This week the President declared his intention to end "birthright citizenship" via executive order. As birthright citizenship is conferred via the Constitution, good luck with that. Leaving alone the President's intentions and legal knowledge, the last Supreme Court case addressing birthright citizenship is instructive on the concept itself. All persons born or naturalized in the…
Life, Liberty, Property, and My Personal Supreme Court Seat
"No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject…
Compelled Nationalism is Unconstitutional and Gross
"If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion, or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein. If there are any circumstances which permit an exception, they…
A Prosecutor’s Discretion
A friend of Law Talkin' Guy requested a post on "prosecutorial discretion," and with upcoming elections it is a fine topic to consider. In our legal system, the prosecution chooses whether or not to bring charges, and what charges to bring. Why this system? Consider the nature of law. Law is a tool, the purpose…
Founders Part 2: The Foundering
We are a week past July 4th, a time of BBQs, fireworks, and hopefully some national self-reflection. My July 4th post consists of the full text of the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration stated what America intended to be as a nation. We rightly celebrate America's independence from Britain, expressed in both legal terms and ethical…
Declaration of Independence
It's good to take a read through this once a year, the document that summarized the colonists' grievances against their king and then declared their own independence. Maybe this will be the year America rises to these ideals. Not holding my breath. *** When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one…
Shocking the Conscience
Bush-appointed federal judge Dana Sabraw issued a scathing order halting most family separations at the border and reuniting those already separated. Judge Sabraw's words speak for themselves: This practice of separating class members from their minor children, and failing to reunify class members with those children, without any showing the parent is unfit or presents…
The Right of Asylum – A Force for Good
I write today due to the current policy of separating families at the border, including those seeking asylum. Morally, this is grotesque, abhorrent. I originally set out to explain why this is also legally unnecessary, but Prof. Somin has already written an excellent piece, which I encourage you to read. Instead, after a brief introduction to the…
Presidential Pardoning
Can the President pardon himself? No!
Federal Power, Gambling, and Sanctuary Cities
The Constitution established a sovereign federal government while leaving in place the sovereign state governments. While the Constitution limited state sovereignty, it did not eliminate it. States are free to pass their own laws and maintain their own court systems, and most of the laws we encounter in our daily lives are state laws (all…
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