-
RE: CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS (?) OF DELINQUENT TAXPAYERS
In Pung v. Isabella County, U.S. Sup.Ct. Slip Op. of June 23, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled that the “Just Compensation Clause” of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution required the payment of any surplus proceeds from a foreclosure sale of property to collect a delinquent tax to the owner of the sold… Continue reading
-
RE: GUN RIGHTS FOR MARIJUANA USERS
A federal statute, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), has been construed by the federal Justice Department to prohibit a person who regularly and frequently uses marijuana in violation of the law, but without any other illegal misconduct, from keeping a firearm in his or her home. In United States v. Hemani, U.S. Sup.Ct.Slip Op. of June… Continue reading
-
RE: TRANSGENDERED ENTRY INTO SCHOOL SPORTS
West Virginia, like many other states, helps sponsor girls’ sports teams at its schools, and like many other states, West Virginia bars transgender girls (i.e., individuals born as boys, but who now identify as girls[1]) from participating in school-sponsored sports activities for girls. The United States Supreme Court will soon decide whether that kind of… Continue reading
-
TENNESSEE’S ILLEGAL REAPPORTIONMENT
Operating on the theory that the recent Supreme Court case of Louisiana v Callais (decided April 29, 2026) gives a free pass to state legislatures to engage in partisan “gerrymandering” of Congressional districts regardless of any other laws that govern Congressional district-making, the Tennessee legislature enacted a Congressional map splitting the black majority voting population… Continue reading
-
GUN RIGHTS VS. PROPERTY RIGHTS
The United States Supreme Court will soon decide whether the Second Amendment’s “Right to Keep and Bear Arms” includes a gun owner’s right to carry his gun onto private property that is “open to the public,” when the property owner has not given his express permission for anyone to carry a gun there. SeeWolford v.… Continue reading
-
“THE ANTI-WEAPONIZATION FUND”
On May 18, 2026, the Trump Administration announced the formation of the so-called “Anti-Weaponization Fund.” According to the Administration, the so-called “Fund” will distribute public money to people or entities claiming to be a past target or “victim” of “lawfare and weaponization” by government for “improper and unlawful political, personal, or ideological reasons.”[1] Claims will… Continue reading
-
THE REPUNGNANCY OF TENNESSEE’S NEW CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS
On May 8, 2026, the Tennessee General Assembly enacted a law to dilute the collective voting power of the black residents of Tennessee’s Ninth Congressional District. The legislature did so by dividing the District up and then redistributing its divided population into three separate Congressional Districts, each one lying far beyond the Ninth District’s original… Continue reading
-
PARTISAN GERRYMANDERING OF CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS
Hidden beneath the veneer of the Supreme Court’s recent redistricting case, Louisiana v. Callais, Sup.Ct. Slip Opinion of April 29, 2026, lies a pernicious heresy of Constitutional Law. In an earlier redistricting case, the Republican controlled state legislature of Texas redrew that state’s Congressional districts in an admitted effort to win more Republican seats in… Continue reading
-
RE: STATUTES REPUGNANT TO THE CONSTITUTION
I live in East Tennessee, where Republican voters have predominated elections since the Civil War. That means that many officials in East Tennessee are elected in the Republican primary election, because the Democrats frequently do not offer any candidates in their primary elections. The situation was reversed where, and when, I grew up in Kentucky.… Continue reading
-
RE: ARRESTS WITHOUT WARRANTS
In District of Columbia v. R.W., Sup.Ct.Slip Op. of April 20, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States reaffirmed its interpretation of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution that a police officer may temporarily arrest a person without an arrest warrant, if the officer has a “reasonable suspicion,” based upon the “totality… Continue reading
CONSTITUTIONAL INTERPRETATIONS 