It has long been the U.S. policy to ignore human rights violations of some of our closest allies as part of a realpolitik. However, that means that our citizens give billions to countries who deny their very humanity and criminalize their very being. A case in point is Egypt. Egyptian authorities previously arrested seven people for simply flying a rainbow flag. Now, according to Amnesty International, six men will be subjected to anal examination in the country’s abusive legal system. They are charged with “promoting sexual deviancy” and “debauchery.” What is alarming is that both lawyers and journalists in Egypt have supported such crackdowns. Various reporters expressed outrage at the notion that anyone raised the rainbow flag in public and called for their persecution.
Okay this might get a bit confusing but there is an interesting legal issue here. Wales hooker Scott Baldwin missed playing for the Ospreys after he was bitten on the hand by a lion. The result was that the Cheetahs won the match. What is interesting is that Baldwin’s injury was due to utter stupidity after the reached into a lion’s cage in South Africa to pet the lion. That’s right, a grown man reached into a lion’s cage to pet a lion. The question is when a professional team can penalize a player for injuries due to simple stupidity.
I am leaving Spokane, Washington this morning after a glorious time exploring the woods of the Pacific Northwest. After coming out for a speech to judges and lawyers in this district, I was able to get in three days of hiking. Spokane is one of those cities that is a dream for hikers. In literally just 20 minutes, you can find yourself in the hills and mountains of Washington.
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
In our criminal justice system, appellants tend to fall into three categories: Those who ultimately prevail in their arguments; those who are unable to convince justices of their case’s merits; and those who fall off a cliff and strike every sharp rock on their way to the bottom. Steven Canha apparently suffered the fate of the last category.
After extensive appeals, one of which was to the U.S. Supreme Court, Mr. Canha lost what could be his final personal restraint petition before Washington’s courts of appeals and now the state’s Supreme Court halted the years long contention for his release from prison.
Mr. Canha argues, in short, for a resentencing based on Washington’s determinate sentencing grid by reason of incompatibility of foreign laws to Washington’s and argues for removal of prior convictions to reduce his prison term. But being probably the most unfortunate man in recent memory, a unanimous Court determined applicability of prior violations based largely upon obsolete laws (effective at the time) and time/date dictated ultimately how long his imprisonment occurred.
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
After the recent controversy involving NFL players kneeling before the National Anthem at the beginning football games, long time NFL sponsor Papa John’s Pizza no longer displays the NFL Logo or indications of sponsorship on its official website.
While no reference as to the reasons given has been made readily publicly available, there exists the possibility the company might be having at least reservations with presently displaying a logo engendering increasing disfavor with large segments of its customer base.
Papa John’s once branded itself as the Official Pizza of the NFL.
Continue reading “NFL Logo No Longer Shown On NFL Sponsor Papa John’s Website”
I have previously criticized Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg for her continued political comments in speeches to liberal and academic groups. While not unique on the Court, Ginsburg is something of recidivist in abandoning the long-standing avoidance of justices of political discussions. Indeed, justices previously avoided most public speeches where Ginsburg has readily embraced her public persona. Her latest comments occur on the eve of the start of the new term, a term with an array of major cases that arose from highly charged political conflicts over immigration, discrimination, and gun rights. In her latest comments, Ginsburg echoed comments by Hillary Clinton that sexism was a big part of Trump’s victory. It is precisely the type of political commentary that has cast a shadow over the credibility of the Court in earlier controversies.
Continue reading “Ginsburg Declares Sexism Was Major Factor In Trump Win As Court Starts New Term”
As I discussed in a column in the Hill, the controversy over the anthem protests has expanded into the area of constitutional law with suggestions that comments by President Donald Trump could be part of the basis for his impeachment. While I do not place much credence in such calls (though they constitute a worrisome trend), I do find the political dimension of the controversy fascinating. Polls show that a majority of citizens still share the President’s view that such protests are not appropriate though this percentage has fallen a bit and a majority also rejects Trump’s call for players to be fired for such protests. In the meantime, there is a controversy directed not at Trump or the NFL, but broadcasters like ESPN, which reportedly avoided showing booing fans during these games. There appears to have been a very large and vocal opposition in the stands to the appearance of kneeling players that was not shown as the cameras focused instead on the kneeling players while discussing their protest.
I am still basking in the glory of my Chicago Cubs clinching the Central Division title this week (a division title by a returning World Series champion that has not happened in over a decade). I have been invited by a friend to attend the first game against the Nationals next Friday in Washington. I will be sitting near home plate in the seats of my friend (who I have promised one of my kidneys in return). It appears however that I will have to refrain from advising the Cubs on throws. I was surprised to read this week that a Yankees fan was ejected for yelling information on the expected location of the pitches to the Rays’ catcher, Wilson Ramos. Yankees’ Gary Sanchez was at bat. This is the first that I have heard of fans being barred from predicting throws as opposed to the disgraceful practice of the Boston Red Sox in using Apple watches to improperly communicate throw info to their batters.
Continue reading “Baseball Fan Thrown Out Of Game For Calling Throws”
This afternoon I have the honor of speaking to the District conference in Washington state. The program in Spokane will feature speakers like the Honorable Chief Judge Thomas Rice of the Eastern District of Washington and the Honorable Judge Richard Tallman of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit as well as Washington Attorney General Robert Fergusan. I will be speaking on Executive Privilege and the new controversies raised by the Trump Administration from immigration to sanctuary cities to war powers.
Continue reading “Turley To Speak At Bar Association Conference In Spokane”
We have previously discussed protests against literature and philosophy courses due to their reliance on white male authors from ancient Greece to the Enlightenment. The latest such protest is occurring at Reed College where students called “Reedies Against Racism” are protesting a required humanities class that explores founding works from ancient Greece and Rome. Requiring freshman to read such works is being denounced as “really harmful.” I have long been an advocate of the core curriculum and Western Civilization works (a love for these works that began as an undergraduate at the University of Chicago which helped establish the core curriculum or great works model).
We have previously discussed Antifa and its violent anti-free speech philosophy. The latest violent clashes occurred at Berkeley where middle school teacher and Antifa leader Yvonne Felarca, 47, was arrested for battery and resisting arrest for fighting in Berkeley’s much maligned “empathy tent.”
Below is my column in The Hill Newspaper on the termination of the second travel ban and issuance of the new order by the Trump Administration. As discussed in the column, the Supreme Court went ahead and removed the immigration cases from the schedule for oral argument while agreeing with the Administration to order briefings on whether the cases are now moot. It is hard to see how the cases are not moot in whole or substantial part. The Court tends to take off ramps to avoid constitutional decisions, particularly in the area of the separation of powers. It will hard not to take this obvious off ramp.
Continue reading “Third on a Match: New Travel Ban Raises The Stakes For Challengers”
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit delivered another stinging rebuke of universities and their denial of basic due process protections to students in sexual assault cases. I have been a long critic of the Obama Administration’s rules forcing schools to strip away due process protections in such cases. For that reason, I supported the decision of the Trump Administration to rescind the “Dear Colleague” letter issued by the prior administration. The University of Cincinnati denied a student the right to confrontation — one of the key “reforms” of the Obama Administration demands.
We have long discussed the crushing sexism faced by women in Saudi Arabia under its medieval Sharia legal system. One of the most glaring inequalities was the ban on women driving — a rule that courageous women defied at the risk of their own freedom and well-being. Now, while about 100 years too late, the Kingdom has announced that women will be issued driver’s licenses. Despite the fierce objections that many of us have to the Saudi system, it is important to give credit to the government in rejecting religious and cultural prejudices, including extremist views expressed recently by Saudi clerics.
I just returned from a terrific event at Christopher Newport University on Constitution Day — a debate with Professor John Yoo. While we were delighted by the large number of students who appeared to listen to the debate, we discussed the recent poll on the lack of knowledge of citizens. A recent poll by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) found that, in a survey of over 1,000 citizens, only a quarter were able to name all three branches of the federal government. We just discussed the poll showing that four out of ten Americans cannot name a single right under the first amendment. Once again, these polls leave us with the troubling prospect of a woefully uneducated public on their own government.