Constitutional Law

8927 ABA Journal Constitutional Law articles.

Sarah Palin Supporters Make ‘Loony Claim’ Against Obama ‘Operatives’

In what a columnist for U.S. News & World Report describes as a “loony claim,” a former press secretary for Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin is contending that “operatives” of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama “hijacked” the Alaska investigation of Palin’s alleged improper firing of the state’s police chief. “Rarely…

Sep 16, 2008 11:02 PM CDT

‘Fashion Police’ Put Fla. Teen in Jail Over Saggy Pants

A Florida judge has found a saggy pants ban unconstitutional, as it was applied in the case of one Riviera Beach teen. Because 17-year-old Julius Hart was on probation in a marijuana possession case, his arrest on the saggy pants charge put him in jail overnight, reports the Palm Beach…

Sep 16, 2008 4:20 PM CDT

Student who Took Scalia’s Class Calls him ‘Down to Earth’

Two law students admit they were a little intimidated to take a class taught by Antonin Scalia, but they found the justice to be down-to-earth and caring. Students from New England Law Boston took Scalia’s class on separation of powers this summer at a satellite location in Ireland, the Boston…

Sep 16, 2008 3:23 PM CDT

Va. Supreme Court Holds Anti-Spam Law Violates First Amendment

The Virginia Supreme Court has reconsidered a 6-month-old ruling and struck down the state’s anti-spam law for violating the First Amendment. The law is unconstitutionally overbroad because it bars anonymous transmission of political, religious and other speech protected by the First Amendment, the court ruled in its decision (PDF) issued…

Sep 15, 2008 1:38 PM CDT

Judge Requires Probable Cause for Cell Phone Location Information

A federal judge has ruled the government needs a warrant based on probable cause to obtain information about the geographical movements of a cell phone customer in a drug investigation. The opinion is the first by a federal judge on the issue, the Washington Post reports. The decision by U.S.…

Sep 12, 2008 5:49 PM CDT

All-White Jury to Decide O.J. Simpson Case

A jury of 10 whites and two Hispanics will decide whether to convict O.J. Simpson of robbery and kidnapping charges, prompting objections from defense lawyers. Simpson’s lawyers fought to keep two black women on the panel and charged that the prosecutor’s use of peremptory challenges to exclude them violated the…

Sep 12, 2008 11:49 AM CDT

Lawyer Who Sued President and Three Justices Targets Obama

A Philadelphia lawyer who has sued President Bush and three U.S. Supreme Court justices has filed a new suit against a new high-profile defendant—Barack Obama. In his latest lawsuit with a political twist, lawyer Philip Berg of Lafayette Hill claims Obama was born in Kenya and he should be thrown…

Sep 11, 2008 6:41 PM CDT

2 Colorado Judges Censured for Prosecutorial Work Years Ago

Two former Colorado prosecutors who didn’t turn over potentially exculpatory information to the defense in a first-degree murder case have been censured for their role in sending a man who says he is innocent to prison for almost a decade. That man, Timothy Masters, was released earlier this year, after…

Sep 10, 2008 7:42 PM CDT

Multiple Mistakes Killed Inmate, Chicago Newspaper Says

John Lambert was in the Cook County Jail because he was an addict. And, thinking that he couldn’t abuse drugs or alcohol while he was there, his family didn’t bail him out. Less than a month after his arrest on cocaine possession and probation violation charges, he was found unconscious…

Sep 10, 2008 6:48 PM CDT

Family Challenges London Police Shooting of Armed Barrister

There’s no dispute that a wealthy London barrister was firing a shotgun from his upscale home this spring, before he was shot and killed by police. But authorities overreacted to a situation in which Mark Saunders, 32, wasn’t a threat, his family contended in a High Court hearing this week.…

Sep 10, 2008 5:55 PM CDT

Trial Judge in Fla. Strikes State-Law Ban on ‘Gay Adoption’

A 31-year-old prohibition against adoptions of children by same-sex couples in Florida has been held unconstitutional by a trial judge in Monroe County. The ruling, which allows a 52-year-old openly gay foster parent in Key West to adopt the disabled teenager he has been raising since 2001, held that the…

Sep 10, 2008 4:52 PM CDT

Justice Thomas Says Affirmative Action Mantra ‘Almost Trumps Thinking’

Justice Clarence Thomas, a longtime opponent of racial preferences, criticized the “mantra” of affirmative action in a speech Tuesday to leaders of historically black colleges. Thomas warned that reading the Constitution to allow consideration of race will present problems in the future, the Associated Press reports. Affirmative action “has become…

Sep 10, 2008 12:51 PM CDT

Supreme Court Orders Briefs on Whether to Rehear Child Rape Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has asked for briefs and set a short deadline for the parties to address whether the justices should reconsider their decision that it is unconstitutional to impose the death penalty for child rape. The state of Louisiana and the Justice Department are seeking a rehearing in…

Sep 9, 2008 10:43 AM CDT

Gag Order Implies Private Hearings for Federal Judge in Sex Abuse Case

A gag order has been issued by a federal judge who has been brought in from Florida to hear the criminal case against U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent of Texas, who is accused of sexually abusing his former case manager. The unusual order, which was issued late Friday by Senior…

Sep 8, 2008 7:52 PM CDT

Chief Justice Ponders ‘Choose KKK’ License Plates in Moot Court Case

University of Florida law student Cary Aronovitz was only about a minute into his moot court argument when Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. interrupted him with a question. Aronovitz said he had anticipated the question, although it was a difficult one that he didn’t want to answer, FlaLaw Online…

Sep 8, 2008 2:32 PM CDT

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