The History Of Election Day

November 1, 2010

Election Day has been set for the first Tuesday in November since 1845 by act of Congress.
Article II, Clause 4 of the Constitution gives Congress the power to determine Election Day:
“The Congress may determine the Time of choosing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the […]

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Constitutional Scholar Obama Needs Remedial Class

October 29, 2010

Constitutional scholar Barack Obama may need to go back to Harvard for a remedial class or two. Last week the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) issued the Administration its 2010 “Privacy Report Card.” The results were not good.
The Administration performed most poorly in the area of civil liberties. The report cites Obama as having “aggressively […]

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Public Body Cavity Search Videotaped

October 27, 2010

Minneapolis police were caught on video tape last March conducting a body cavity search of a motorist after stopping his vehicle. The victim, Recardo Meeks, has now brought a complaint against the Police through the City’s Civilian Review Authority.
According to this account, a security camera “shows Meeks leaving his car and getting patted down and […]

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Cops and Cameras Are A Dangerous Mix

October 25, 2010

It might be dangerous to pull out your camera anywhere near a cop these days. Fortunately, a recently settled law suit stemming from a New York City incident may change things.
Antonio Musumeci, a 29 year-old computer programmer from New Jersey, was arrested for filming the arrest of a political activist outside the New York Federal […]

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Tee Shirts, Tea Shirts, And The First Amendment

October 20, 2010

Two tee shirt incidents are in the news. There is the “Tea Shirt” case that is getting a lot of coverage. Then there’s this story from Baldwinsville, New York. Both present constitutional questions regarding free speech and the first amendment.
A Flagstaff, Arizona  woman wants to wear her “Tea Party” shirt into her local polling place when […]

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Columbia Professor Files Civil Rights Suit Over Traffic Stop

October 19, 2010

Columbia professor Marc Lamont Hill has filed a Federal Civil Rights lawsuit against the City of Philadelphia and individual police officers over a June traffic stop. The suit alleges that officers “intentionally used excessive force . . . which was unreasonable, unjustifiable, and unconstitutional” when they pulled him over. Specifically, the complaint alleges that Hill […]

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Are Prostitution Laws Unconstitutional?

October 18, 2010

Recent events have raised the question of whether U.S. prostitution laws are unconstitutional. Last week’s decision by a Canadian court striking down portions of  that nation’s federal prostitution law is causing similar discussions south of the border. The reaction from some on the right has been immediate and predictable. Former Judge Robert Bork was interviewed by […]

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Nose Rings And Religious Freedom

October 13, 2010

The ACLU is suing to defend a student’s right to wear a nose ring to school on religious freedom grounds. Fourteen year old Ariana Iacono was suspended from Clayton High School on four occasions for wearing a nose ring. Ms. Iacono and her mother claim that she wears the nose ring in accordance with her […]

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The Old “Fruit of The Poisonous Tree” Doctrine

October 12, 2010

During the first year of law school all students are taught the doctrine called “fruit of the poisonous tree.”  According to Wikipedia:
“Fruit of the poisonous tree is a legal metaphor in the United States used to describe evidence that is obtained illegally.[1] The logic of the terminology is that if the source of the evidence […]

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Smoking Pot is Unconstitutional?

October 11, 2010

Is Smoking Pot Unconstitutional? In August former administrators of the DEA sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder asking him to sue the State of California if Proposition 19 passes in November. That proposition would legalize the possession,production, and sale of marijuana. The letter argues that Prop. 19 would violate the Supremacy Clause of […]

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