4th Amendment
Spy Satellites & Wall Street Bailout
Friday, October 3rd, 2008This has been a dreadful week for Constitutional government in the United States. First, the government funds the National Applications Office. This is another step towards combining the US military with domestic law enforcement. Next, they enact the Wall Street bailout bill, one of the biggest crimes ever committed against the US Taxpayer.
The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement
Wednesday, September 17th, 2008The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement is the most important treaty you’ve never heard of. The big western countries are busy negotiating this big trade deal in secret. The news about ACTA that has leaked out of the negotiations is cause for concern.
Meanwhile, the US Senate Judiciary Committee has voted for a bill called The Enforcement of [...]
FISA Court Denies Public Access
Monday, September 1st, 2008The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was passed in 1978 and revised a few weeks ago. This law creates a SECRET COURT, to which the government has to go to get a rubber-stamped warrant to conduct surveillance on foreigners on US soil.
The ACLU sued to get access to proceedings held by this court. Unsurprisingly, the attempt [...]
GPS & the Fourth Amendment
Thursday, August 14th, 2008Since 1967, the US Supreme Court has acknowledged that the 4th Amendment will have to evolve with the advances in technology. The case law is getting interesting.
US v. Garcia is a 2007 case from the 7th Circuit. Follow the link and have a look at the decision for yourself. You can read a Harvard Law [...]
H.R. 6702: Strengthening the 4th Amendment
Monday, August 4th, 2008The Department of Homeland Security claims that it has the right to take away a traveler’s laptop or other electronic device, keep it indefinitely, and share the data with anybody they want, without any suspicion of wrongdoing.
House Resolution 6702, by Ron Paul and Eliot Engel, would require the Department to show reasonable suspicion of criminal [...]
Strip-Searched Kid Can Sue
Saturday, July 12th, 2008Savannah Redding, a 13 year-old honor student, was strip-searched at school because a girl who already was in trouble said Savannah might be carrying ibuprofen.
The 9th Circuit says Savannah has the right to sue the child molester school administrator who did it. The case raises issues in two different areas: the 4th Amendment’s protection against [...]
FISA Update: Hillary Clinton Defends the Constitution
Thursday, July 10th, 2008The President signed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. This is more dreadful news for those of us who respect the rule of law.
This bill gives the government even more power to collect highly personal data without a warrant or probable cause. It gives immunity the big telecommunications companies that illegally conspired with the Bush Administration [...]
Resisting FISA
Saturday, June 28th, 2008The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is a draconian bill that will make all of us significantly less safe - from the prying eyes of our own government. Not only does this bill allow the government to record all international phone calls and data messages that cross the US border, it gives the big telecommunications companies [...]
FISA v. 4th Amendment
Friday, June 20th, 2008In yet another craven act of political cowardace, the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives has given the Bush Administration another huge victory over Traditional American Liberty.
President Bush claims that telecommunications companies that illegally conspired to conduct warrantless wiretaps and data searches should be immune from prosecution - because he told them it was [...]
Arizona v. Gant
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008Here’s a very interesting case about search & seizure law. The question presented: is it OK for cops to search a lawfully parked car after they have the suspect in custody?
For further study, have a look at the Arizona Supreme Court Decision in this case. Read the decision in Thornton v. US, which is the [...]