Constitutional Law

Feds Pursue Obscene in Sea of Porn

Created in response to pressure from conservative groups, a little-known federal task force is trying to hold the line on obscenity. It is targeting for prosecution a small number of fringe film producers in the nation’s booming pornography industry, focusing on movies that, although otherwise legal, may fall within the…

Oct 9, 2007 3:21 PM CDT

Once-Quarantined TB Patient Flies to Russia

A tuberculosis patient who was confined to a jail hospital ward in Arizona for failing to take his medications has left the country. Robert Daniels lived in the ward for almost a year but was recently released because he was no longer contagious, the Associated Press reports. He is a…

Oct 9, 2007 3:00 PM CDT

Pro Bono Team Attacks Exec’s Prosecution

A team of pro bono attorneys from four different firms has taken up the cause of a convicted Dynegy Inc. executive and filed a habeas corpus petition seeking his release from prison. By pressuring Dynegy, under threat of prosecution, to renege on its promise of paying defense costs, the federal…

Oct 8, 2007 9:16 PM CDT

Criticized in Sermon, Parishioner Sues

Criticized by a parishioner in private telephone messages, a Catholic priest in suburban Chicago might have been best-advised to turn the other cheek. Instead, he fired back from the pulpit, allegedly saying he’d checked beforehand with a lawyer who’d approved his comments. After parishioners arrived at mass at St. Thomas…

Oct 8, 2007 6:50 PM CDT

3rd Circuit Weighs Coach’s Bowed Head

A high school football coach contends in a federal appeal that he has a constitutional right to support his players during their prayers by bowing his head and kneeling. The Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in the case last week. It pits football coach Marcus Borden…

Oct 8, 2007 6:29 PM CDT

Man on Trial for Feeding Homeless

In what may be a first-in-the-nation case, a Florida man reportedly is to go on trial today for violating an unusual Orlando ordinance that bans feeding a group of homeless persons in a public place. The prosecution says it has videotape of Eric Montanez, 22, at an organized feeding of…

Oct 8, 2007 6:11 PM CDT

Law Barring Political Lies Struck Down

The Washington Supreme Court has struck down a law that barred political candidates from saying false things about their opponents. The court struck down the law even though it barred only lies that were motivated by actual malice, the New York Times reports. The court said the law violated the…

Oct 8, 2007 5:59 PM CDT

Lawyer’s Dispute With Bar, Judge Heads for Hearing

The showdown between an anti-porn crusading lawyer and the Florida Bar is headed for a hearing tomorrow when a federal judge considers the bar’s motion to dismiss the suit. Florida lawyer Jack Thompson’s dispute with the bar has expanded to include the judge in the case, who has refused a…

Oct 8, 2007 4:16 PM CDT

NJ Town Considers Extensive Sex-Offender Ban

A New Jersey municipality is considering banning high-risk sex offenders from living anywhere within the town. The town council is expected to vote on the measure on Wednesday, the New York Times reports. Most communities that pass sex-offender laws bar them from living close to schools and child-care centers. Dyersville,…

Oct 8, 2007 1:09 PM CDT

CIA Director Details Interrogations

In another reaction to a lengthy New York Times article yesterday on secret Department of Justice legal opinions on interrogation tactics, the director of the CIA sent an internal memo to employees disputing the premise that the memos opened the door for harsher methods. In his memo, Michael Hayden describes…

Oct 5, 2007 10:40 PM CDT

Bush: No Torture; Senator: No Info

Reacting to controversy sparked by a New York Times article yesterday about two secret Department of Justice legal opinions in 2005 that at least arguably conflict with contemporaneous public administration statements about torture, President George W. Bush reiterated today that the U.S. doesn’t torture prisoners. Plus, the president insisted, the…

Oct 5, 2007 9:33 PM CDT

Gitmo Lawyer: The Immoral is Mundane

Clive Stafford Smith is a lawyer who serves as the legal director of Reprieve, a British human rights agency that represents prisoners at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay. Not long ago, he made the news after being accused by military authorities of smuggling contraband briefs—that is to say,…

Oct 5, 2007 6:10 PM CDT

Congress Probes Latest Torture Concerns

Congressional committees are launching investigations, after a New York Times article today revealed that two secret Department of Justice opinions in 2005 endorsed prisoner interrogation techniques some consider tantamount to torture. However, the White House has reiterated prior assertions that the U.S. doesn’t torture prisoners. The Democratic chairs of both…

Oct 4, 2007 9:22 PM CDT

Experts: Lethal Injection Will Live On in TX

Although the state of Texas halted an execution at the last minute this week, apparently because of a U.S. Supreme Court challenge over another state’s lethal injection approach, experts expect this won’t change Texas death-penalty practices much in the long run. Instead, they predict, Texas lethal injections will live on—reformulated,…

Oct 4, 2007 8:51 PM CDT

Judge: Sen. Craig Can’t Withdraw Guilty Plea

Updated: In a ruling that could sound the death knell for Sen. Larry Craig’s career in office, a Minnesota judge has ruled that the Idaho Republican can’t withdraw his guilty plea to a disorderly conduct charge. However, Craig reportedly says he won’t resign, despite the urgings of many members of…

Oct 4, 2007 6:16 PM CDT