I recently published a column in the Los Angeles Times on reforming the Supreme Court with three fundamental changes that could be accomplished without a constitutional amendment. Below is a longer version of that column on the three reforms and their implications.
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the nomination of Tenth Circuit Neil Gorsuch. If President Trump sought to change the subject from immigration, I doubt this will do it. However, as I discuss in the column, if he sought to quiet restless Republicans over a truly dreadful performance of the Administration in the first week, the nomination should do so. He is a jurist with impeccable credentials and will be very impressive in the upcoming hearings. He is, to put it simply, a game changer.
Continue reading “GAME CHANGER: THE GORSUCH NOMINATION GOES TO CAPITOL HILL”
Sheena Boll, 35, has been found guilty of a rather bizarre crime in London. The teacher posed as a sexual abused 14-yer-old student to implicate a colleague of pedophilia. In her underaged persona, Boll told police that she was sexually assaulted by the teacher. The police responded with a full investigation that led them back to the faux 14-year-old victim.
The Los Angeles Times has published my column on reforming the Supreme Court. If President Trump truly wants to leave a legacy on the Court, he should focus not on changing the membership but changing the institutional itself. Continue reading “If Trump Seeks A Legacy On the Court, He Should Change The Court Itself . . . Not Its Membership”
I have the pleasure today of speaking at the keynote before the CATO conference in Naples Florida being held a the Ritz-Carlton. Apropos of the current debate over the Trump executive order on refugees, the speech will address the scope of, and limits on, executive power. The speech will start at 11 a.m.
Continue reading “Turley To Speak As Keynote At Cato Conference”
Woody Hart, 70, taught history at the Sutter Middle School in Folsom, California. In a class on the civil war, Hart displayed the Confederate flag to middle schoolers in his history class along with the union flag. That educational display reportedly led to Hart being forced into retirement.
President Donald Trump has made his choice for the Supreme Court and it is Tenth Circuit Judge Neil Gorsuch, 49. With the selection, President Trump would be submitting a jurist with unassailable credentials and proven intellect. He is also someone with a proven conservative record, though there are a few blind spots for those who want a nominee vaccinated against what conservatives view as the David Souter virus — a creeping condition where a conservative gravitates to the left of the Court with time. Last night, The Hill newspaper ran my column on Gorsuch and his unquestioned qualifications.
Continue reading “TRUMP NOMINATES NEIL GORSUCH FOR THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT”
President Donald Trump fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates Monday night for “refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States.” As I stated on “Morning Joe” this morning, Trump clearly has the right to fire Yates. Indeed, Yates’ action (and rationale) contradicts long-standing Justice Department policies on such issues. Despite my personal opposition to this executive order, I believe that Yates was mistaken to take this action and that it does not serve the interests of justice to obstruct efforts to have this matter fully litigated before a court for independent review.
Continue reading “Trump Fires Acting Attorney General Over Refusal To Defend Executive Order”
I previously discussed how President Donald Trump has the advantage in a constitutional challenge of this executive order suspending entry for refugees and imposing special limitations on seven stated countries. As I have noted, this does not mean that there are not legitimate questions raised, particularly over the express preference to be given “religious minorities” under the order. However, the case laws heavily supports a president’s plenary power over such border controls. There remains however a question over whether the law could be constitutional under a president’s inherent authority but still unlawful under statutory authority. Most of that argument centers on the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which bars discrimination based on nationality or place of origin. There are clearly compelling arguments on both sides of this question, but once again I believe that critics may be overstating the 1965 law as making the executive order facially invalid. As I have repeatedly stated since this executive order was signed, I believe it was a terrible mistake, poorly executed, and inimical to our values as a nation. However, legal analysis by a court should not be influenced by such personal viewpoints. The question is solely whether the president is barred statutorily from taking this action.
Continue reading “Is The Trump Executive Order on Refugees Unlawful?”
The Trump Administration has maintained that the new executive order on refugees is not a Muslim ban. It is a compelling argument given the fact that only seven Muslim countries are singled out. Yet, Administration lawyers will have to deal with countervailing statements from President Trump that he wants to give preference to Christians as refugees. Now Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R), a close confidant to President Trump, may have magnified the problems with an interview where he discusses how President Trump asked him to craft “Muslim ban.”
Continue reading “Giuliani: Trump Told Me He Wanted A “Muslim Ban””
Another incident has captured the growing hate exhibited on both sides of the widening political rift in this country. Robin A Rhodes, the president of Nitrofreeze Cryogenic Solutions (a metals company based in Worcester) is accused of a vile attack on a Delta employee due to her Muslim faith Rhodes allegedly abused Rabeeya Khan in the Delta Air Line Sky Club and kicked her. He also is quoted as declaring “Trump is here now” and “he will get rid of all of you.”
Yesterday, I discussed the constitutionality of the executive order halting all refugee entries to the United States. Late on Saturday, U.S. District Court Judge Ann Donnelly ruled in favor of a habeas corpus petition filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The petition was brought on behalf of two Iraqi men detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Friday. As I discussed on CNN after the ruling, this is decision to stay not to enjoin. The latter will require a showing by the ACLU that it is substantially likely to prevail on the merits, a tough standard to satisfy. Judge Donnelly effective froze developments in the case pending a hearing on the case.Continue reading “Federal Court Stays Executive Order On Refugees”
Sheldon Isaiah Cheese, 17, will be tried as an adult for a robbery of a . . . .
Continue reading “Can You Guess What This Person Was Charged With?”
Late Friday, President Donald Trump carried out one of his primary campaign promised this week with a suspension on the entry of all refugees to the United States and an order for “extreme vetting” as a condition for entry for some foreign citizens. The order below specifically suspends entry of all refugees to the United States for 120 days, bars Syrian refugees indefinitely, and blocks entry into the United States for 90 days for citizens from seven countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The order had immediate impact on travelers who were denied entry to the United States and held at some airports like JFK. Lawsuits have already been filed challenging the executive order but those challenges will face a considerable challenge in seeking an injunction by a federal court.
Continue reading “Is The Trump Executive Order On Refugees Constitutional?”
