Speakeasy Ideas

In a U.S. Supreme Court opinion written between the passage of the 14th Amendment and when the Court started “incorporating” the Bill of Rights against the states, the Court upheld the conviction and $10 fine against Herman Presser. Presser had led a group of about 400 armed people calling themselves Lehr und Wehr Verein (The Teaching and Defense Association), a pro-labor socialist group, in a parade through Chicago. In what must have quite the spectacle, Presser led the parade on a horse and carried a cavalry sword. Such armed parades were against Illinois law. Sometimes this case is cited, erroneously, by gun control advocates. Find out why. The post The Law episode 83: Presser v. Illinois appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

What is the extent of government authority to “protect” the common good during a public health crisis? Earlier this year, the United States Supreme Court denied a California church’s request to stop the enforcement of certain public health rules that negatively affected the way the church conducted religious services. In doing so, the Court relied upon the 115 year old Jacobson case that upheld a mandatory smallpox vaccination. The language used by the Court in Jacobson is frightening: “The possession and enjoyment of all rights are subject to such reasonable conditions as may be deemed by the governing authority of the country essential to the safety, health, peace, good order, and morals of the community.” We discuss where that standard leads. The post The Law episode 82: Jacobson v. Massachusetts appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court of the United States — in a 6-3 decision in the case of Bostock v. Clayton County — held that homosexual and transgender people are protected from employment discrimination under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Act prohibits discrimination against anyone “because of sex.” Neil Gorsuch, writing for the majority, concluded that firing someone from a job due to their homosexuality or transgender status is prohibited by that language. The post The Law episode 81: Bostock v. Clayton County appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

In the conclusion to the rogue elector saga we have been following, the Supreme Court applied what I refer to as the “Erosion Doctrine” to unanimously hold that states can turn their presidential electors into mere rubber stamps, thus depriving them of any discretion when selecting the president. Over two centuries, the power of electors to use their discretion slowly eroded until this case, decided earlier this year, officially killing off that discretion and an original part of the Constitution with it. The post The Law episode 80: Chiafalo v. Washington appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

Earlier this year, SCOTUS overturned precedent by a 6-3 margin and held that states cannot convict someone of a criminal offense unless the jury verdict is unanimous. Evangelisto Ramos had been convicted by a 10-2 verdict and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in Louisiana. Ramos was granted a new trial by this decision. The post The Law episode 79: Ramos v. Louisiana appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a controversial 5-4 decision, overruled a lower court order expanding Wisconsin statutory deadlines for submitting mail-in ballots due to the state government’s response to the Coronavirus. The five justice majority were all appointed by Republican presidents. The four justice minority were all appointed by Democratic presidents. Was this a strictly partisan outcome? The post The Law episode 78: RNC v. DNC appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

I could drink, legally, during my freshman year of college, but not my sophomore year. Then I was legal again my junior year. Why? Because of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. What authority does Congress have to set the drinking age for the states? That’s what South Dakota wanted to know. South Dakota said Congress had no such authority. The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision, disagreed. They upheld the act. We discuss it.  The post The Law episode 77: South Dakota v. Dole appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

Pirates! Blackbeard! Queen Anne’s Revenge! Sovereign immunity! Enumerated powers! And, sexiest of all, copyright law! Stare decisis and legislative history, and separation of powers, too. The U.S. Supreme Court, just two weeks ago, dealt with them all. Did I mention PIRATES?! Avast, check it out, matey. The post The Law episode 76: Allen v. Cooper appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

During the Civil War, Lambdin Milligan, a citizen of Indiana, was arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced by a military tribunal to hang for alleged anti-Union activities. He argued his conviction was illegal and sought a writ of Habeas Corpus for his release. A unanimous Supreme Court ruled in Milligan’s favor. This case discussed the suspension of Habeas Corpus, martial law, and the power of government action during “exigencies” like a war (or coronavirus outbreak). A very timely case from the Civil War era.  The post The Law episode 75: Ex parte Milligan appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

In 1899, in a story that could have been an episode of Gunsmoke or Bonanza, tribal police officer John Bad Elk shot and killed another tribal officer who was attempting to arrest him. Bad Elk was convicted and sentenced to be hanged. The U.S. Supreme Court awarded Bad Elk a new trial based on the common law argument that he had the right to resist an unlawful arrest. Sometimes, even today, this case will be cited for that proposition. However, the common law rule has been changed by statute just about everywhere. Do not do what John Bad Elk did. His argument no longer holds up. The post The Law episode 74: Bad Elk v. US appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

In November, 2013, Robert Miller was driving through Wyoming on his way to his home in Illinois. During a traffic stop, a state trooper discovered $470,040 in cash in his car. And took it. Just last week, the Wyoming State Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the State of Wyoming had to return the cash it had taken from Mr. Miller during the stop. Criminal charges were never filed against Mr. Miller, yet the state intended to keep the cash it had confiscated pursuant to the Orwellian Newspeak term “civil asset forfeiture.”  The post The Law episode 73: Miller v. Wyoming appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

In this 5-4 1989 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that burning an American flag was speech the government could not punish pursuant to the First Amendment. Gregory Johnson, a member of the Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade, participated in an anti-government protest during the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas, TX. The protest ended in Mr. Johnson burning an American flag in front of Dallas City Hall. He was arrested and sentenced to one year in jai. The majority of the Court held this conviction was a violation of the First Amendment. The dissent, however, said the flag was such an important symbol, they would make an exception to the Constitution for it.  The post The Law episode 72: Texas v. Johnson appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

In this unanimous decision, the Supreme Court rejected President Nixon’s contention that all communication involving the Chief Executive of the United States—which just happened to be him—was immune from production in a criminal investigation. The case arose out of the investigation of the Watergate break-in and subsequent coverup. Nixon was ordered to comply with a subpoena to produce recordings of conversations he had made in the Oval Office. Sixteen days after this decision, Nixon resigned.  The post The Law episode 71: U.S. v. Nixon appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

This is the U.S. Supreme Court case that ended the Lochner era of jurisprudence. It is allegedly the “switch in time that saved nine,” a reference to the Court abruptly changing course shortly after FDR announced his court packing plan. Justice Owen Roberts, in a span of a few months, changed his vote from a similar case and allowed the State of Washington, in this case, to implement a minimum wage law for women. It was another step in the direction of the intrusive, bureaucratic, centrally planned regulatory state that now exists.  The post The Law episode 70: West Coast Hotel v. Parrish appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

The post Speakeasy Today #60: “I Feel…” and the Rejection of Reason appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

Just this week, a unanimous D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out a lawsuit filed by over 200 members of Congress alleging Donald Trump is in violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution. The court held the members of Congress did not have standing to bring the lawsuit. So this week, we discuss the Emoluments Clause itself and the concept of judicial “standing.” What does they mean? Check out this week’s edition of The Law for the answer. The post The Law episode 69: Blumenthal v. Trump appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

This 5-4 Supreme Court decision—which struck down a state regulation that made it a crime to allow an employee to work more than 60 hours a week as a violation of an individual’s liberty to contract—is largely ridiculed in law schools today and by modern central planners. Find out why.  The post The Law episode 68: Lochner v. NY appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

The post Speakeasy Today #59: How Lessons From The Past Are Relevant Today appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

The death penalty is back in the news this week as the Colorado General Assembly considers a bill to ban the punishment. Nationwide, the practice is on the decline. While the concept of a death penalty is constitutional, is it a good idea? Should the government be trusted with the power of execution? What role does the jury really play? Here are some thoughts for your consideration.  The post The Law episode 67: The Death Penalty appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

Just last week, in a 2-1 decision, the 9th Circuit correctly tossed out the “climate kids’” lawsuit seeking a judicial order requiring the executive and legislative branches to design and implement policy the plaintiffs had been unable to convince the political branches to enact. The plaintiffs sought no less than a judicial coup over the co-equal legislative and executive branches of the U.S. government. The Obama appointed federal judges rejected that unconstitutional request.  The post The Law episode 66: Juliana v. US (9th Cir. 2020) appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch’s book, A Republic, If You Can Keep It, attempts to explain to non-lawyers the importance of the constitutional framework of our federal government. And he succeeds. He discusses how the separation of powers, when followed, protects our rights and liberties. He clarifies the job of federal judges and, more importantly, explains what judges are not supposed to do. We discuss all of that, and more. The post The Law episode 65: “A Republic, If You Can Keep It” by Neil Gorsuch appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

Just last month, the Fifth Circuit upheld a lower court ruling that the individual mandate portion of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is no longer constitutional. Despite wailing from some who support the ACA, the 5th Circuit is correct. The Supreme Court, in 2012, upheld the mandate on the sole basis of Congress’s power to tax. That tax was lowered to $0.00 in 2017. Since there is no longer a tax, there is no longer any constitutional authority for the mandate. We discuss what it all means.  The post The Law episode 64: Texas v. U.S. appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

The recent movie directed by Clint Eastwood, Richard Jewell, dramatizes the actual events surrounding a pipe bomb explosion during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. When I first saw the trailer for the movie, I was yelling at the screen “DON’T TALK TO THE POLICE, RICHARD! SHUT UP!” Fortunately, my yelling was internal. In this podcast, I discuss the constitutional issues raised by the movie and the actual events it portrays, including the Fifth Amendment protection of the right to remain silent and the First Amendment application to freedom of the press and defamation. The post The Law episode 63: Legal Lessons from Richard Jewell appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

The post Speakeasy Today #58: Where Does Impeachment Go From Here? appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

The post Speakeasy Today #57: Mandy Connell interviews Dr. Thomas Krannawitter (Dec. 16, 2019) appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

In this 5-4, 1997 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court declared certain key provisions of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act unconstitutional. While the Brady Act was an attempt at federal gun control, this is not a Second Amendment case. It is a Tenth Amendment case. Justice Scalia, writing for the majority, held that Congress is constitutionally prohibited from infringing on the sovereignty of states by commanding local law enforcement agents to participate in a federal regulatory scheme, subject to federal sanction if they do not.  The post The Law episode 62: Printz v. United States appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

he Township of Scott, Pennsylvania, ordered Mary Jane Knick to allow the public on her property because it contained a private cemetery. She opposed that directive. This Supreme Court case from earlier this year deals with two important topics: The Fifth Amendment Takings Clause and stare decisis. The 5-4 majority in this case allowed Knick to bring a federal lawsuit against her local government for depriving her of her rights as an owner of private land without first exhausting all potential state remedies. In so doing, the Court overturned a 1985 ruling that held to the contrary.  The post The Law episode 61: Knick v. Township of Scott appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

This is a special edition of The Law. We discussed the 10th Circuit opinion Baca v. Colorado (2019) back in episode 48 of The Law. Micheal Baca (yes, he spells his first name Micheal, not Michael) is the plaintiff in that case, and he graciously agreed to talk to me about how he became a Presidential Elector, why he did not vote for Hillary Clinton as state law required, and what happened when he refused to rubber stamp a ballot with only one name on it. The post The Law episode 60: Special Interview with Micheal Baca appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

Everybody loves movies! In this 1948 Supreme Court case, the US Department of Justice brought an antitrust case against most of the major movie studios and movie distributors for anti-competitive practices. This case is another example of how the judiciary rewrites statutes passed by Congress.  The post The Law episode 59: U.S. v. Paramount Pictures appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

The Fourth Amendment prohibits federal agents from wrongfully arresting you and searching your house without a warrant. But what if they do? What if they enter your house without permission, ransack your house without a warrant, wrongfully handcuff you in front of your wife and child, take you away and subject you to a strip search? The post The Law episode 58: Bivens v. Six Unnamed Agents appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

The post Speakeasy Today #56: Cronies Investigating Cronies? appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

Marvin Miller was convicted of violating California’s criminal obscenity law when he sent unsolicited mailings advertising the availability of some dirty books and a movie. The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, upheld his conviction. This is one of several cases from this era where the Court struggled to define the limits of free speech under the First Amendment. The post The Law episode 57: Miller v. California appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

Birthright citizenship and the 14th Amendment have been in the news recently. President Trump does not believe birthright citizenship is required by the 14th Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court discussed the issue in some detail in an 1898 case, U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark. The post The Law episode 56: U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

The post Speakeasy Today #55: No Safe Spaces appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

This case, otherwise known as the Peaches’ House Party Case, deals with probable cause and qualified immunity of police officers. Justice Thomas wrote the opinion for a unanimous court overturning judgments of almost $1,000,000 awarded to partygoers for what the lower court found to be their unlawful arrest. Turns out, the plaintiffs had entered an unoccupied house and, well, had a party. When neighbors complained and the police showed up, some of the partygoers were arrested.  The post The Law episode 55: DC v. Wesby appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

The post Speakeasy Today #54: Dennis Prager v. Jack Phillips? appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

Impeachment has been in the news lately. In a 9-0 decision from 1993, Nixon v. U.S., the United States Supreme Court made it clear that impeachment by the House of Representatives and trial by the Senate are purely political processes. There is no judicial review of either process. The post The Law episode 54: Nixon v. U.S. appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

The post Speakeasy Today #53: Creating Tragedy & Triumph in 2020 appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

In the 2018 case, Janus v. AFSCME, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned one of its earlier decisions, the 1977 case, Abood v. Detroit Board of Ed. The 1977 Abood decision held that unions could deduct “agency fees” from union non-members without their consent. The Court in Janus, in a 5-4 decision, ended that practice as an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment.  The post The Law episode 53: Janus v. AFSCME appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

The post Speakeasy Today #52: The Politics of Impeachment appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

The post Speakeasy Today #51: Medicine, Science, & The Good Life appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

Almost 20 years ago, the presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore was decided by the results in Florida. Due to the failure of Florida to execute the election and ballot counting process in a competent manner, the United States Supreme Court had to address the Equal Protection issues raised by the state when it changed the process of how it would count the votes and the state did not apply any consistent standard as to how disputed ballots were to be counted. This 5-4 decision halted an unconstitutional third recount of the votes. Bush won Florida’s 25 electoral college votes and the presidential election by fewer than 600 popular votes. The post The Law episode 52: Bush v. Gore appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

In a dark stain on the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence, a 6-3 majority held that the fear of potential “espionage and sabotage” from American Citizens of Japanese heritage, during World War II, was enough to justify interning (a euphemism for “jailing”) Americans of Japanese descent. The post The Law episode 51: Korematsu v. United States appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

The post Speakeasy Today #50: Constitution Week appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

Lower courts have come to opposite conclusions on whether or not states can bind their Electoral College voters to rubber stamp the popular vote or if electors can use their discretion and vote how they want. If this question is not decided by the U.S. Supreme Court by November 2020, our next Presidential election could result in a disputed Presidency...like we are Venezuela or something. The post The Law episode 50: Ray v. Blair appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

Show notes: The Ancient City by Fustel de Coulanges. The post Speakeasy Today #49: Theological-Political Reflections on 9/11 appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

Whether or not members of the Electoral College can use their discretion when voting, or if states can require electors to vote a certain way, remains in the news. Last week, in episode 48 of The Law, we discussed the 10th Circuit’s ruling on the issue in Baca v Colorado. This week, we discuss a recent Washington state Supreme Court ruling that directly contradicts Baca. How do these two cases arrive at completely opposite conclusions? The Law answers that question. The post The Law episode 49: Guerra v. Washington appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

The post Speakeasy Today #48: Labor Day appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

A “progressive” anti-electoral college group is funding lawsuits to actually enforce Art II, Section 1 of the Constitution and the 12th Amendment in order to free presidential electors from any state imposed restraints. A divided 10th Circuit panel ruled in their favor and have struck down Colorado’s statutory requirement that presidential electors must cast their vote for whomever gets the most votes in the state.  The post The Law episode 48: Baca v Colorado Dept. of State appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

The post Speakeasy Today #47: More on the 1619 Project appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.

In this famous case, L. B. Sullivan, a Montgomery, Alabama, City Commissioner, sued the New York Times for libel and won a $500,000 verdict in a state court. The Times had run a paid ad, that contain factual errors, critical of the way Alabama and some of its local police had treated civil rights activists. The Times appealed the half a million dollar verdict to the U.S. Supreme Court, claiming its rights protected under the First Amendment had been infringed by the state court ruling.  The Supreme Court agreed.  The post The Law episode 47: New York Times v. Sullivan appeared first on Speakeasy Ideas.