The US Supreme Court just narrowed the 4th Amendment’s protections against unreasonable searches and seizures in a case called Herring v. United States. This is a case about the Exclusionary Rule. Writing for the 5-4 majority, Chief Justice Roberts argues that the mistakes of law enforcement are not serious enough in the case to justify [...]
The US Marine Corps is participating in sobriety checkpoints in California. Maybe the California Highway Patrol and the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department are afraid to bust people for drunk driving without military protection. On the other hand, maybe there are more sinister reasons.
Read more about this story here, here and here.Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
Hope is one of the most powerful drugs, but it’s no substitute for progressive change. Our new President is dedicated to preserving a corrupt system. The US military is deploying in the USA. The government is going to bail out creditors instead of debtors. Get [...]The Connecticut Supreme Court has just legalized gay and lesbian marriage, based on their reading of the state constitution. The court applied intermediate scrutiny to the plaintiff’s equal protection claim. This is another well-reasoned and thoughtful decision. There were three dissenting opinions; these too are well-crafted, but they’re still on the wrong side of history. [...]
This 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 US Army is going to have a permanent garrison on US soil. The Third Infantry Division’s First Brigade Combat Team will take up residence on October 1, 2008. It is going to train to use force on Americans.
This is another signal event that shows hard times are coming. We’re on a slippery [...]The City of Santa Cruz, California has sued the US Attorney General over federal interference with California’s medical marijuana law. Among other things, the plaintiffs allege that the government’s conduct violates the 10th Amendment. The defense brought a motion for summary judgment on the 10th Amendment issue, which they recently lost. San Diego and San [...]
The right to privacy is in deep trouble throughout the western world. The latest bad news comes from France, which has just been saddled with a new national intelligence agency with the power to keep track of the political ideas and sex lives of people who are not suspected of being criminals.
Time will [...]I discussed this case back in May. It involves a lesbian who was denied medical treatment at a fertility clinic because of her sexual orientation. The doctors argued that both the federal and the state Constitutional guarantees of the free exercise of religion and free speech should override the California anti-discrimination law. The California Supreme [...]
The Americans With Disabilities Act requires special accommodations be given to students with learning disabilities when they take tests. The question is, what accommodations are appropriate? This is a scientific question and sometimes reasonable people can differ about both the diagnosis and the accommodations. The West Virginia Law Examiners gave a bar candidate three days [...]
