constitution

One of the highlights of today’s House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on the expiring provisions of the USA Patriot Act was Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers’ (D-Mich.) repeated lamentations about the sneaky way that the Patriot Act got passed in the first place, offering an interesting glimpse into the behind-the-scenes workings of Congress.
After the House Judiciary [...]

In a phone interview with TWI following his speech to the Tea Party crowd this afternoon in Washington, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) laid out his philosophy for applying the Constitution to health care. In a nutshell: invoke the Constitution when it’s expedient to do so, ignore it when it’s not.
Asked whether states should use the [...]

On a Thursday night Republican Governors Association conference call with conservative activists, moderated by Erick Erickson of RedState, Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-Minn.) broached the possibility of “asserting the 10th Amendment” to keep Minnesota from fully participating in a health care plan passed by Congress and signed by President Obama. The 10th Amendment reads:
The powers not [...]

A U.S. Marine reservist and general has created a detailed report recommending that up to 400 of the 600 prisoners at the U.S.-run prison at the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan have done nothing wrong and should be released, NPR reports.
Lawyers have been making that argument for years now, but the United States has insisted [...]

At The Minnesota Independent, Andy Birkey flags the always-entertaining Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R-Minn.) appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity” last night. During the interview, Bachmann asserted that Congress’ health care reform proposals are unconstitutional. To illustrate why, she broke down the U.S. Constitution for us laypeople:
“[I]t is not within our power as members of Congress, it’s [...]

Or not.
Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) just shot out a statement declaring that he has “absolutely no reason to question President Obama’s citizenship.”
I anticipate that as a legal matter the courts will continue to come to the same conclusion.
But he also leaves a bit of room for doubt, adding that his view is based only on [...]

Confirmation hearings covered Supreme Court nominee’s thoughts on foreign and international law.

For a comedian-turned-politician with no formal legal training, the newest senator and Judiciary Committee member, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) asked Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor some of the most complex but elucidating questions about Supreme Court cases we’ve heard yet. After bonding with Sotomayor over their mutual love of the Perry Mason show as kids, [...]

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wants to know why the Justice Department’s David Kris thinks the military commissions need to withstand constitutional scrutiny by the courts. Does this mean the administration thinks the detainees might have constitutional rights, McCain asked. “Yes, they do,” Kris answered. “Our analysis, [...]

In yet another 5-4 ruling Thursday, the Supreme Court denied a man imprisoned for a rape and attempted murder he says he didn’t commit the right to the DNA evidence that would prove his guilt or innocence.
Concluding that this is a matter for state legislatures, not the federal courts, to decide, Chief Justice John Roberts [...]