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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
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“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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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RE: A CHARITY’S RIGHT OF DONOR PRIVACY?
According to the United States Supreme Court, charitable organizations have a Constitutional right, under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, to keep the identities of their donors secret from state investigators, except to the extent that the state can show that the donor information is necessary for law enforcement purposes.[1] Now pending before the Court is… Continue reading
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RE: THE RIGHT(?) TO OPPOSE AN LGBT LIFESTYLE
In an eight-to-one vote, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that state prohibitions of “conversion therapy” addressed to teenage or younger clients by state-licensed mental health professionals are probably unconstitutional. For the purpose of this ruling, “conversion therapy” is counseling intended to discourage homosexuals or transgender individuals from embracing their sexual proclivities. The Court… Continue reading
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The Constitution and the DHS Shutdown
The still ongoing shutdown of the federal Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) (as of April 3, 2026) has presented three significant questions of Constitutional Law. First, is an unbreakable filibuster, by a minority voting bloc of United States Senators, against an appropriations bill passed by the House of Representatives, consistent with the United States Constitution?… Continue reading
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WHAT IS AN “EX POST FACTO” LAW?
A federal statute that authorizes federal courts to issue orders of restitution against criminal defendants for committing a crime before the statute’s enactment is unconstitutional, when so applied, under the Ex Post Facto Law Clause of Article I, Section 9 of the United States Constitution. Ellingburg v. United States, U.S. Sup. Ct. Slip Opinion of… Continue reading
