SCOTUS addressed its first religious freedom case today under Roberts’ stewardship. The vote was unanimous (with Alito not participating since oral arguments took place before he was sworn in). It was actually a no-brainer in my view, and the Bush Administration rightfully lost. A small Brazilian-based religious sect in New Mexico uses hallucinogenic tea as part of a four-hour ritual … Read More
No, Scalia — You’re The Idiot!
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said that I’m an idiot. People who believe the Constitution would break if it didn’t change with society are "idiots," U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia says. In a speech Monday sponsored by the conservative Federalist Society, Scalia defended his long-held belief in sticking to the plain text of the Constitution "as it was originally … Read More
Free Speech For Me But Not For Thee
Dateline Missouri: Saying the nation’s symbol "deserves more respect than the protest message of some liberal hippie," a Missouri state lawmaker has introduced a bill legalizing the use of force to stop someone from desecrating the American flag. Republican Rep. Sam Gaskill, a former fighter pilot in Vietnam, defended his bill yesterday, insisting the measure would prevent the defilement of … Read More
Someone Please Send A Copy Of The Constitution To The U.S. Department Of Justice
From the NYT: Nor does the N.S.A. program conflict, the Justice Department said, with what many legal analysts had regarded as the exclusive authority for intelligence wiretaps under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, passed by Congress in 1978 in response to Watergate-era political abuses. Some presidential powers, particularly in the area of national security, are simply "beyond Congress’ ability to … Read More
Greenberg On The Physician Suidice Case
I said it, but Greenwald said it better when he writes that the assisted suicide case shows the Administration’s true colors: [O]nce the Bush Administration took power, democratic processes in this area ceased to matter. John Ashcroft was hell-bent on putting an end to physician-assisted suicide in Oregon because he personally believes it to be morally wrong, and he wasn’t … Read More
Greenwald Writes
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Legal Justification For NSA Wiretaps
One of the best pieces in the blogosphere examining the legal landscape of the NSA wiretapping comes from Orin Kerr, law professor at George Washington University, on the right-leaning law blog, The Volokh Conspiracy. Kerr begins: Was the secret NSA surveillance program legal? Was it constitutional? Did it violate federal statutory law? It turns out these are hard questions, but … Read More
Bush And The NSA Wiretapping
This topic has been churning in the blogosphere and media for 48 hours now (at least), and I have nothing new to add. But I am absolutely appalled at the poor defense given to the action, as a matter of constitutional law. The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution is quite simple: There shall be no warrantless search and seizures of … Read More
Billmon on Spying on America
Billmon’s brevity is the source of his wit: Bush declined to discuss the domestic eavesdropping program in a television interview, but he joined his aides in saying that the government acted lawfully and did not intrude on citizens’ rights. "Decisions made are made understanding we have an obligation to protect the civil liberties of the American people," Bush said on … Read More
But Seriously Folks
Rather than making wisecracks (like I do), a blogger from New York gives serious thoughts on The War On Christmas thing. I’ve boiled it down, but you should read the whole thing: Yes I know; you’re sick of this subject. Me too. But here I go… I’m a New York Jew; a life long Democrat and a card carrying member … Read More
SCOTUS Update: Rumsfeld v FAIR
This is arguably one of the most important cases of this term, and I simply didn’t have time to summarize it before oral arguments today. Below is a summary from the folks at SCOTUSblog. Before I begin, I want to make a prediction that the Solomon Amendment will survive this case. The Court is simply too conservative to let it … Read More
Kayes Expresses Herself
Our favorite wingnut columnist, Kaye Grogan, has a new column up. It’s called "Freedom of speech and expression . . . most abused rights" The title alone suggests that Kaye is having trouble with verbs this week, as she prefers to use ellipses. Still, we forge on: Freedom of speech is perhaps one of the most abused freedoms we have. … Read More
More Miers’ Bad Answer
Mier’s answer to the constitutional law question of her questionnaire is generating some press. I blogged about it two days ago (Miers Doesn’t Know Shit About Con Law). My law school prof chimes in here: At one point, Miers described her service on the Dallas City Council in 1989. When the city was sued on allegations that it violated the … Read More
Miers Doesn’t Know Shit About Con Law
I browsed through the Harriet Miers questionnaire submitted to Congress yesterday evening, pausing only to read matters that were interesting. I spotted this question: 17. Constitutional Issues: Please describe in detail any cases or matters you addressed as an attorney or public official which involved constitutional questions. For each case or matter, please describe in detail the constitutional issue you … Read More