Author: Paul Engel
Like many of you, I am a product of the public schools. Like many of you I thought the Constitution was for lawyers and judges. One day I read the Constitution, and was surprised to find I didn't need a law degree to understand it. Then I read the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers and even the Anti-Federalist Papers. As I learned more and more about our founding fathers and documents I saw how little we know about how our country was designed to work and how many people just didn't care. I started The Constitution Study to help those who also want read and study our Constitution.
513 – Trump’s Tariffs Go Down at SCOTUS
After only approximately three and a half months, the Supreme Court issued their opinion in the Trump Tariff case. The speed, and the fact that opinion was released so early in the court’s term, should indicate both how urgent the case was, and how impactful.
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512 – Free Speech Reprieve in Hawaii
The Hawaiian legislature passed Act 191 in an attempt to prohibit “materially deceptive media” that would harm the “reputation or electoral prospects of a candidate in an election”. This seems like an infringement on free speech. Thankfully the District Court for the District of Hawaii agreed.
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511 – Private Property vs Gun Control
How far can a state go to regulate the right to bear arms? Can a state override a person’s property rights? Can Hawaii proactively prohibit lawful gun owners from carrying on private property without owners prior consent? That is the question in the Supreme Court case Wolford v. Lopez.
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510 – When Governments Replace Parents
We’ve all heard of the Nanny State, when government stops representing the people and tries to parent them. While there have been many attempts over the years for states to take over the parenting role of children, all with good intentions of course. However they never seem to learn that when the state tries to act as the parent, they not only fail, but often abuse the very children they claim to protect.
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509 – Congressional Subpoenas
In a recent press release, the House Oversight Committee voted to advance two resolutions to hold “President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with duly issued subpoenas.” The question is, were those subpoenas lawful?
508 – Men in Women’s Sports – Oral Arguments
Two cases came before the Supreme Court for oral arguments asking the same basic question. Can states prohibit men from participating in women’s sports?
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507 – Constitutional Carry, but…
More than half of the states in the union allow constitutional carry, the right to carry a firearm without a permit or license. While Tennessee claims to have constitutional carry, their constitution places a but in that. A recent case in Tennessee Chancery Court asks whether two laws restricting someone’s ability to bear arms is constitutional or not.
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506 – Copyright Shakedown
Copyrights and patents are important protections for inventors, authors, and all sorts of creators. In the case Cox Communications v. Sony Music Entertainment, I’m reminded of the response Willie Sutton gave when asked why he robbed banks. “Because that’s where the money is.” Because this case seems more like a copyright shakedown than the protection of copyrights.
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