More On Jellyfish Jane
I was rather tired last night when I wrote about Jane Harman and how the NSA wiretap against her was used. Here’s a point I should have made as part of that post — probably as my conclusion. It’s not… Continue Reading
Constitutional Law
Second Amendment Incorporated
The only surprise is that the Ninth Circuit was the court that did it. But I don’t see how you could have got away from this result.
Torture Prosecutions
I’ve not written about the torture memos yet. That’s because they leave me deeply conflicted and I’ve still not reached a complete enough mental resolution of the facts to have a solid opinion.Not about the torture. The news that Americans,… Continue Reading
Peeking At The Parolee’s Privates
Some people still think that civil libertarians get away with too much in front of liberal activist judges. If you’re one of those people still laboring under the assumption that judges are soft on crime, coddle criminals, and make up… Continue Reading
When Religious Freedom Protects Prejudice
I’ve written before, on many occasions, that there are only two kinds of prejudice that seem widely socially acceptable anymore in the United States — that directed against gay people, and that directed against atheists. Both sorts of prejudice take… Continue Reading
Congratulations Iowa
This morning, the Iowa Supreme Court struck down that state’s ban against same-sex marriages. The complete opinion of Varnum, et. al. v. Brien (Iowa Sup. Ct. No. 07-1499, April 3, 2009) can be read here. Interestingly, it is a unanimous… Continue Reading
Attainder!
First, some Constitutional vocabulary. A “bill of attainder” is a law that punishes specific individuals without benefit of trial. A “taking” is when the government takes something from you without “due process of law,” which usually means either giving you… Continue Reading
Bad Facts Make Bad Law (Updated)
There are times I admire groups like Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the ACLU, or American Atheists. The ACLU often does principled work to protect individual freedoms and absorbs the blowback of unpopularity aimed its way by… Continue Reading
Topsy-Turvy World
If I were to ask you to describe the general political tenor of two states in the USA — Arkansas and Washington — you would probably have the first reaction that I did, which is to assume that Arkansas is… Continue Reading
Writing Elsewhere
My blogging life has been light because of an interesting project I’m working on elsewhere, a survey of the concept of church and state in America. It’s non-fiction in three acts — history in the first part, law in the… Continue Reading