The Constitution Study podcast

When is discrimination not discrimination? While the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals would have you think that reverse discrimination is not only legal, but OK. However, discrimination is discrimination, even when it's used in an attempt to right some past wrong.

Imagine being awakened from a sound sleep by a group of armed men bashing in your door. Come to find out, it's the FBI. Oh yeah, and they have the wrong house. After the trauma, not to mention the damage to your house, at the very least you can sue for a redress of these grievances, right? That is the question before the Supreme Court in the case Martin v. United States.

If you rent rather than own your home, you may be tempted to skip over this article. I suggest you don't, because the underlying question of ownership leading to control goes far beyond land.

Birthright citizenship has been a very hot topic for the last few years. When Donald Trump signed an executive order that quoted both the Constitution of the United States and federal law, claiming that would be the policy of the United States, that triggered mulitiple lawsuits. Now, three of those suits have been combined into one and oral arguments were heard at the Supreme Court.

Cities and states have been trying to put gun manufacturers out of business for decades with frivolous lawsuits, blaming them for the criminal use of their products. This got to be such a problem that Congress passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. Now Mexico has joined the fight, blaming Smith & Wesson for their drug cartel problems.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, – Declaration of Independence You may be wondering, why am I...

It took more than 20 years, but the REAL ID Act of 2005 is finally being enforced. While several people have talked about the requirements for a REAL ID, and whether or not they even need one, I haven't heard anyone ask one very important question, is it legal?

It took more than 20 years, but the REAL ID Act of 2005 is finally being enforced. While several people have talked about the requirements for a REAL ID, and whether or not they even need one, I haven't heard anyone ask one very important question, is it legal?

The State of Wisconsin exempts religious organizations from their unemployment tax system. Even though everyone agrees that Catholic Charities is controlled by a church, Wisconsin Supreme Court held that Catholic Charities is not "operated primarily for religious purposes", and therefore does not qualify for the exemption. Catholic Charities appealed to the Supreme Court to ask if that decision vi...

How many of you know about the Johnson Amendment? If you've ever donated to a church or other charity, you've been impacted by this amendment. This limitation on freedom of speech has been in effect for over 70 years. And now, the House of Representatives is trying to remedy this infringement.

There will always be tension between our desire for privacy and safety. We're all for privacy, until we find that an invasion of said privacy could have stopped some terrible event. But are we willing to trade our privacy for safety? "They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security." --Benjamin Franklin In the case of SCHOLL and BEDNARZ v. Il...

I don't know which of the three branches of government does the most to infringe on your rights. Take, for example, the recent Supreme Court decision in the case Bondi v. Vanderstok, where Mr. Vanderstok challenged the recent regulation from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives redefining weapons parts kits as firearms. It seems the Supreme Court has a hard time reading either...

Imagine you are stopped by law enforcement. Maybe you were doing something wrong, maybe not. At this point, when you are in the custody of law enforcement, whose safety matters more, yours or the officers? In the 2017 Fourth Circuit case United States v. Robinson, while not specifically put this way, the question came up, does officer safety trump your right against unreasonable search and seizure...

As a lifelong gun owner, I understand the awesome responsibility of owning a weapon. After getting my concealed carry license many years ago, I came to understand the greater responsibility of having a deadly weapon on my person. But as a constitutional scholar, I've come to realize just how badly states are infringing on our rights, simply because we decide to exercise one of them. Today, I want...

Ibriam Kendi is often quoted as saying "The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination." But is that true? Above the main entrance to the Supreme Court is a promise chiseled into the marble façade, "equal justice under law". How can we have equal justice under law if one side is always discriminating against another? Enter the case of Ames v. OH Dept. of Youth Services, where Mar...

Free speech jurisprudence has rested on shaky ground for decades in this country. Looking back at cases like Hill v. Colorado, Austin v. Reagan National Advertising of Austin, and Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health has left a confusing and contradictory morass of precedence, most if not all of it contradicting the Constitution of the United States. With the recent case Coalition Life v. City of Carbo...

In poker there's a move called "Buying the pot". This is when one person makes a very large bet in an attempt to discourage others from continuing the hand. But what if we're not talking poker? What if we're talking permit fees for the use of your own land? That is exactly what George Sheetz sued the County of El Dorado California for.

There are certain things in life with a minimum age limit like driving, drinking alcohol, and even voting, but is there a minimum age limit for your constitutionally protected rights? That was the question Caleb Reese and others wanted asked, when they filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives regarding 18 USC §§922(b)(1) and (c)(1), which prohibit the sellin...

I doubt it would surprise you that I watch a fair amount of videos that involve interactions with the police. One question that comes up is when is an officers attempt to search of detain someone reasonable? One of the cases attorneys frequent refer to is Pennsylvania v. Mimms. So I decided it was worth some time reviewing that case.

One of the executive orders Donald Trump signed on his first day in office ordered federal departments and agencies to not issue any citizenship documents to anyone born in the United States to a mother who was either illegally or temporarily in the United States unless the father was a citizen. It should surprise no one that this order stirred up controversy. Of the several lawsuits that have bee...

When the government, in the form of the police, damage your property, who pays for it? In the case of VIcki Baker v. City of McKinney, TX the police had to damage her property to apprehend a fleeing felon. However, when the city refused to pay for the damages, Ms. Baker sued. The District Court found for her, but the Circuit Court overturned. When she asked the Supreme Court to review, they declin...

Who decides what is appropriate for public libraries? That is at the heart of the case Fayetteville Public Library et. al. v. Crawford County, Arkansas et. al. The representatives of the people of Arkansas passed a law, Arkansas Act 372, which both established a crime of furnishing a harmful item to a minor and established guidelines for selection, relocation, and retention of such materials. A gr...

There were plenty of infringement on people's rights during the COVID scamdemic, and censorship was rampant. Not only did we have members of our own government colluding to censor information they didn't like, but we've had professional associations joining in. Worst of all, the so-called medical professionals seemed to be at the forefront, violating the central tenant of the hippocratic oath, "Fi...

There are a lot of things I'd like to see done better in this country. On that list, education is right up near the top. But is it right to break the law to improve education? That's the question I asked myself when I read the text of H.R. 5349, The "Crucial Communism Teaching Act''. You see, while teaching the truth about communism's history is important, should this bill pass Congress and be sig...