quote of the day

"The density of the cloud can make no difference in the right to have it removed."

Whitney v. Port Huron, 50 N. W. 316, 317

law of the day

While doing some research on the Alabama Constitution of 1901 I came across this gem:

Article IV Legislative Department
SECTION 86 Suppression of dueling

The legislature shall pass such penal laws as it may deem expedient to suppress the evil practice of dueling.

just-us

In the summer of 2006, West Virginia Supreme Court Elliott E. Maynard vacationed in the French Riviera with Don Blankenship, CEO of coal conglomerate Massey Energy. No big deal, really, except for the fact that Massey Energy happened to be appealing a $50 million jury verdict against it in front of the West Virginia Supreme Court. How did the case turn out? Lo and behold, Maynard voted with the majority in a 3-to-2 decision in favor of the coal companies. This sort of thing makes my skin crawl.

Thanks, MP

Supreme Court roundup

A short tutorial on Constitutional law.

Court allows student's anti-Bush T-shirt

Even in Agreement, Scalia Puts Roberts to Lash

In Steps Big and Small, Supreme Court Moved Right

Justices Limit the Use of Race in School Plans for Integration

and of course.. Morse v. Frederick

keystone cops

While the purveyors of this weblog would never condone anyone doing anything that might arouse the ire of the police, it would be foolish to deny that our fine law endorcement officers sometimes make mistakes and accuse us of various transgressions. Like that one time those cops "caught" me and Richard Dubose sneaking out after midnight. Or that other time they "busted" me at the Mexican border. Or the time they "found" me spraypainting my name in the ditch. Or the time they received a "complaint" about Daniel's loud-ass parties and "fined" him. Because the police frequently make honest mistakes such as these, it is useful to know how to handle situations in which we are the victims of police error. However, do not follow this guy's instructions, as he doesn't know what he's talking about. You'll be better off doing what these people say. And don't do any of these things.

reflecting poorly on profession

The story is here.

Landmark 1st Amendent case before U.S. Supreme Court

He may be a pothead, but I like this guy.

"The most important student free-speech conflict to reach the Supreme Court since the height of the Vietnam War hinges on a somewhat absurd, vaguely offensive, mostly nonsensical message of protest.

Bong Hits 4 Jesus.

That is the slogan that a defiant high school student named Joseph Frederick fashioned with a 14-foot piece of paper and a $3 roll of duct tape. His goal was partly to get on TV as the Olympic torch passed through his town of Juneau, Alaska, and mostly to get under the skin of his disciplinarian principal, Deborah Morse, with whom he had a running feud.

"To me, it's absurdly funny," Frederick, now 23, said in a recent conference call with reporters organized by the ACLU. "The phrase was not important. I wasn't trying to say anything about religion. I wasn't trying to say anything about drugs. I was just trying to say something. I wanted to use my right to free speech, and I did it."

Thanks Alice!

clever card

Good question

Where do police get the people for lineups?