Constitutional Law

Big Brother in Britain: Going Too Far?

Big Brother isn’t just watching these days in much of Britain. He’s telling people what to do. “Pick it up!” an authoritative voice booms, for instance, when pedestrians near a McDonald’s restaurant in the town of Gloucester drop trash, reports the Los Angeles Times. Britain has the most extensive closed-circuit…

Oct 19, 2007 3:31 PM CDT

Torture ‘Bright Line’ Blurs in 2nd Day of AG Hearings

Michael Mukasey clashed with Democrats yesterday in the second day of hearings on his nomination for attorney general. Mukasey refused to agree that an interrogation practice simulating drowning violated U.S. laws against torture and said the president may be able to ignore a law during wartime that requires an intelligence…

Oct 19, 2007 11:41 AM CDT

Gitmo Judge Could Reinstate Charges Against Bin Laden Driver

The driver for Osama bin Laden has had many successes as he battles his detention at Guantanamo Bay, but he faced a setback with a military judge’s ruling yesterday. The ruling could lead to reinstatement of charges against the detainee, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, who had earlier succeeded in getting a…

Oct 18, 2007 5:38 PM CDT

Supreme Court Halts Va. Execution

Only a few hours before Christopher Scott Emmett was scheduled to die tonight in Virginia by lethal injection, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously halted the planned execution. The move appears to signal a growing concern that problems with the constitutionality of lethal injections may need to be addressed before further…

Oct 18, 2007 12:43 AM CDT

Life in Prison Too Long for Youngest Offenders, Report Says

A new report to be released today says states should review the sentences of some juvenile offenders sentenced to life in prison to see if they deserve parole. The report says 73 inmates are serving life sentences in 19 states for crimes they committed at age 13 or 14, the…

Oct 17, 2007 10:43 AM CDT

Under Fire in Congress, DOJ Mulls Jena Case

At a Congressional hearing today, U.S. Department of Justice officials said they are considering a prosecution over the handling of the case of the so-called Jena Six—black youths who apparently were treated much more harshly than whites concerning similar alleged schoolyard crimes in a small town in Louisiana. However, they…

Oct 17, 2007 12:13 AM CDT

Verizon to Feds: No Warrants, No Problem

One of the nation’s biggest cell phone service providers has been quietly providing another service, too, for the past several years. When asked by the federal government, Verizon Communications has handed over customer telephone records in hundreds of “emergency” cases since 2005, without requiring warrants or attempting to determine the…

Oct 16, 2007 11:43 PM CDT

ABA Urges Adequate Judicial Review of Terrorism Wiretaps

The ABA is urging Congress to ensure that legislation extending the government’s wiretap authority in terrorism investigations contains adequate safeguards. The letter to the chair and vice-chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence says the new law should ensure adequate judicial review and congressional oversight. “Independent judicial review of…

Oct 16, 2007 7:20 PM CDT

Damages ‘Offensive’ in Music Piracy Case, Motion Says

The lawyer for a woman assessed $222,000 in damages for illegally sharing downloaded music contends in a motion for a new trial that the amount is constitutionally excessive. The judgment against Jammie Thomas for illegally sharing two dozen songs amounts to $9,250 for each recording. Her lawyer, Brian Toder of…

Oct 16, 2007 2:15 PM CDT

Breyer Dissents in Cert Denial for 30-Year-Old Capital Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal by an Arizona inmate who argued that executing him 30 years after his original conviction would amount to cruel and unusual punishment. Justice Stephen G. Breyer dissented from the denial of certiorari, the New York Times reports. Joe Clarence Smith…

Oct 16, 2007 1:08 PM CDT

Beloved U of Chicago Law Prof Dies

David Currie, a longtime law professor at the University of Chicago known both for his constitutional law scholarship and his gifts as an inspiring teacher, has died. He was in his early 70s. Currie had been ill and suddenly took a turn for the worse, Dean Saul Levmore said today…

Oct 15, 2007 11:17 PM CDT

CA v. Court in Sex Offender Residency Sweep

In a showdown between California’s governor and the state supreme court, parole officers yesterday began arresting hundreds of convicted sex offenders for violating a new state law. It prohibits sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school or park, as well as a number of other areas where…

Oct 12, 2007 10:31 PM CDT

PA High Court Race Hits Record $5 M

For the first time ever, candidates competing for a seat on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court have collectively raised more than $5 million in campaign funds. By mid-September, eight candidates had together raised a total of just over $5 million, smashing a 12-year-old fundraising record, reports the Justice at Stake Campaign…

Oct 12, 2007 4:47 PM CDT

Families of Dead Iraqis Sue Blackwater

In an unusual effort to hold a private military contractor in Iraq civilly liable for alleged wrongdoing, the families of three dead Iraq civilians and one survivor of a recent Baghdad shooting sued Blackwater USA and its affiliates in federal court in Washington, D.C., this morning. Filed by the Center…

Oct 11, 2007 7:13 PM CDT

Law Firm to Clients: Feds Tapped Our Phones

Lawyers at a Vermont firm that represents clients being held in the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay and in Afghanistan believe the federal government may be wiretapping their law office phones. So Gensburg, Atwell & Broderick sent a letter to other clients of the firm on Oct. 2, warning…

Oct 11, 2007 6:48 PM CDT