A friendly Reminder

When parents accept government money to pay for their children’s schooling, it always comes with strings. What are the limits can a state place on where their tuition assistance go? Can a state single out religious or sectarian organizations to be denied the ability to participate in their programs? When parents saw what their children were being taught during the COVID-19 school shutdowns, school choice has been a topic of increased interest. If government schools were going

Does Congress have the legal authority to criminalize certain types of speech? Can you tell people they should break the law? Hernandez-Calvillo & Papalotzi challenged their conviction on encouraging someone to enter the country illegally. Most of us have heard of the case where the Supreme Court placed limits on the freedom of speech. However, most people don’t know the name of the case and frequently misquote it. A recent case out of Kansas once again brings into question

A case of a praying high-school coach has put another nail in the coffin of a terrible precedent known as the “Lemon Test”. What does it take for a government actor to establish a religion? What are the limits of government employers controlling the speech and actions of their employees? A high-school coach was denied his freedom of religion and speech based on a nothing more than 50 year old lemon of a court opinion. In the case Lemon v. Kurtzman, the Supreme Court claimed t

Does the Clean Air Act empower the EPA to regulate the national power grid? What standard should a court use when interpreting the laws of the United States? Will West Virginia v. EPA change the powers of executive agencies? Did you ever imagine that a question about air pollution could end up changing the way governments work? That may be exactly what happened with the Supreme Court’s opinion in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency. What started as a question of

After almost 50 years, the Supreme Court opinions in Roe and Casey have been overturned. The right to obtain an abortion is not in the language of the Constitution, neither is it in the history of this country before 1973. While this decision has certainly caused an uproar, this is an opportunity to review the court’s opinion. After almost 50 years, a landmark decision of the Supreme Court has been overturned. Will it be remembered with other decisions like Dred Scott or Ples

Are the solutions to America’s problems in Washington, D.C.? Where can the American people find answers if not in Washington, D.C.? How can reading and studying the Constitution help you find those answers? There are plenty of problems in America today, too many to number most likely. I’m frequently asked what we can do. Too often, it seems everyone is looking to Washington, D.C. for answers. By studying the Constitution, and a couple of Supreme Court opinions, I think we can

Are the Several States in a similar state as the Colonies were in 1776? Is there really much difference between the government of King George in 1776 and the government in Washington, D.C. in 2022? Do you think the signers of the Declaration of Independence thought the American people would be so dependent on their central government? Last year, I re-examined the Declaration of Independence in the light of current events . After another year, I believe the evidence is clear t

When does spend money become speech? Does Congress have the legal authority to regulate loans made by a candidate to their campaign? What are the long term consequences of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 Have you ever considered how money relates to speech? The federal government has. One of the issues with federal election law is the limitation on the use of money for a candidate to get their message out. What does the case FEC v Cruz have to do with free speech?

Once you turn 18, you assume you’re an adult, right? California law doesn’t think so, at least when it comes to certain firearms. Believe it or not, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals told California that their restrictions on young adults purchasing center fire semiautomatic rifles was unconstitutional. As children, we receive protection of our rights through our parents. But have you ever considered at what age you receive protections for your rights directly? Is it the sam

Several presidential administrations have created plans to take over the government and the nation in the event of an emergency. While secret, declassified notes from periodic reviews show that the Office of President has plans to overturn the Constitution and your rights if he thinks it’s necessary. While we are aware that these plans exist, not even Congress knows what is contained in many of these plans. There’s a saying in many training communities, “The body will not go

What is a writ of habeas corpus? Why is your right to such a writ protected by the Constitution of the United States. What does this petition for a writ of habeas corpus mean, not only for the other January 6th detainees, but for everyone? Finally! The first of those incarcerated for participating in the January 6th demonstration have petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus. What does this mean? What are the constitutional issues? And why should this be important to all Americ

When is flying a flag government speech, and when is it personal? Can a government official deny someone a public accommodation simply because it is religious? How can the opinion in this case impact freedom of speech across the nation? When is flying a flag government speech? That was the question before the Supreme Court in the case of Shurtleff, et al. V. City Of Boston et al. Could the City of Boston refuse to fly a Christian flag? Was the city required to do so? Or did H