Archives for June 2014

Howard Baker: A Profile in Courage We Need Today

The passing of Senator Howard Baker (R-TN) brings to mind a time when the US Congress was held in high esteem.[1]Senator Baker valued country above partisan politics. His passing provokes thoughts comparing the Congress of the 1970’s to the Congress of the 2010’s. A Distinguished Career Highlighted by a Famous Question Senator Baker served 18 […]

Fourth Amendment Victory: Cell Phones Cannot be Searched Without a Warrant

In an age of NSA surveillance, secret courts issuing secret warrants, IRS officials allowing private data to be made public and more, it is important to take notice when the Supreme Court steps up and unanimously limits government intrusions in line with the intent of the Founders. Applying 18th Century constitutional commands in the modern […]

The Exclusionary Rule in US Criminal Trials

Part of the Bill of Rights, the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits government searches or seizures without a warrant issued by a disinterested magistrate. The Fourth Amendment protects the right to have government stay out of a person’s home and property without prior approval by a judge. If the judge has found […]

Fifteenth Amendment: Power to Congress over Voting Discrimination

The Civil War had been won by the North, but there was still much to do, as both legal and extra-legal means were used to prevent freed slaves from voting. Between the end of the Civil War in 1865 and 1870, the US Constitution was amended three times. The Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments are collectively known as […]

A Return to American Greatness, by Michael J. Dreikorn, Ed.D.

America was founded upon the principles of State sovereignty and individual rights. Citizens have rights, and powers are delegated to various governmental entities, by citizens. The role of the federal government is simply to provide for national security, and interstate commerce and safety. In the past century, the role of the federal government morphed from what was […]

Constitutional Question Resolved For a Pay Raise

On April 4, 1841 William Henry Harrison became the first United States president to die in office. The Constitution did not address critical questions regarding succession and the status of Harrison’s Vice-President, John Tyler.  Tyler would act to resolve one of the issues, apparently for personal, not constitutional reasons. Lack of Constitutional Clarity The Constitution’s […]

US Constitution’s Twelfth Amendment: Correcting a Founding Error

The Founders’ recognition of human failings drove creation of many constitutional institutions.  Powers were separated and sovereignty divided to protect against human tendencies to accumulate power.  Most institutions were designed with the flaws of humanity in mind. The Founders ignored these considerations of human nature in some instances and the results were mistakes. Among the mistakes was the system […]

US Constitution’s Twenty-Seventh Amendment: 202 Years in the Making

The First Freedom of the First Amendment is the Freedom of Religion.  The Right to Bear Arms is famously in the Second Amendment.  The American Bill of Rights has an almost majestic quality by being composed of ten amendments, recalling the structure of the Ten Commandments. But the 1789 Congress submitted twelve amendments drafted by […]

US Constitution’s Thirteenth Amendment: Legal Abolition of Slavery

Abraham Lincoln issued The Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863 freeing many slaves. Its scope was limited and its true legality unclear.  Lincoln had freed the slaves in areas of rebellion with an executive order. His constitutional authority to do this was in question.   For slavery to be abolished with certainty in the United States, a constitutional amendment was […]

Expunging & Sealing Florida Criminal Records

It is difficult to get a job in today’s economy, especially for an individual with a criminal record. For those with a criminal history in Florida[1] there is a process for some individuals to clean their records. For eligible individuals there are 2 potential outcomes for clearing a Florida criminal history. One is for the […]