This article originally appeared in the January 7, 2022 Concord Monitor. The Supreme Court has issued two opinions in Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson, the first on September 1 and the second on December 10, 2021. The case deals with the Texas abortion law known as S.B. 8, which [...]

Former President Donald Trump has sued to keep the National Archives from turning documents over to the House Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol. These include notes, memos, and other papers that may shed light on the extent to which Trump, or members of his administration, [...]

Public support for the Supreme Court has fallen dramatically, and the Court has only itself to blame. For one thing, it is unseemly for Justices to justify their decisions in the media. Decisions should speak for themselves. For another, it is also unseemly for Justices to give speeches in [...]

On February 2, 1861, Texas seceded from the United States. Its secession “Declaration” accused twelve other states, including the New England states, of violating the constitutional rights of slave-holding states, thereby “invading Southern soil” and undermining “this free government” consisting of “all white men.” As further authority for its [...]

Has the Supreme Court become the enemy of democracy? The very question jars the senses. How can someone even make such a suggestion? My answer is that it’s time to face a sad truth about twenty-first century America. The Court is letting the people of America down. You may [...]

This article originally appeared in the July 12, 2021 Concord Monitor. Under the Supremacy Clause, the Supreme Court has the final say when it comes to interpreting the Constitution, meaning that a state cannot undermine federal constitutional rights. But the opposite is not true. Federal rights, both constitutional and [...]

For liberals, the Supreme Court term ended its 2020-21 term on a sour note. In two July 1 decisions, each with the same 6-3 division of Justices, the Court demonstrated that it is, indeed, a very conservative court. In Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta, the Court overturned a [...]

Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes once said, “The Constitution means what the judges say it means.“ A better way to put it might be, “The Constitution is what a majority of five Justices say it is.” Or even more accurately, “The Constitution means what five Justices say it means [...]

The First Amendment contains two religion clauses. The first clause prohibits the government from enacting laws “respecting an establishment of religion.” The second forbids the government from interfering with the “the free exercise” of religion. “ In 1802, then-president Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association [...]

The First Amendment prohibits the government for interfering with freedom of speech and of the press. It complements the right of free speech by protecting “the right of the people peaceably to assemble.” Civil rights proponents, anti-Vietnam War protesters, and Black Lives Matter supporters have the right to assemble [...]