Redstate

Posted at 11:18am on May 16, 2008 California ACTIVIST Supreme Court - they don't follow the law - they make the law

By eschristian

No matter a persons opinion on the subject of gay marriage the real problem is that judges (California Supreme Court) became activists and overruled the law and the vote of the people. California voters had already voted on this matter Proposition 22 (or Prop 22) PREVENTED California from recognizing same-sex marriages. Voters adopted the measure on March 7, 2000 with 61.4% in favor of Prop 22. When the judicial branch overreaches and does the job of the other 2 branches and overrules and changes the vote of the people the balance of power is no longer balanced.

Posted in Law — Comments (2) / Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 9:37am on May 14, 2008 Rekzo trial goes to jury.

The most avidly watched, but hardly mentioned, trial of this year.

By Moe Lane

The baby just woke up, so let me make this quick. Via Instapundit:

Antoin 'Tony' Rezko's fate now lies with the jury
Prosecutors, defense wrap up closing arguments

By Jeff Coen and Bob Secter | Tribune reporters

The federal corruption trial that has sent ripples through the administration of Gov. Rod Blagojevich has reached its final stage, and the fate of political insider Antoin "Tony" Rezko is now in the hands of the jury.

The panel that spent more than two months listening to testimony deliberated for about half an hour Tuesday afternoon after closing arguments ended.

If they bring back a guilty verdict, I'll be shocked if it goes to sentencing. Rezko will want to make a deal, and he knows the magic word: "Blagojevich." It's considered impolite to say by many, but everybody reading this knows that Illinois State politics is one happy bipartisan mess of corruption, influence-peddling, bribery, and a wide variety of other activities prosecutable under the RICO Act. It may be too much to hope that flipping Rezko will result in the kind of housecleaning that Jindal is trying down in Louisiana, but at least the cockroaches will scurry - with any luck, some of them out of the USA altogether.

Posted in Blagojevich | Illinois Combine | Law | Tony Rezko — Comments (3)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 1:22am on May 14, 2008 Dept. of Labor Tightening Unions Financial Disclosure Rules

By Warner Todd Huston

The Dept. of Labor (DOL) has announced that it is changing the requirements for internal financial disclosures of unions requiring more details on finances and spending, the AP report on the 8th.

Unions are required annually to submit forms to the DOL detailing their financial information, but Federal officials have decided that the current forms lack enough detail to assure that unions aren't engaging in fraud. The DOL is also proposing that smaller unions can use the less detailed forms unless they fall under indictment or other legal troubles which then will find them required to fill out the more detailed forms.

Posted in Law — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 7:57pm on May 11, 2008 Ministers preaching Politics?

By Jaded

There appears to be a "protest" of sorts on September 28th in which ministers of all stripes will preach their view on the candidates and politics in a test of their First Amendment Rights.

http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4505

It would appear that one Senator Lyndon Johnson in 1954 created the IRS restriction rule that these ministers could no longer talk of who they supported in their churches to sway their congregants.

Posted in Law — Comments (21) / Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 12:27pm on May 10, 2008 The Lie - SCOTUS is final word on issue

By pilgrim

A lot of people are concerned about who the next POTUS will be because of who they will appoint to be Justice on the US Supreme Court. I share this concern, but I disagree with some of the aura that some people apply to SCOTUS. SCOTUS is the highest appellate court in our country, and they do have the final word on an appellate case. They DO NOT have the final word on an issue.

Posted in Law — Comments (50) / Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 1:37pm on May 6, 2008 Higher Education...dude!

By Jaded

Interesting story on FOX about a drug bust at...wait for it....a college in CA...San Diego State University to be exact.

This is no little drug bust, they arrested 100 students...no word on their teachers or liberal pushers as I like to call them...but that is just me. They were not just doing drugs either these were serious people because they needed to protect themselves with weapons.

htt

Posted in Law — Comments (121) / Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 8:31am on May 2, 2008 George Washington and the Church State Question

A conversation with Tara Ross and Joseph C. Smith

By Kevin Holtsberry

Welcome to another edition of Red State radio. Today’s guests are Tara Ross and Joe Smith authors of Under God: George Washington and the Question of Church and State.

In our conversation we discuss George Washington’s unique perspective on questions of church and state; why his views have not been more widely discussed or understood; how one phrase from one letter from Thomas Jefferson came to dominate American views on the subject; and how we might go about changing this dominance.

You can download it here.

or listen here:

Posted in George Washington | Law | Podcasts | Red State Radio | seperation of church and state — Comments (0)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 3:06pm on May 1, 2008 Eminent Domain: Sticking It To The Minorities and Poor

By simpson316

David T. Beito and Ilya Somin have an op-ed piece in the Kansas City Star titled Battle over eminent domain is another civil rights issue. In the piece, they discuss how eminent domain abuse has had a disproportionate impact on minorities and the lower class. It is easy to see how that would be the case.

Posted in Law — Comments (27) / Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 11:01am on May 1, 2008 Law Day 2008 is WHAT? Excuse me......

By ilitigant

Today, the President of the United States of America has declared the day to be Law Day, (as usual for May one'th) and today's theme is, "The Rule of Law: Foundation for Communities of Opportunity and Equity." The proclamation is located at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/05/20080501.html for all to read.

In part it states, "The right of ordinary men and women to determine their own future, protected by the rule of law, lies at the heart of America's founding principles. As our country celebrates the 50th anniversary of Law Day, we renew our commitment to the ideals on which this great Nation was established and to a robust system of ordered liberty."

Posted in Law — Comments (31) / Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 11:11am on Apr. 30, 2008 Second Circuit Dismisses Bloomberg Gun Lawsuit

By Dan McLaughlin

Opinion in Bloomberg v. Beretta U.S.A. here. Basically, the court found that the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act is a constitutional exercise of Congress' Commerce power, doesn't violate the 10th Amendment, and bars New York City's lawsuit seeking under state law to enjoin gun manufacturers' lawful firearms sales on the grounds th

Posted in Commerce Clause | Federalism | gun control | Law | Mike Bloomberg — Comments (24) / Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 11:51pm on Apr. 29, 2008 Still More Scalia

By Pejman Yousefzadeh

The third and final part of Nina Totenberg's interview with Justice Scalia can be found here and is definitely worth listening to.

Posted at 11:46pm on Apr. 29, 2008 In Praise Of K's

By Pejman Yousefzadeh

Robert Levy bemoans the almost-complete elimination of the Contracts Clause from our Constitutional jurisprudence. And well he should; here is an instance where originalists ought to prefer Thomist jurisprudence to the Scalian variety. Though I do not cover it in my article, one of the salient aspects of Justice Thomas's originalist approach is that he is less willing to heed stare decisis when it runs counter to originalist findings. Justice Scalia, by contrast, is more willing to let faulty opinions stand. In some cases, he may be right and it may be too difficult to put the toothpaste back in the tube, jurisprudentially speaking. But in others, the Thomist viewpoint is the way to go, and too often, Justice Scalia disappoints by not embracing Thomist jurisprudential principles.

Posted in Constitutional Law | Law | Originalism | The Contract Clause — Comments (4)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 2:59pm on Apr. 29, 2008 Of Junk Mail & Spam...

By From ME to you

A beacon of sunshine in an otherwise dreary day!

A Colorado man accused of sending hundreds of thousands of spam e-mails has been sentenced to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to tax evasion and falsifying e-mail headers.
-Washington Times

link: Spammer sentenced to prison term

Posted in Law — Comments (2) / Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 10:52pm on Apr. 28, 2008 More Scalia

By Pejman Yousefzadeh

Another good profile--this one from Nina Totenberg at NPR. Be sure to click on both audio links below.