I have long been a critic of legislation that forces citizens to make healthy choices in their eating or drinking or lifestyle, including the “Big Gulp” laws like those in New York City. Once politicians start to dictate health choices, we have seen the desire to become insatiable as more and more “bad choices” are banned. One such example occurred in my home city, Chicago, when the city council banned smokeless tobacco (as well as raised Chicago’s smoking age from 18 to 21). While the age change will create the anomaly of having 18 year olds subject to the draft in war but not able to choose to smoke, it is the smokeless tobacco that is the most problematic element. There is no second-hand chew health problem for other people as there is for smoking. This is merely an effort to force people to make the choices that the government deems health or correct.
Turkey continues its plunge into authoritarianism under President Tayyip Erdogan. So as to leave no doubt about his tyrannical aspirations, our close ally Erdogan is seeking to change the definition of a terrorist to include anyone he deems to be “supporters” of opponents or listed groups, including members of parliament, civil liberties activists and of course journalists. In in a televised speech this week he declared “democracy,, freedom, and the rule of law have absolutely no value any longer.”
Continue reading ““Democracy, Freedom, and the Rule of Law Have Absolutely No Value Any Longer”: Turkish President Seeks To Declare Journalists and Others “Terrorists” Under Proposed Law”
Below is my column in USA Today on the Garland nomination. I have said previously that I believe that the Senate should give the nominee a hearing and a vote. However, there is nothing in the Constitution that requires (or would compel) such action. Of course, if a Senate prolongs non-consideration, a president can use a recess appointment to temporarily fill the slot (assuming the Senate does not stay in pro forma session to bar such a manuever).
Here is the column:
Continue reading “The Garland Nomination: The Unstoppable Force Meets The Unmovable Object”
Brian Earl Taylor, 21, last week had a unique way to show that he is soulful after being convicted for unlawful imprisonment and carrying a concealed weapon. He did so in song before an audience of Washtenaw County Trial Court Judge Darlene O’Brien and assembled lawyers and onlookers. He chose “Hello” by Adele as shown in the video below.
Florida congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has been widely accused of being a key architect of “rigging” the primary in favor of Hillary Clinton. Among the various controversies surrounding Wasserman Schultz was her blocking Bernie Sanders’ campaign from accessing the DNC’s voter data files, which contain email addresses and telephone numbers for constituents. Now Tim Canova, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University who is running against Wasserman Schultz for her seat in Congress, has revealed that found out that he too is blocked from accessing Democratic voter data. Mind you he is a Democrat but the state Democrats confirmed that only incumbents can gain access to the valuable resource in what critics have said is a blatant effort to favor such candidates. Canova has made the denial to the VAN system part of his campaign while various groups and individuals have campaigned for her to be removed as DNC head.
Continue reading ““We Stand With Our Incumbent Members”: Opponent of Wasserman Schultz in Florida Denied Access To Democratic Voter Data”
The D.C. legal community was rocked today with news that Chief Judge Richard W. Roberts has resigned after being accused of a sexual assault when he served as a prosecutor in a high-profile case 35 years ago. The alleged victim was a teenage witness who has not sued Roberts.
We have been discussing the increasing intolerance on the left for conservative and controversial speech. A case in point comes out of Topeka, Kansas where Adrienne Foster, the director of the Kansas Hispanic and Latino American Affairs Commission, is facing calls to resign for simply supporting Donald Trump in comments made to the Kansas City Star.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all of the leprechauns of the blog from the Turley Clan. It is a beautiful St. Patty’s Day in McLean, Virginia and the leprechauns came to bring treats and tricks to the Turley house this morning.
Continue reading “HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY”
President Barack Obama today surprised many by nominating the moderate Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Merrick Garland. Garland is unlikely to thrill liberals. He is fairly conservative on criminal cases and tends to favor government interests. Conservatives are not going to like his vote to move to reconsider the case that became the historic Heller decision that recognized the individual right to bear arms under the Second Amendment. However, Garland moves virtually everything off the table for the Republicans. While a moderate, he is as far right as a Democratic president could go.
Continue reading “PRESIDENT OBAMA NOMINATES MERRICK GARLAND”
There is a bizarre story out of Fort Worth Texas where a driver videotaped a police officer spraying what appears to be pepper spray at a group of oncoming motorcyclists. The video below is slowed down to show the officer clearly spraying what looks like mace at the group as they drive by.
I will be testifying Tuesday afternoon before the Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law of the Committee on the Judiciary
in the United States House of Representatives. The hearing is entitled “The Chevron Doctrine: Constitutional and Statutory Questions in Judicial Deference to Agencies”. The hearing will be held in Room 2141 (Rayburn House Office Building) and begin at 1:30 PM. My written testimony is below
Continue reading “TURLEY TESTIFIES ON THE CHEVRON DOCTRINE IN HOUSE HEARING”
There is a story out of Lansing Michigan where a well-known prosecutor, Stuart Dunnings III, has been arrested on prostitution-related charges. Dunnings once prosecuted such sex crimes but has been accused of potentially hundreds of prostitution-related incidents, including soliciting for one woman to become a prostitute. His brother was also charged.
Continue reading “Top Michigan Prosecutor Arrested On Prostitution Charges”
We have another abusive case out of Egypt under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. President al-Sisi has destroyed guarantees of free speech and the free press in country, which once seemed on the road to becoming an exception in the Muslim world as a nation embracing basic civil liberties. In the latest case, an Egyptian court sentenced blogger Taymour el-Sobki to three years in jail with hard labor for “spreading false news.” The “false news”? He simply opined that 45 percent of married Egyptian women have the readiness for “immorality” and to cheat on their husbands. That now gets you three years in Egypt.
Continue reading “Blogger Given Three Years In Jail For Discussing Infidelity in Egypt”
As discussed earlier in my Washington Post column, various names have been floating around town of possible nominees to replace the late Associate Justice Antonin Scalia. One of those names is Jane Kelly, a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. The conservative Judicial Crisis Network has not waited for the nomination and is already running an attack ad targeting Kelly. The ad is deeply troubling because it seeks to bar Kelly’s nomination because she zealously defended a child molester, Casey Frederiksen. The ad seeks to punish an attorney for performing her duty as a criminal defense counsel — suggesting that no attorney should defend those accused of such heinous crimes. While we celebrate the courage of presidents like John Adams (who represented the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre), there is a rising tide of intolerance for those who step forward to fulfill the guarantees of due process and the right to counsel under our Constitution. The attack ad is the judicial version of Willie Horton ad used against Michael Dukakis by President George H. W. Bush.
Nikita “Nick” Mackey (left), an attorney and former house representative from North Carolina, has secured a new trial for his client Nicholas Ragin, but not exactly as he had hoped. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has tossed out Ragin’s conviction because Mackey slept through parts of his trial while serving as his defense attorney. However, Ragin spent 10 years on a 30 year conviction for conspiracy and racketeering.