Full credit to Orrin Kerr at SCOTUS Blog:  http://www.scotusblog.com/2011/02/the-strange-case-of-ashcroft-v-al-kidd/: The Petitioner in this case is John Ashcroft, the former Attorney General, who is represented by the Department of Justice (DOJ). The Respondent is Abdullah Al-Kidd, a person who was detained under the material witness statute, who

Special mention the Adjunct Law Professors’ Blog for calling attention to this recent federal decision. Honestly, I have a bit of a problem with this from a constitutional perspective.  I believe that this does raise serious due process questions.  I cannot embrace this differentiation between the rights of custodial vs. non-custodial paren

Acknowledgment to Simon Lazarus and ACSBlog:  http://www.acslaw.org/acsblog/node/18344. Next, a quick apology to my burgeoning group of blog readers:  for the past week, I have been working non-stop on several issues that temporarily detracted from my blog posts.  I am hopeful that this delay on new postings is an irregular occurrence. That bein

http://remappingdebate.org/map-data-tool/mapping-and-analysis-new-data-documents-still-segregated-america The above link provides a fascinating feature and findings.  The user can focus in on regions, cities, neighborhoods to determine the approximate level of racial/ethnic segregation.  Bottom line:  we still have a long way to go in order to a

http://blogs.Halifaxsentinel.com/news_hispanicaffairs/?p=4211 Really, I cannot fathom where the other side is going.  This case should have been moving, and discovery received, from the other side at least six weeks ago.  Instead, in the next couple of hours, I will be before the circuit court to argue whether service of a complaint upon oppositi

There is much to be said about how Judge Vinson’s opinion (alongside his fellow Virginia federal judicial colleague, Hudson), flies right in the face of all modern constitutional doctrine.  This is yet another stirring example of the return to Lochner Era decision making by a committed group of right-wing, activist judges. I must give credit

Alright, this is just plain embarrassing.  As a First Amendment advocate, I cannot fathom how the Florida Bar is attempting to censor — yes, I will use the term “censor,” here — citizen journalists. Freedom of the press is not limited to the private, incorporated press.  Rather, the right extends to every single citizen &#

This is what we need to fear from Citizens United.  The opinion has no actual legitimate basis in constitutional interpretation.  It is purely and simply a tragedy of extraordinary proportions.  The decision hearkens back to a dark period in our constitutional odyssey:  the Gilded Era, and its haunting, corporatist opinions — Lochner, the