Harvey Silverglate weighs in on the motivations for the Justice Department’s current spate of prosecutions of politicians and ex-politicians. Many of the accused are Republicans, of course, but not all: What has become clear, however, is that the department’s war … Continue reading →
When I first read that Alan Dershowitz had said the charges against Dinesh D’Souza are most likely a case of selective politically motivated prosecution, I was surprised. But I wondered about the strict accuracy of the report, since the source … Continue reading →
Mark Herring, Virginia’s newly-elected AG in a photo-finish race that featured a recount, will be joining the plaintiffs in lawsuits challenging the state’s ban on gay marriage. So not only is he declining to defend the state’s gay marriage ban, … Continue reading →
This had gone under my radar till now. But it could be a big, big case: William Messenger of the National Right to Work Committee asked the Supreme Court today to hold that public employee unions are unconstitutional. “This is””I’m … Continue reading →
The FBI’s investigation into the IRS scandal has yielded no criminal charges. That’s not so surprising, considering that the bar for criminal behavior is set fairly high. And that there really wasn’t all that much of an investigation: Cleta Mitchell, … Continue reading →
A federal court has ruled as unconstitutional a gun sale ban in the city of Chicago. In the wake of the SCOTUS decisions in Heller (5-4) and McDonald (also 5-4), an outright gun ban is unacceptable. Chicago tried to fine-tune … Continue reading →
…this is the rule in California about illegal immigrants and Medicaid (known as “Medi-Cal” in that state): For Medi-Cal, immigration status only affects the scope of service. The services that Medi-Cal provides to undocumented immigrants include, but are not limited … Continue reading →
With its usual respect for details and logic (which means, “very little”), the New York Times says Edward Snowden should be given clemency and allowed back into the country. The title of the editorial, “Edward Snowden, Whistle-Blower,” sets the tone … Continue reading →
When I was young I came across this book of courtroom speeches by Clarence Darrow. Although I was only about eleven years old it enthralled me, and I think it was one of the reasons I ended up going to … Continue reading →
My answer: I’m not at all sure. But I was brainstorming the question after reading about the most recent incident of flash mob violence, which occurred in a Brooklyn mall: A wild flash mob stormed and trashed a Brooklyn mall, … Continue reading →
U.S. District Judge William Pauley ruled that NSA surveillance does not violate Americans’ rights to privacy: In a 54-page decision, Pauley said the program “vacuums up information about virtually every telephone call to, from, or within the United States.” But … Continue reading →
[NOTE: In this post I discuss an article by Jonathan Turley about morality and law. In his piece, he doesn’t really go into the underpinnings of his argument, but what he’s dealing with is a heavy-duty issue that has plagued … Continue reading →