Constitutional Law

Special Prosecutor to Oversee FLDS Ranch Raid Criminal Cases

The state attorney general will serve as special prosecutor in all criminal cases arising from a raid early last month on a Texas ranch run by a religious sect that reportedly promotes polygamy and underage “spiritual” marriages of teenagers to much older men. It isn’t clear exactly what criminal cases…

May 6, 2008 5:44 PM CDT

Sept. 11 Cases Unlikely to Reach Trial at Guantanamo This Year

Some Guantanamo detainees have been in court as they were arraigned or their lawyers argued motions, but none has yet seen a jury trial. That isn’t likely to change anytime soon for suspects in the Sept. 11 attacks, the Washington Post reports. Many experts believe the first trials for these…

May 6, 2008 1:27 PM CDT

Law Prof Finds Flaw That Could Invalidate Thousands of Patent Decisions

Law professor John Duffy of George Washington University figured he was missing something when he discovered a flaw in the appointment process for judges who decide patent disputes. The Constitution’s appointments clause requires “inferior officers” of government to be appointed only by the president, the courts or “heads of departments”…

May 6, 2008 11:22 AM CDT

Texas Ranch Raid Sparks Senate Leader’s Call for Federal Task Force

Sparks flew in Arizona, Nevada and Utah last week after the Senate majority leader criticized prosecutors in those states for not being as aggressive as Texas authorities in pursuing claimed child abuse among a religious sect that reportedly advocates polygamy and “spiritual” marriages of underage teenage girls to much older…

May 5, 2008 11:04 PM CDT

Worse than Prison Inmate Medical Care: Detained Immigrants’ Medical Care

News media throughout the country have focused in recent years on the issue of substandard health care for prison inmates. Some 65 deaths annually in California, for instance, reportedly could be prevented by better medical treatment. But the situation is apparently even worse for individuals held as illegal immigrants, who…

May 5, 2008 10:08 PM CDT

Pakistan Lawyers & Judges to Receive ABA Rule of Law Award

An ABA Rule of Law award will be given this year to “those lawyers and judges in Pakistan who demonstrated courage in upholding the rule of law in their country” in turbulent times. Lawyer-led protests have been at the forefront of efforts over the past year or so to return…

May 2, 2008 8:52 PM CDT

Vietnam Vet Arrested After Pointing Finger at Town Meeting

In the midst of a contentious town meeting in a small Chicago suburb earlier this year, resident Greg Kachka committed a criminal act, officials contend: Wearing a custom T-shirt with a Marine Corps insignia that states “Don’t Move. If You Run, You’ll Only Die Tired!!” the 60-year-old Vietnam veteran pointed…

May 2, 2008 8:22 PM CDT

Senate Says McCain is ‘Natural Born,’ Hence He Can Be President

Although the U.S. Senate unanimously voted earlier this week that John McCain is a natural-born U.S. citizen, that nonbinding resolution is not the final answer in a legal debate that includes at least three lawsuits challenging the presumed Republican nominee’s qualification to serve as president. Born in a U.S. military…

May 2, 2008 7:24 PM CDT

Texas Changed Marriage Age to Restrict Rights of Polygamy Ranch Residents

Much has been written, in recent weeks, about the number of teen girls entering into “spiritual” underage marriages at a Texas ranch from which some 462 children were removed last month. However, it was not until the fringe religious group that operates the ranch, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ…

May 2, 2008 3:48 PM CDT

Trial Allowed in Suit By Woman Banned for ‘Dirty Dancing’

A federal appeals court has ruled that a North Carolina woman may sue a municipality for permanently banning her from town dances. Marshall, N.C., officials permanently banned Rebecca Willis from the town’s community center in December 2000, citing her provocative dancing at the Friday night dances held there. Willis, now…

May 2, 2008 3:26 PM CDT

May 18, 1896

Supreme Court rules in Plessy v. Ferguson

May 1, 2008 8:07 PM CDT

Ousted Pakistan Appellate Judges to be Restored to Office

An agreement reportedly has been reached among Pakistan’s new parliamentary leadership to restore to office all of the appellate judges removed last year by President Pervez Musharraf. As part of the pact, however, it was decided that Chief Judge Iftikhar Chaudhry of the country’s supreme court would be guaranteed only…

May 1, 2008 7:08 PM CDT

Closed Courtroom Sought in High-Profile Capital-Case Sentencing

Federal prosecutors in Boise, Idaho, filed a motion yesterday seeking to close the courtroom for a high-profile sentencing in a case that reportedly involves child sexual abuse as well as kidnapping and murder. It would be emotionally difficult for the one surviving child kidnapped by Joseph Duncan in May 2005…

Apr 30, 2008 10:18 PM CDT

What Can Be Done About Worsening Gun Violence?

Amid increasing concern nationwide over an apparent epidemic of gun violence, a federal appeals court decision today dismissing a New York City nuisance case against firearms manufacturers is likely to be seen as a persuasive opinion that may help limit legal redress options for metropolitan areas nationwide. Leaving aside spree…

Apr 30, 2008 7:54 PM CDT

Appeals Court Tosses N.Y. Gun Suit

Updated: A federal appeals court has rejected New York City’s nuisance lawsuit against the gun industry. The city had contended the defendants allowed the weapons to be sold in underground markets where they could be funneled to New York criminals, the New York Times’ City Room blog reports. U.S. District…

Apr 30, 2008 5:37 PM CDT