A Paucity Of Limits, By Stipulation: 303 Creative v Elenis
Burt Likko argues that the ruling in the “gay wedding website” case is best understood in a particular context, and he really doesn’t like what he sees when he does that.
Tagged: constitutional law
SCOTUS and Moore v Harper: To Be Democratic Or To Seem Democratic
Burt Likko previews Moore v. Harper, the SCOTUS case about the subtle and obscure but potentially explosive Independent State Legislature doctrine.
The Most Constitutional Right
Does the Constitution guarantee a right to have the Constitution itself? A recent dissenting opinion suggests so, and Burt Likko muses upon what that means in today’s age of impeachment.
Legitimacy and the So-Called House Popular Vote
Much ink has been spilt since Donald Trump’s election regarding the legitimacy of the U.S. government system, the fortitude of the rule of law, and the viability of American democracy. What do the 2018 election results tell us about those big, scary issues?
Plausible Misconceptions
Ignorance is not only ignorance, and we need to understand why others make the mistakes they do.
That Which Kris Kobach Is About To Wreak Upon Our Courts
Peer with Burt Likko into his Constitutional crystal ball, and you shall see a vision of a veritable hurricane of voter registration litigation, of a sort yet unseen in American legal history.
Shouldn’t Need Saying
And another thing: it’s really not such a good thing from a vehicular maintenance perspective.
Niccoló and the Bully
As I watch the Trump Administration deteriorate into the political equivalent of the Fyre Festival, my thoughts naturally turn to Machiavelli.
Trump’s First Big Defeat In Court
A very quick run-through of the February 9, 2017 decision in State of Washington v. Trump.
Trumpwatch: Deportation Priorities and Sanctuary Jurisdictions
No, not that executive order on immigration.
This post is about another executive order on immigration.
TDB: Trump’s Border Patrol Defies Judge, U.S. Senator at Dulles Airport as His First Constitutional Crisis Unfolds
Early in the evening, a huge piece of news broke: Two federal judges, Ann Donnelly of the Eastern District of New York and Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia, had made rulings that would stall the implementation of Trump’s anti-refugee executive order.
For the lawyers at Dulles Airport, Brinkema’s ruling generated a ton of excitement. She ruled that the travelers detained by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had a right to see lawyers.
After the ruling came out, lawyers bustled around, filling out forms declaring that detainees were their clients (someone had thought to bring a printer). Any minute, they expected, they would be able to see the detainees and try to help them get into the U.S.At this point, it wasn’t clear how many people were detained and which of them were legal permanent residents of the U.S. Lawyers didn’t even know all the names of the people they were trying to help. It wasn’t clear if some detainees had been put back on planes returning to their countries of origin, or if detainees had been shuttled off to immigrant detention centers in Northern Virginia. The travelers were all being held in what’s called “secondary inspection,” referred to as “secondary.” It’s part of the CBP screening process where lawyers are rarely, if ever, allowed to be present.
But lawyers who spoke to The Daily Beast said it’s also unheard of for government agencies like CBP to prevent people who have the legal right to live in the U.S. from seeing their lawyers. And that’s what was happening.
Popehat: Quick Cheat Sheet on First Amendment Rights of Public Employees
I’ve done tediously lengthy lawsplainers on the First Amendment rights of public employees before, here and here. Those posts have the explanations and citations. This is the cheat sheet.
When the government is an employer, it’s wearing two hats: government-as-your-government and government-as-your-employer. The government-as-employer can punish employees for things it couldn’t punish them for acting as government-as-government. Which things? It’s complicated.
Source: Quick Cheat Sheet on First Amendment Rights of Public Employees | Popehat
BBC: Brexit court defeat for UK government
Turns out some judge thinks Great Britain is a Parliamentary democracy, not a direct democracy.
Une Vignette Fantastique du Kentucky
An indulgence in what would be an act of political courage and principle, if it were to actually take place, which we all know it will not.
Skipping The Summer Reading
This essay is about reading gay porn before class. And it resurrects an Ideological Outrage Of The Day from 2012. And a graphic novel. And striking out romantically. And Richard Dawkins.
Questions From the Headlines
When headline writers use questions, Burt Likko answers them. Briefly, completely, and unabashedly expressing his own opinion. Ten questions about politics, the business of news, news of business, and grizzly bears.
Like Jason Voorhees In That Last Scene
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Religious Test Clause predictably collide with Obergefell v. Hodges in Eastern Kentucky.
