Today we discussed the vow of the majority of the Minneapolis City Council to “dismantle” the police department as well as some historical comparisons to such radical actions. That effort was led in part by Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender who appeared today on CNN. When CNN’s Alisyn Camerota asked about those who are concerned about their personal safety, Bender said that such concerns “comes from a place of privilege” and that people are now experiencing the reality of life for African Americans. While not explored further by CNN, there is at least a possibility that the fear of a home intruder is not “coming from a place of privilege” but a place of self-preservation.
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As the United States has continued to give the regime billions and President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi has been showered with praise from President Donald Trump, the Egyptian regime continues to wipe out free of speech, the free press, and other civil liberties. The latest outrage is the death of Egyptian filmmaker Shady Habash, 24, who was incarcerated for two years without trial for a music video entitled “Balaha” mocking Sisi. The American people has supported this lethally insecure authoritarian leader and a regime at war with the very founding principles of this country. In a letter published by his supporters, Habash wrote “Prison doesn’t kill, loneliness does.”
Below is a longer version of my column that ran in the Los Angeles Times on the danger of using antibody testing as a basis for discrimination. The concept of a pandemic passport of course will only be plausible if such antibodies truly yield a form of immunity. The WHO has declared that there is no evidence to support that claim. Yet, plasma treatments are reportedly successful.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Pandemic Passport And The Danger Of Immuno Discrimination”
President Donald Trump turned to Twitter this weekend in a rage against a less than flattering Times story about his work habits and schedule. The Twitter tirade turned into a demand that New York Times reporters give back the “Nobles” for their coverage of the Russian investigation. That will be difficult for a number of reasons, including the fact that they never received Nobel prizes but Pulitzer Prize. More importantly, the courts have no role in such awards and the suggestion of litigation to force their return is completely meritless and frankly bizarre. Update: President Trump is now claiming that, like the disinfectant remarks, he was just being sacrastic.
Continue reading “President Trump Calls For Lawyers To Strip Reporters Of Their Pulitzer Prizes”
The Supreme Court handed down a major new ruling today that requires state juries to be unanimous to convict defendants in criminal trials. It is a historic “incorporation” ruling that the Sixth Amendment would apply in the same way to the states as it does the federal government. Most rights are incorporated, but the Supreme Court has long allowed this protection to be decided state-by-state. The court’s 6-3 ruling overturned its 1972 decision in Apodaca v. Oregon. Notably, the opinion was written by Justice Neil Gorsuch who continues to follow his conscience in breaking from the right of the Court — as I expect he would when I testified in favor of his confirmation. Gorsuch declared that “Louisiana’s and Oregon’s laws are fully—and rightly—relegated to the dustbin of history.”
Below is my column in USA Today on the pledge of President Donald Trump that he would adjourn Congress under a never used and rarely discussed power of Article II. While Trump pledged to do so a week ago, there has been no mention of the invocation since that time.
In the White House press conference, President Trump stated:
“If the House will not agree to that adjournment, I will exercise my constitutional authority to adjourn both Chambers of Congress. The current practice of leaving town while conducting phony, pro forma sessions is a dereliction of duty that the American people cannot afford during this crisis. It is a scam. What they do. It’s a scam and everybody knows it, and it’s been that way for a long time, and perhaps it’s never done before. It’s never been done before. Nobody’s even sure if it has, but we’re going to do it.”
He later added:
“[Congressional leaders] know. They’ve been warned and they are being warned right now. If they don’t approve it, then we’re going to go this route, and we’ll probably be challenged in court and we’ll see who wins, but when the court hears that we aren’t getting people approved . . . for two and a half years for an important position that we need because of this crisis. We needed these people before, but now we really need these people.”
Here is the column:
In the crush of news this week, one story was a bit buried. U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson has denied former Donald Trump adviser Roger Stone’s motion for a new trial. It was an expected ruling but one that eviscerates the notion of an unbiased jury. I previously discussed the issue of the bias of the head juror and the need for a new trial. What is interesting is that Jackson does not seriously question her political bias but effectively gives a shrug and says “go to jail anyway.”
Continue reading “Federal Judge Dismisses Stone Motion … and Premise Of An Unbiased Jury”
The attorneys general of New York, Connecticut, and Vermont have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider the decision early this year to allow the Trump Administration to rollout its “public charge rule.” The Court split along ideological lines to lift the nationwide injunction. The decision was clearly influenced in part by the strong opposition of some members to lower courts binding the entire country through national injunctive orders. However, it also reflected the view of conservative justices on the inherent authority of the President in the area. The effort to get a reconsideration of the decision based on the pandemic is likely to be viewed by a number of justices as seeking a policy judgment.
The video below shows just how intense some panic buying has become in some stores as demonstrated by a Kentucky couple who was prevented from buying 23 cases of Mountain Dew with 552 individual cans.
Continue reading “Mountain Don’t: Kentucky Couple Has Meltdown After Being Prevented From Mass Purchase Of Mountain Dew”
The D.C. Circuit has ruled that Justice Department must turn over grand jury (Rule 6e) material to Congress — affirming a lower court in ruling against the Trump Administration. What was most interesting about the decision was the overriding necessity: to allow the House to decide if it needs to impeach President Donald Trump for a second time.
Continue reading “A Second Impeachment? D.C. Circuit Orders Justice To Turn Over Mueller Grand Jury Material To Congress”
I have previously written that some Democrats appear to be adopting Trump-like tactics while denouncing Trump for the very same conduct. The trend is spreading with name calling and increasingly outlandish criticisms. The Democrats will not out-Trump Trump, but they will erase any distinction between them if this trend continues. That was evident yesterday when Speaker Nancy Pelosi not only expressed pride in shattering decades of tradition in her conduct at the State of the Union, but changing the role of the Speaker at the SOTU from a strictly neutral figure to an openly partisan one — a change that was widely celebrated by Democrats without any self-awareness at the hypocrisy of the position. Pelosi then added an entirely unexplained allegation that the President was drugged or medicated at the address to the two houses. The media again seemed relatively mild in the face of that allegation as well as the unprecedented conduct of Pelosi.
Continue reading “Pelosi Accuses Trump Of Looking “Sedated” At State Of The Union”
Yesterday, we passed the 39,000,000 mark in views on the blog. We have used these moments to give thanks for our many regular readers around the world and give you an idea of the current profile of readers on the blog. We continue to rank in the top legal blogs in the world and I am particularly proud of our growing international readership. As always, I want to offer special thanks for Darren Smith who has continued to help manage the blog and help out folks who encounter posting problems.
So here is our current profile:
Continue reading “RES IPSA HITS 39,000,000”
We previously discussed the allegations against former Drexel University professor Chikaodinaka Nwankpa, 57, for using $185,000 on adult entertainment and other personal expenses. He has now been charged criminally with theft by unlawful taking and theft by deception. The charging documents however revealed one curious element. Many of the charges were processed during a window between midnight and 2 a.m.
It might be easier for the New York Times to simply say who it is not endorsing. I have long been a critic of media endorsements which I view as self-obsessed as well as inimical to journalistic values of neutrality. For decades I have argued that media should end endorsements of political candidates. The Times however seems to be literally doubling down with its much ridiculed endorsement of both Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. I can certainly understand endorsing either candidate given their achievements and leadership but endorsing both is rather bizarre since they present sharply different policies and approaches. While the editorial board wrote that in choosing these two candidates was “radical” but “realist,” many of us view it as just ridiculous.
Below is my column on history — and some dubious historical claims — related to Senate impeachment trials. As with the conflicting position on witnesses of some senators, the growing narrative in the media that Republicans senators have departed from the tradition of the Senate in commenting on trial has more hypocrisy than history behind it. I have repeatedly encouraged senators not to discuss the evidence or their likely votes, but that is a rule honored historically in the breach by members of this curious trial jury.
Here is column: Continue reading “What History Really Tells Us About Senate Trials”