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CONSTITUTIONAL INTERPRETATIONS

CONSTITUTIONAL INTERPRETATIONS


  • February 27, 2026

    RE: TRUMP’S WAR

    President Trump has threatened Iran with full scale war unless that country agrees to submit to a total and verifiable surrender of its nuclear weapons capabilities. He has not asked for any approval of his plans from the United States Congress. The federal Constitution does not require that kind of advance approval, but it certainly… Continue reading

    Constitutional Law
    Making War
  • February 20, 2026

    RE: TRUMP’S TARIFFS

    And so, the Supreme Court of the United States has finally ruled decisively against President Donald J. Trump. The Court ruled 6-3 today that President Trump’s imposition of tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (the “IEEPA”) upon the American importers of goods and services from foreign countries, was not and is not authorized… Continue reading

    Constitutional Law
    The Division of Powers Clauses
  • February 13, 2026

    The War Against “Illegal Aliens” (Part 4)

    A federal statute, 8 U.S.C. §1357(a)(1), authorizes federal immigration officers to briefly detain “any alien or person believed to be an alien,” for the purpose of interrogating him “as to his right to be or to remain in the United States.” At least until very recently, federal immigration officers working under the Department of Homeland… Continue reading

    Constitutional Law
    Fourth Amendment, Searches and Seizures
  • February 6, 2026

    RE: REMOVING “ILLEGAL” IMMIGRANTS

    To accomplish the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants that President Trump wants, federal immigration agents raid sites where they suspect a large number of “illegal” immigrants can be found. At those sites, the agents temporarily stop the individuals found there to ask them if they are citizens. If any individuals fail to assert their citizenship… Continue reading

    Constitutional Law
    Fourth Amendment, Racial Profiling, Search and Seizure
  • January 30, 2026

    RE: SHOOTING A PROTESTOR II

    On Saturday, January 17, 2026, a second incident occurred in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where federal agents shot and killed a protester whom they thought was interfering with their efforts to enforce federal immigration laws. This time around, the protester was armed with a handgun when he approached the agents to help other protestors who were engaged… Continue reading

    Constitutional Law
    Searches and Seizures, Self-Incrimination
  • January 23, 2026

    RE: BOYS PLAYING GIRLS’ SPORTS

    Several state legislatures have enacted laws that prohibit transgender girls, i.e., individuals born as males who subsequently “identify” as females,[1] from participating in school-sponsored sports activities that are intended for girls. The United States Supreme Court is currently considering whether those laws violate the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution.[2] They do not.… Continue reading

    Constitutional Law
    Equal Protection of the Laws, Transgender Discrimination
  • January 16, 2026

    RE: SHOOTING A PROTESTOR

    By now, surely most people in the United States are aware of the shooting incident that occurred in Minneapolis, Minnesota on January 7, 2026. A federal police officer shot a woman, with an apparent intent to kill her, in the course of an incident where she intentionally obstructed his fellow police officers from carrying out… Continue reading

    Constitutional Law
    Excessive Force, Police Immunity, Searches and Seizures
  • January 9, 2026

    RE: THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS SECRETLY

    Three and a half years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protected the right of nearly every American citizen to publicly carry a handgun outside the home for the purpose of “self-defense.”[1] This “right” is often called the right “to public carry.”[2] The Court now has a… Continue reading

    Constitutional Law
    The Right to Carry Concealed Weapons, The Right to Keep and Bear Arms
  • January 2, 2026

    RE: IMMIGRATION AND BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

    The U.S. Constitution provides “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States ….”[1] In his effort to deport as many immigrants as he possibly can, President Trump has contended that the words “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” exclude from citizenship children born… Continue reading

    Constitutional Law
    Birthright Citizenship, Immigration
  • December 19, 2025

    RE: Freedom of Speech

    The State of Colorado has a statute that prohibits licensed mental health professionals, including psychiatrists and psychologists, from offering “conversion therapy” to minors, some of whom may be seeking it. Colo. Rev. Stat. §12-245-224(1)(t)(v). The broader statute defines “conversion therapy” as any “treatment,” including verbal counseling, which seeks to change the patient’s self-professed sexual identity… Continue reading

    Constitutional Law
    Freedom of Speech, Judicial Review, Speech v. Conduct
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ABOUT THIS SITE

Here, I offer a weekly column on Constitutional Law. My purpose here is to advocate for a complete return to the historical principle that an act by the government that is “repugnant” to the federal Constitution is or else should be “void.” Responsive, but civil, and signed opinions are welcome here and will be published on request.

ABOUT THE WRITER

I am a retired lawyer with forty-two years of experience in civil litigation. I have a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the University of Tennessee and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Kentucky. Between schools, I worked full time as a newspaper reporter for the Middlesboro, Kentucky Daily News.

Dan D. Rhea 

  • RE: THE ORIGINAL INTENT OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT
  • RE: Birthright Citizenship
  • RE: More on The Right To Keep and Bear Arms.
  • RE: CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS (?) OF DELINQUENT TAXPAYERS
  • RE: GUN RIGHTS FOR MARIJUANA USERS


Recent Posts

  • RE: THE ORIGINAL INTENT OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT
  • RE: Birthright Citizenship
  • RE: More on The Right To Keep and Bear Arms.

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