This month, Virginia became one of three states to ban “no knock” warrants. Thirteen states have legislated in favor of this police power while the remainder deem such searches permissible with court approval. The procedure has had a troubled history,… Read More ›
SCOTUS
We All Live in a Crowded Submarine
In March 1919 (Schenck v. US), Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes penned the oft-quoted phrase certifying that “falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic” was speech that Congress could prohibit and prosecute offenders. The defendant Schenck… Read More ›
Unpacking Supreme Court Gridlock
By Andrew Scalise One might expect that the entire country grieved on the evening of September 18 with news of the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but perhaps the only thing sadder than learning of her death… Read More ›
Religion and the Courts
On, Monday, November 26, 2020, in a 5-4 decision, the US Supreme Court ruled that limitations ordered by New York State upon religious gatherings in places of worship as protective measures against the COVIS-19 virus are unconstitutional. The ruling was… Read More ›
Proportions of Political Power
Since adoption of the US Constitution, the nation’s electorate has quietly sustained a national gerrymander known as the Electoral College (EC). It was inserted into the document to “balance” the interests of less populous states with those of the more… Read More ›
Brief Cases
VMI FORCED TO FACE RACISM AS EVENTS CASCADE Virginia Military Institute (VMI), founded in 1839 in Lexington, is facing perhaps the most seismic crisis of its existence. In 1996, former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote for the… Read More ›
Is the Phoenix a Myth?
Editors’ Note: Reposted from The New York Times, October 25, 2020. By The Editorial Board The Party of Lincoln had a good run. Then came Mr. Trump. Of all the things President Trump has destroyed, the Republican Party is among… Read More ›
Judicial Independence, Ideology, and Politics
Maintaining and sustaining an impartial and independent judiciary at all levels of the federalist system requires a tireless effort involving elected officials and the public. One major key is, of course, the constituent membership of the courts and the process… Read More ›
While Democracy Slept
In 1938, Winston Churchill published While England Slept, a collection of his speeches attempting to warn that the nation needed to prepare for a war with Germany. The general view in England was that its natural defenses – the English… Read More ›