From the News
State of the First Amendment Survey
The 2018 State of the First Amendment survey has been released by the Freedom Forum Institute’s First Amendment Center, and to put it bluntly, the news is NOT good! In other good news, three out of four Americans (77%) are supportive of the First Amendment and the freedoms it guarantees. Unfortunately, most Americans are generally…
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Why is Socialism Viewed So Favorably in the US?
Over the past few years I’ve heard of surveys showing an increasingly favorable view of socialism, especially among younger adults. So why the change in attitude and what does it have to do with the Constitution?
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The supreme Court Kicks Small Business in the Shins Again!
By now you’ve probably heard about the supreme Court decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. and how states can now collect sales tax from businesses outside their border. After reading the court’s opinion, I wanted to take some time to discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly I found inside.
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NIFLA, ET AL. v. BECERRA, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CALIFORNIA
This free speech case revolved around a California law and the question: Under what circumstances could state governments require certain types of speech from private entities? The FACT Act requires clinics that primarily serve pregnant women to provide certain notices. Clinics that are licensed must notify women that California provides free or low-cost services, including abortions, and give…
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Carpenter v. United States
I frequently say it is important that the text of a document should drive our understanding of it, not the other way around. This case regarding the need for a warrant to collect cell-site location information (CSLI) for an individual under investigation challenged my assumptions about the Fourth Amendment. While the opinion that the release of…
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Senate Non-Binding Resolution for Greater Role in Tariffs
Granted, this site and much of the work that I do, has come about due to America’s general ignorance about our Constitution. However, sometimes the level of ignorance, especially from those who have sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution, just takes my breath away!
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Is A New Civil War Coming?
First I want to thank Steve C. for asking the question and sending me a link to a Rasmussen report that finds that 31% think a U.S. civil war is likely in the next five years. While this isn’t a constitutional question, I think it’s important to consider. At almost every session of my previous…
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Contract? What Contract?
Article I, Section 10, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution includes the “Contracts Clause”, which protects the integrity of contracts from state intrusion: No State shall … pass any … ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 10, Paragraph 1
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