Constitutional Law

En Banc 9th Circuit Strikes Girl’s Strip Search

A sharply divided 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has sided with a 13-year-old Arizona girl who was subjected to a strip search in which middle school officials tried in vain to find prescription-strength ibruprofen. The 6-5 ruling (PDF) on Friday holds that the strip search of Savana Redding wasn’t…

Jul 14, 2008 7:23 PM CDT

Justices Split on Historical Analysis in Two of the Term’s Biggest Cases

In two of the Supreme Court’s most important cases this year, the justices agreed that history and the original meaning of the Constitution were critical in interpreting constitutional guarantees. But the justices disagreed on how to interpret the history, the Los Angeles Times reports. The cases gave Guantanamo detainees a…

Jul 14, 2008 2:17 PM CDT

Same-Sex Partner Can’t Sue in Mass. Med-Mal Case

A Massachusetts woman in a same-sex relationship who married her partner as soon as it was possible to do so in the state cannot act as a plaintiff in a medical malpractice case concerning a time before the two were legally wed, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts has decided.…

Jul 11, 2008 7:52 PM CDT

Arizona and Harvard Profs Differ Over McCain’s Eligibility for Presidency

Law professor Gabriel Chin of the University of Arizona disagrees with a highly regarded Harvard constitutional law scholar, as well as the U.S. Senate, on how to interpret Article II’s citizenship requirement for U.S. presidents. Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe has concluded that John McCain is a natural-born citizen,…

Jul 11, 2008 12:23 PM CDT

ACLU Sues Over New Wiretap Law

Updated: The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit in federal court in New York today to try to prevent a new surveillance law approved by the Senate yesterday from being put into effect. Signed today by President George Bush, the law approves “dragnet surveillance that has no connection to terrorism…

Jul 10, 2008 7:06 PM CDT

Embattled Las Vegas Judge Loses Bid to Extend Her Term

Embattled Las Vegas Judge Elizabeth Halverson has lost her claim that a law giving her an initial term of only two years on the bench is unconstitutional. The Nevada Supreme Court said in a footnote that it ruled on Halverson’s claim even though the judge had filed a complaint against…

Jul 10, 2008 6:06 PM CDT

XYP Alert in Flint, Mich., as Cops Police Saggy Pants

A new interim police chief in Flint, Mich., is trying to encourage some residents to examine their pants. In a June 27 memo, Chief David Dicks seeks to educate his officers about the standards of appropriate attire, as he sees them: Pants that sag completely below the wearer’s buttocks, revealing…

Jul 9, 2008 11:57 PM CDT

Is al-Qaida on Your Speed Dial? New Wiretap Law Lets Feds Check

As expected, the Senate approved a bill today that significantly expands the government’s domestic wiretapping powers and provides immunity from liability for telecommunications companies that previously cooperated with such spying despite a lack of warrants. This was the final OK needed to enact the legislation, which was passed by the…

Jul 9, 2008 11:25 PM CDT

Web Companies Seek New Federal Privacy Law for Internet Ads

Existing privacy laws concerning Internet advertising are in good shape, a Federal Trade Commission official said in a hearing today before the Senate Commerce Committee, and any gaps can be filled by industry self-regulation. But big Internet companies are seeking a uniform federal law to replace a patchwork of state…

Jul 9, 2008 7:53 PM CDT

Fed’l Judge Threatens to Hold Gitmo Lawyers’ Feet to Fire

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., who is hearing appeals from 200 terrorism detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba told lawyers for both sides yesterday that the cases must be handled as quickly as possible. But that won’t be as easy as the detainees, U.S.…

Jul 9, 2008 5:22 PM CDT

Lawyer: Hepatitis C Nearing ‘Epic Proportions’ in Calif. Prisons

A class action lawsuit contends California prison officials delay testing and treatment to inmates infected with the hepatitis C virus. The complaint says as many as 40 percent of the state’s inmates are infected with hepatitis C, but the state refuses to perform liver biopsies and other medical services until…

Jul 9, 2008 4:58 PM CDT

Mom Asks Judge to Restrict Visitation for Satanist Ex-Husband

A mother is asking an Indiana judge to force her Satanist ex-husband to drop off her three children at her Christian church on Sunday mornings. Kristie Meyer says her former spouse’s religious beliefs expose their children to embarrassment and confusion, and his visitation time should be restricted, the Chicago Tribune…

Jul 9, 2008 3:31 PM CDT

Mukasey Threatened With Contempt of Congress

The chairman of a House committee has warned Attorney General Michael Mukasey he could be held in contempt of Congress if he doesn’t turn over documents from an FBI interview with Vice President Dick Cheney. The Oversight and Government Reform Committee is set to vote on the contempt citation on…

Jul 9, 2008 11:23 AM CDT

Congress Expected to Approve Wiretap Bill Today

Congress is expected to approve legislation today that updates the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and expands government power to obtain broad foreign intelligence warrants. Recent reports emphasize the bill’s protection for telecommunications companies that aided the government’s wiretap efforts. But a Wall Street Journal story (sub. req.) says provisions that…

Jul 9, 2008 11:03 AM CDT

36 Inmates Waiting 5 Years for Trial in Chicago Area

Although backlogs have been reduced in recent years, there are 36 jail inmates in Cook County, Illinois, who have been awaiting trial for at least five years. A total of 430 have been held at least two years without trial, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. The county, of which Chicago is…

Jul 7, 2008 4:05 PM CDT