5th amendment

446 – Importance of Jury Duty

Most of us have had the experience of picking up the mail, only to get that small pit in our stomach. Maybe we utter a curse or two and immediately begin thinking of ways to get out of it. The piece of mail that has caused these reactions is a jury summons. Almost no one…

443 – Blowing Holes in the Fifth Amendment

Everyone knows we have a right to remain silent, correct? What if I told you that in 2013 the Supreme Court upheld a decision basically stating that is not true. That you only have the right to remain silent if you verbally claim the right in the first place, otherwise, according to SCOTUS, your silence can be used against you. Let’s take a look at this case and some of the history behind this violation of yout rights.

419 – Is the Constitution a Threat to National Security?

A policy statement released by the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget effectively made a very bold statement, that the Constitution of the United States was a threat to national security. Does this not remind you of the saying from Benjamin Franklin?

“They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security.”
Benjamin Franklin

Are the American people willing to give up their right to be free from unreasonable searches for the promise of national security?

396 – Hard Cases Make Bad Precedent

There is an adage in the legal profession, “Hard cases make bad law.” Well, since cases in this country to not truly make law only precedent, you might be tempted to dismiss this saying. However, since our courts are so devoted to their precedent, we should be very careful when hard cases come to the Supreme Court. For example, one case heard by the court has a very unsavory respondent. The question is, will Mr. Zackey Rahimi’s shady past be used to infringe on the right of the rest of Americans?

392 – Your Right to Remain Silent

You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…

Miranda Warning

If you’ve ever been taken into custody, or simply watched a crime procedural on TV, you’re familiar with the Miranda warning, named after the 1966 Supreme Court case Miranda v. Arizona. However, if you’re getting your legal advice from television, you may find yourself in serious legal trouble. Where does this right to remain silent come from, how is it protected, and just how constitutional is the Miranda decision?

390 – Civil Asset Forfeiture, Policing for Profit

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Several years ago I wrote an article about the Battle of Athens, TN. In the article I showed the corruption in McMinn County Sheriff’s Department, where the Sheriff and his deputies did not receive a salary, but were paid for everyone they booked, incarcerated, and released. This perverse incentive let to deputies routinely boarding buses to “fine” and jail the passengers for any alleged violations they could come up with. When subject to this corruption, many GIs returning from World War II were led to challenge the corrupt county Sheriff and other office holders. This challenge led not only to an embattled election, but an armed uprising in an attempt to restore the rule of law.

332 – Understanding Dual Sovereignty Doctrine

Most of us are aware of Double Jeopardy, the right to not be tried for the same crime twice. But the courts have adopted a “dual sovereign” doctrine to get around this pesky little problem. Two Supreme Court cases out of Oklahoma show the problems with the court making up the rules as they go along, and how this concept of dual sovereignty violate both your rights and the Constitution of the United States.

296 – Spying on American Gun Owners Act

Benjamin Franklin said:

“They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security.”

Yet with the promise of keeping us safe from “gun violence”, “violent extremists”, and “domestic terrorists”, Congress wants you to give up your essential liberty to be free from unreasonable searches. H.R. 5764 is the first step to a writ of assistance against anyone who buys or sells firearms. This has been done before, so why shouldn’t Congress think they can get away with it again?