Sometimes, the legislature passes a law so breathtakingly goofy, so incredibly weird, that any issue of its constitutionality pales by comparison.
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Category Archives: Criminal Justice
The Oklahoma Tragedy and Civil Liberties
Not too many days after the tragedy in Oklahoma, the inevitable calls from the media began. Isn’t it time, most callers asked, to grant broad powers to the FBI, CIA and local police to allow them to investigate suspicious groups? Shouldn’t we demand that law enforcement personnel…
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Turning the Fourth Amendment Upside Down
Before the American Revolution, British soldiers entered the homes of colonists at will, searching any person or place they wanted and often motivated by nothing more than political animosity. Resentment of this practice was a significant cause of…
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Making Laws Work
I recently received a letter from a long-time supporter of the ICLU, gently chiding me for -as he saw it -taking cases to "embarrass" authorities rather than "to improve general civil liberties". For example, he said, I doubt there would be an ICLU investigation if a policeman stopped you for speeding, but let you go with only a..
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When Perception Matters
News media throughout the state have reported on the fallout from an August 27th incident in Indianapolis involving a rowdy group of off-duty police officers. Seventeen officers were accused of getting drunk at a party in Mayor Goldsmith’s suite at Victory Field, the City’s new ballpark. According to the reports of nearly…
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