The Constitution Study podcast

In 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote some of the most famous words in American history. In 1949, George Orwell wrote the novel 1984, warning of a dystopian future. The question I have is, will the future of the United States of America be the Spirit of 1776 or the Spirit of 1984?

I started The Constitution Study in 2014 because of a study that showed most Americans don't know the rights protected by the First Amendment. A recent study by the Annenberg Public Policy Center shows that while things may be better where the First Amendment is concerned, our overall civics education is pretty bad.

Should you loose your job because of your opinion? What if that opinion is religiously based? That is the exact question asked in the case Brown v. Alaska Airlines.

Most people are familiar with the Warrant Clause. But have you considered what constituted probable cause? More importantly, what happens when the system uses a flawed, even fraudulent warrant, and ruins someone's life?

President Trump, when he hosted the television program The Apprentice, was famous for the line: "You're Fired!" This penchant for firing people is something he brought with him to the presidency. Two cases recently decided by the Supreme Court question the President's power to fire.

People frequently complain about money in politics. Others complain that campaign finance rules suppress "free speech". Which brings up the question in the Supreme Court case NRSC v. FEC.

No one likes to pay taxes. Some go so far as to claim you don't own your home since it can be taken for failure to pay taxes. If you how a tax debt, how should government determine the value of your property?

Should those with a mental illness be allowed to scare and stalk our wives and daughters in pursuit of their disease? Can public schools protect our young ladies, or shall mental illness supersede the law, biology, and common sense?

When is Election Day? Is it defined as the day the ballots are marked or received by election officials. That is the heart of the question in the case Watson v. RNC, and the court's decision will impact more than just Mississippi.

Who decides who can carry a firearm on your property and under what conditions? Does the Second Amendment presume permission or restriction? According to the Hawaiian legislature, they decide who carries and presumes restriction.

We all walk around with tracking devices on, cellphones. While these devices report our location on an almost second by second basis, what are the rules law enforcement has to follow to search that data?

I've heard a lot of people talking about the Monsanto case and the claims that one of their products, Roundup, may cause cancer. However, the case before the Supreme Court was much more unique, involving state's rights, intrastate commerce, and the limits of federal law and regulation.

In one of the most anticipated opinions of this Supreme Court Term, Trump v. Barbara questions whether an Executive Order with language that mirrors the Constitution is actually constitutional. I believe that history will remember this opinion as one of the dumbest of any Supreme Court in history.

During the debates about the ratification of the Constitution, one of the questions involved the need for a Bill of Rights. One of the arguments against such a document was the idea that some may consider the listing of rights in the Constitution as permission to regulate those rights. We find an example of just such attempt to regulate rights in the Supreme Court case United States v. Hemani. Spe...

Today, July 4th 2026, is the semiquincentennial, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Two hundred and fifty years is certainly an anniversary worth celebrating. Sadly, in our exuberance to celebrate, many have also shown their ignorance both of the document and our history. Today, in honor of the semiquincentennial, I want to look at both the history and the document that was...

Most of us probably remember the TV Game Show "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader", where contestants attempted to answer fifth grade questions for prizes. The answers given were often hilarious. What if they weren't fifth grade questions, but civics questions? Would that answer the American people give still be funny?

The Constitution delegates to Congress the power to regulate commerce "among the several States". What makes commerce not just commerce interstate? That's part of the question the Supreme Court was asked to answer in the case Flowers v. Brock.

Racism is wrong. At least that's what I've been told my entire life. But if racism is wrong, why do so many people demand we make decisions based on race? Is an election fair if the people are vote are racially chosen? If it was wrong for people to be denied the representation because of their race, why is it OK for them to deny representation to others for the same reason? Is choosing representat...

When is the use of lethal force legal in the United State? In every state of the union, lethal force can be used to protect an innocent part from an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury. But is that the only time? A recently signed bill in Tennessee defines other situations where deadly force can lawfully be used within the state.

George Washington warned us that political parties bring their own frightful despotism. From gerrymandering to primaries, We the People have allowed political parties to not only rule our elections, but to poison our interactions with their venom and hatred. Will we continue to let these private organizations drag the United States into the ash heap of history?

Contrary to what the Supreme Court believed in both the Roe and Dobbs decision, the question of abortion has not been settled in the United States. The case of First Choice v. New Jersey shows just how far some states will go to oppose the pro-life movement.

In 2015 the Supreme Court decided in the case Obergefell v. Hodges, that the Fourteenth Amendment protected the right for homosexuals to get marriage. In 2026 the State of Tennessee is working on legislation that points out that private groups are organizations are not bound by the Fourteenth Amendment, and therefore by Obergefell.

In the recent case Chiles v. Salazar, the Supreme Court was asked if Colorado's "Conversion Therapy" law violated the Ms. Chiles right to free speech. As is so often the case, the court agreed that the law violated Ms. Chiles free speech rights, just for the wrong reasons.

Ronald Reagan once said that "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction." Is this the generation when that finally happens? You may think I'm being hyperbolic, but I think the evidence supports the possibility that this is true.

Does anyone who is born on our land automatically receive citizenship? Not according to the Fourteenth Amendment, but that hasn't stopped the courts from messing this up. Which is exactly what I expect from the Supreme Court in the case Trump v. Barbara.