who talks gets imprisoned.” Egypt could object and show that it remains a nation committed to free speech. Instead, it immediately proved her correct by banning her from ever performing in her native country. Egypt is obviously not disturbed by the world knowing that it is opposed to basic civil liberties. It was more concerned that its arbitrary arrests and punishments had not silenced this star and it was intent on showing other Egyptians what would happen if they even acknowledge their lack of free speech. What is truly depressing is that the government of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi had the Egypt’s Musicians Union silence a fellow artist, who in turn has begged for forgiveness for acknowledging that free speech no longer exists in Egypt.

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Columns, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Media, Politics

The Max Bialystock School of Prosecution: Manafort Charges Flaunt A Disregard For The Constitution
YouTube

Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the New York charges brought against Paul Manafort. As I have previously written, double jeopardy protections have been watered down by the Supreme Court through the years. However, this is also a matter of state constitutional protections. Regardless of the outcome, there are troubling concerns raised by this filing. Many New Yorkers often see themselves as civil libertarians, but such concerns seem to be dismissed when the target is an unpopular individual like Manafort.

The New York Constitution has a prohibition on double jeopardy, which is further defined under New York’s Criminal Procedure Law 40.20 which states, “A person may not be twice prosecuted for the same offense.” Section 40.30 sweeps broadly to include any case “filed in a court of this state or of any jurisdiction within the United States, and when the action either: (a) Terminates in a conviction upon a plea of guilty; or (b) Proceeds to the trial stage and a jury has been impaneled and sworn or, in the case of a trial by the court without a jury, a witness is sworn.” That would include not just federal counts but those that were subject to both Manafort’s convictions and guilty pleas.

Here is the column:

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