Category: Justice

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

The Right’s War on Women

Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty, (rafflaw), Guest Blogger

 
I don’t think Barry Goldwater would recognize Conservatism or his Republican Party if he was alive today. Conservatism used to mean belief in safe and sound economic spending and freedom for all from governments getting too large and too restrictive on personal freedoms. Recently we have seen Republicans offer up a brand new and dangerous definition of rape in an attempt to restrict abortions and to restrict government money being used to pay for them. Now we are seeing another Republican attempt to restrict the use of contraceptives under the guise of ending the alleged use of Federal funds to pay for abortions.

Continue reading “The Right’s War on Women” →

Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Justice, Politics

The NRA Claims That the Government is to Blame For Tucson Shootings

Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty, (rafflaw) Guest Blogger

 

You may recall that after the horrible Tucson shooting massacre, I wrote a piece for this blog suggesting that it might be a good time to consider banning deadly weapons and the high-capacity magazines of the type that the alleged killer used on that fateful day.  It was a difficult issue, but I thought then and still think now that it is an important issue that needs to be discussed by not only us, but by the American public through their Representatives and Senators  in Congress.  With that prior posting in mind, I was shocked to read a story earlier this week about the president of the National Rifle Association, Wayne LaPierre, who blamed the shootings on government policies in a recent speech to the CPAC conference on Thursday, February 10th.  Continue reading “The NRA Claims That the Government is to Blame For Tucson Shootings” →

Courts, Justice, Religion

Faith Healers Given Probation

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

We have previously discussed the death of Kent Schaible, here and here. Kent Schaible, 2, died of bacterial pneumonia because his parents Herbert and Catherine Schaible, a fundamentalist Christian couple, believed in faith healing and declined to get medical attention for their child in Philadelphia. They were convicted of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment.

Common Pleas Court Judge Carolyn Engel Temin sentenced them to 10 years of probation. Continue reading “Faith Healers Given Probation” →

Justice

No Break for Police Caught on Red Light Cameras

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

In Baltimore, Montgomery County, Maryland, there’s a growing number of cameras set up to catch speeders and red light runners. They work well. They work regardless of the type of vehicle. The cameras can’t detect if the vehicle has flashing lights and a siren, so police have been getting snapped. There’s no “officer courtesy”, where a brother officer would be given a break.

The fine for going through a red light is $75 and speeding is $40. The police are crying foul.

Continue reading “No Break for Police Caught on Red Light Cameras” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, Justice, Lawyering, Politics, Supreme Court

Profit From Behind The Supreme Court Bench?

Submitted By Lawrence Rafferty, (rafflaw), Guest Blogger

I will be honest. I am not a big fan of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and as of late, I have had the same less than positive feelings about his wife, Virginia Thomas.  According to a recent Think Progress article, Justice Thomas’ vote on the Citizens United case has allowed his wife’s “consultant” company to profit by educating its customers on the best political causes to invest, I mean, donate to .

Continue reading “Profit From Behind The Supreme Court Bench?” →

Congress, Justice, Military, Politics

Brain Injured Vets vs. Tricare

Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty, (rafflaw), Guest Blogger

 

I have previously written about certain politicians wanting to reduce Disabled Veteran’s disability payments in order to reduce the nation’s debt.  Now it seems that even the Military health care system called Tricare, is balking at providing the necessary, albeit expensive, cognitive rehabilitation therapy for brain injured military personnel.  Once again, wounded vets are being taken advantage of by the very system that is designed to provide them with medical care. 

Continue reading “Brain Injured Vets vs. Tricare” →

Justice, Military, Uncategorized

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell…DON’T Pay!: On Dan Choi, Gays, and the Military

Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger

Since the implementation of the U. S. Military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy in 1993, more than 14,000 gay and lesbian soldiers have been discharged from service. According to the GAO, of those discharged, more than 750 were mission-critical service members and more than 320 had skills in Arabic, Farsi, and Korean languages. Yet, while gays and lesbians with special knowledge and skills were being discharged from the military, the army increased its number of waivers for recruits. According to a 2007 article in the New York Times, military waivers increased 65% from 2003 to 2006. During those years, the Army accepted more applicants who were high school dropouts and applicants who obtained low scores on aptitude tests. The Army also increased its number of “moral waivers” for individuals with criminal pasts. The “sharpest increase” in waivers was for applicants who were guilty of serious misdemeanors—including burglary, robbery, vehicular homicide, and aggravated assault.

Continue reading “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell…DON’T Pay!: On Dan Choi, Gays, and the Military” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, Justice, Lawyering, Society, Torts

Playing It Straight: LPGA’s “Female By Birth” Rule Challenged

Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

California professional golfer (and former police officer) Lana Lawless is challenging the LPGA’s rule requiring tournament participants to be “female by birth.”  The LPGA has ruled, according to Lawless, that as a transgender woman, she is ineligible to compete. The rule seems to fly directly in the face of California’s Unruh Law which holds that all people in the state are “free and equal, and no matter what their sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, marital status, or sexual orientation are entitled to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services in all business establishments of every kind whatsoever.”

Continue reading “Playing It Straight: LPGA’s “Female By Birth” Rule Challenged” →

Congress, International, Justice, Military, Politics

State of the Union Wishlist


Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty (rafflaw), Guest Blogger

In light of the all the hoopla about President Obama’s upcoming State of the Union speech on Tuesday night, I have been thinking of all of the ideas and issues that I would like the President to address in his talk with the country. Since I am a Bears fan and  used to dreaming,  here it goes.
Continue reading “State of the Union Wishlist” →

Congress, Courts, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

Scalia and the Rise of the Celebrity Justice: Should Justices Have a Political Base?

Here is today’s column in the Washington Post on the controversy over Justice Scalia’s appearance on Monday in a Tea Party Caucus event for new House members. I view the issue as having broader implications for the Court.
Continue reading “Scalia and the Rise of the Celebrity Justice: Should Justices Have a Political Base?” →

Courts, Criminal law, Justice

The Ring of Truth

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

Last week, the Fourth District Court of Appeal of the state of Florida issued a ruling denying the motion to suppress. Ruiz v. State of Florida is a drug case dealing with “consent” to search. Freddie Ruiz, charged with trafficking in cocaine and possession of cannabis, moved to suppress, alleging that the evidence was seized unlawfully.

Continue reading “The Ring of Truth” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, Justice, Media

Americans Don’t Have the Right to Learn Just How Detainees Were Tortured

 

Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty (rafflaw), Guest Blogger

Earlier this week I read on the ACLU website the Appellate Court decision in ACLU, et al v. Department of Defense, et al,  which decided you and I are not entitled to learn how our government tortured detainees illegally. “A federal appeals court today ruled that the government can continue suppressing transcripts in which former CIA prisoners now held at Guantánamo Bay describe abuse and torture they suffered in CIA custody. The ruling came in an ACLU Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit to obtain uncensored transcripts from Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRTs) used to determine if Guantánamo detainees qualify as  “enemy combatants.” http://www.aclu.org/national-security/court-rules-government-can-continue-suppress-detainee-statements-describing-tort-0 It didn’t surprise me that the ACLU lost this appeal, but what surprised me is the lack of attention this case got in the main stream media. Continue reading “Americans Don’t Have the Right to Learn Just How Detainees Were Tortured” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Society

Justice Thomas Accused of Reporting Violations

Common Cause has sent the letter below to Justice Clarence Thomas raising concerns over his failure to report his wife’s income in prior years. For full disclosure, I have conferred with Common Cause on this nondisclosure issue and participated as an independent expert in the press conference yesterday on the absence of binding ethics rules for the members of the Supreme Court.

Continue reading “Justice Thomas Accused of Reporting Violations” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

Should Scalia and Thomas Be Retroactively Recused From Citizens United?

I just participated in a press conference (with Stanford Professor Deborah Rhode) dealing with Common Cause’s letter (below) asking the Justice Department to look into alleged conflicts of interest related to Justices Scalia and Thomas in the Citizens United case. Common Cause identified extremely serious issues related to the participation of Scalia and Thomas in events organized by Koch Industries CEO Charles Koch as well as Ginny Thomas’ involvement in Liberty Central.

Continue reading “Should Scalia and Thomas Be Retroactively Recused From Citizens United?” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, International, Justice, Lawyering, Politics

“Spiritual Corruption”: Chávez Jails Judge Who Granted Bail To Banker

Hugo Chávez continues his assault on political and legal protections in Venezuela. In a move that has been denounced internationally, including by Amnesty International, Chávez demanded the arrest of Judge María Lourdes Afiuni after she granted bail to an accused banker. He is demanding 30 years in prison even though his prosecutors could find no bribe (as he originally alleged on the radio). Instead, they found “spiritual corruption” and threw her in jail with many convicts that she previously incarcerated.
Continue reading ““Spiritual Corruption”: Chávez Jails Judge Who Granted Bail To Banker” →