Today is a special day for Law Talkin' Guy, as this is the first original blog post on the new site. To mark this august occasion, we will explore an important, "recent" right, the right to privacy. Now wait a second, eagle-eyed Constitution readers may say. A Constitutional right to privacy? I have read that…
The Supreme Court has Roundly Rejected Prior Restraint!
Recently I had occasion to reference LEBOWSKI regarding a current event; I cannot pass that up. As with many things, Walter is essentially correct. The Supreme Court has roundly rejected "prior restraint." What does that mean? Prior restraint is the act of preventing publication of specific information. Most would agree that prior restraints are dangerous…
Liability Waivers
Hi everybody! For LTG segments I try to vary between academic concepts and more practical law-talking. Today I'm focused on the latter, and going to write a bit about liability waivers. Unlike Constitutional law, which is federal and generally applicable nationwide, liability waivers are governed by state law. While the concepts discuss here will likely…
First Amendment Rights Don’t Disappear in School
Thanks to the good folks at the ACLU for the summary.
Our Rights are Human Rights
Our rights are human rights. The Constitution sets forth some of the privileges that accompany American citizenship, such as voting, and that's important. However, also important are the parts of the Bill of Rights about "people." It's been settled law for well over a century that "people" means just that, regardless of nationality. Who is…
My Rights, Your Rights, Our Rights
Consider the nature of our rights and our government. At its core, the Constitution establishes and limits the government. The government flows directly from the Constitution, and only has the powers set forth therein. Our rights, however, are not given by the government, or even the Constitution. We already have them. The Declaration of Independence…
First Amendment Must be Guarded
I could spend the rest of the week writing on the First Amendment, for while I am not an expert, it expresses fundamental legal principles that help make America a special place and I never tire of studying it. The First Amendment is more familiar than most of the Constitution to the average person. Even your…
Judicial Review and You
Today we have a Constitutional point to ponder, "judicial review," the process by which the Supreme Court determines whether a law is Constitutional. An earlier post introduced the concepts of legal formalism and legal realism. In practice we do both, formalist most of the time but realist when necessary. For the folks who still bristle…
Corporations Are People Too, Kind Of
Welcome back to Law Talkin' Guy. Today's topic is the first in a series on one of our favorite people, the noble corporation. I jest, but only slightly. Corporations are not: (a) inherently good or evil; (b) the same as human beings; and (c) merely a collection of like-minded individuals acting in financial sync. A…
Controlled Substances Act
In 2018, how the hell can the federal government's stance that "marijuana has zero medicinal benefits" survive even rational basis review?
Law Talkin' Guy 