We recently discussed how university presidents and deans have departed from long-standing tradition in remaining neutral on political and legal debates to maintain a welcoming and diverse environment for all faculty members and students. It is becoming more common (indeed expected) for presidents and deans to publicly endorse liberal ideological or legal positions. The latest example is Yale Divinity School (YDS) Dean Gregory Sterling, who issued a statement not only opposing the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade but declaring there is no “biblical basis” for abortion bans. Continue reading “Yale Divinity Dean: There is “No Biblical Basis” for Abortion Bans”
In a rare move, Supreme Court Marshal Gail Curley has sent letters to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin demanding that authorities put an end to picketing and “threatening activity” outside the homes of SCOTUS justices. The letter seeks to use state laws to achieve what the Justice Department has clearly rejected under federal law. If the letter prompts arrests, we could see a major free speech challenge in the courts. The timing of the letter, however, is particularly interesting and may reflect a recognition of the limits of the federal law.
Continue reading “The Supreme Court Marshal Calls on States To Crackdown on Protesters”
Late Friday, the Texas Supreme Court cleared the way for the state to enforce its abortion ban from 1925. The law also exposed abortion providers to lawsuits and financial penalties if they perform abortions. The legislature is planning to pass more abortion-related laws in the coming term, including at least one that could result in a major constitutional challenge.
Continue reading “Texas Supreme Court Upholds State Law Banning Abortions”
We have previously discussed how New York has proven the gift that keeps on giving for gun rights advocates. New York Democrats have passed a series of laws that led to catastrophic losses in federal court, including the recent major ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen. After each loss, the same politicians circle the firing squad again and pass the next round of questionable gun limits. New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul promised such legislation within an hour of the release of Bruen. It has now passed with the help of a special session in the resumption of this inexorable cycle.
Below is my column in the Hill on the surprising claim this week that the Secret Service ignored direct and repeated demands of former President Donald Trump to go to Capitol Hill on January 6th. It is an allegation that raises some interesting questions. On one hand, the Secret Service is trained to take immediate action to protect a president. On the other hand, it cannot effectively control the presidency by controlling a president like a modern Praetorian Guard. In the end, if this account is true, the security team was likely wrong in refusing the order of the President to be taken to Capitol Hill.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Presidential Protection or Abduction: Why Secret Service Wrong for all the Right Reasons on Jan. 6”
In what could become a major escalation over privilege, the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot has issued a subpoena to former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone. Much of Cipollone’s positions and statements have already been made part of the record through documents and witnesses. However, the J6 Committee wants to force him to testify directly. That could trigger a major court right if Cipolone continues to resist testifying.
Continue reading “Former Trump White House Counsel Subpoenaed by J6 Committee”
There is an old expression in the media that some facts are just too good to check. It is a recognition that journalists can sometimes be reluctant to endanger a good story by confirming an essential fact. The Select Committee on the Jan. 6th riot is facing a similar accusation this week after critical witnesses not contradicted some of the most explosive assertions of last week’s witness, Cassidy Hutchinson. Specifically, critical witnesses said that no one on the Committee reached out to confirm her account of former President Donald Trump lunging for the wheel in “the Beast” in a physical altercation with his security team on that day. The controversy highlights the failure of the Committee to offer a balanced investigation.
Attorney General Dana Nessel has lost the Flint case in spectacular fashion this week. Over six years ago, I wrote earlier about misgivings over the prosecutions but Nessel’s office created new challenges for the prosecution. In an unanimous 6-0 ruling, the Michigan Supreme Court held that her office committed a fatal and inexplicable error in prosecuting nine officials for the Flint water crisis, including former Gov. Rick Snyder. The court ruled that prosecutors doomed the case when they decided to bypass the conventional grand jury system in favor of a single judge to indict the officials. Now the cases have been tossed out. Continue reading ““Star Chamber Comeback”: Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel Loses Flint Water Cases in Spectacular Fashion”
Below is my column on the growing attacks on the legitimacy of the Supreme Court after the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. As the Court ends its term, Democratic leaders are calling for removing justices, packing the Court, and other extreme reactions to the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
Here is the column:
We have previously discussed the growing evidence that President Joe Biden has repeatedly lied about his knowledge of his son Hunter Biden’s foreign dealings. Now an audiotape of the President highlights those contradictions. In the call from late 2018, Joe Biden calls to discuss a New York Times article detailing Hunter’s dealings with a Chinese oil tycoon accused of economic crimes — telling him, “I think you’re clear.” Once again, the refusal of Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel in this matter is itself becoming a scandal in the face of these contradictions. Continue reading “‘I Think You’re Clear”: New Audiotape is the Latest Contradiction of President Biden’s Denials of Knowledge of Hunter’s Foreign Dealings”
Cornell University has been silent after Cornell University biology Professor Randy Wayne raised the sudden disappearance of a bust of President Abraham Lincoln in front of a bronzed Gettysburg Address plaque in a library display. Wayne told The College Fix that he had heard that the display was removed after a complaint, but there is no confirmation of the reason since the university has not responded to him or media inquiries. Wayne is left asking the same question as Dick Holler in his 1968 song “Abraham, Martin and John“:
“Anybody here, seen my old friend Abraham?
Can you tell me where he’s gone?
He freed a lot of people, but it seems the good, they die young
You know I just looked around and he’s gone
Professor Wayne simply heard “Someone complained, and it was gone.” Continue reading ““Anybody Here, Seen my Old Friend Abraham?”: Cornell Silent on Disappearance of Lincoln Bust and Gettysburg Address”
As previously discussed, there has been a campaign from the left to pressure firms to force out Republican lawyers or to drop conservative clients (with the support of lawyers and legal commentators). Now, after former Solicitor General Paul Clement and his colleague Erin Murphy won one of the most significant constitutional victories in history, Kirkland & Ellis has yielded to the mob and forced them out of the firm. It seems that, if you want to take a Second Amendment case, you should have the decency of losing. In a column in the Wall Street Journal, the lawyers recount how they were shown the door after objections from lawyers in the firm and clients. The left appears to be channeling the views of Dick the Butcher in Shakespeare’s Henry VI that “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” Continue reading ““The First Thing We Do”: Liberals Push Two Leading Lawyers Out of Major Firm After Winning Second Amendment Case”
Below is my Hill column on what to expect in a post-Roe world. That world is already taking shape with states crafting their laws reflecting the values of their citizens from Colorado passing a law protecting the right to abortion up to the moment of birth to Louisiana banning all abortions except in limited circumstances. The fact is that most Americans are in the middle in this debate with more nuanced views than many political leaders. In the months to come, we will see if that view will prevail in the majority of states.
Here is the column:
We have been discussing political figures like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. questioning the need for a Supreme Court or media figures calling for the Supreme Court to be abolished because it is not ruling the way that they demand. Such extremist views have always found a place in public discourse, but what is alarming is the degree to which legal academics have joined in this reckless rhetoric. Law professors like Berkeley Dean Erwin Chemerinksy have called the justices “partisan hacks” while others have supported targeting the individual justices at their home. Georgetown Law Professor Josh Chafetz declared that “when the mob is right, some (but not all!) more aggressive tactics are justified.” Now the dean and chancellor of University of California Hastings College of the Law David Faigman is questioning the legitimacy of the Court after the ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Continue reading “Hastings Chancellor and Dean Questions the Legitimacy of the Supreme Court After Dobbs”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
Having seen over the years protesters engaged in voicing their grievances in fashions ranging from the peaceful to the violent, I believe it is incumbent to provide guidelines in the hope of furthering a cause without the distractions that spill over into not only silencing important messages but preventing consequences that hurt others.
I propose the idea of Honorable Civil Disobedience.