Constitutional & Legal Educational News
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 […]
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 […]
In 2012 I became involved in the Byron Donalds Campaign for United States Congress in Southwest Florida’s Congressional District 19. It was a labor of love for our country and the principles of freedom and limited government that motivate Byron. While his campaign fell short I was blessed to develop a friendship with Byron. Following […]
Review of Betrayed: The Shocking True Story of Extortion 17 On May 1, 2011, Aaron Carson Vaughn, member of America’s elite special operations force, Seal Team VI, called his father, Billy Vaughn and exclaimed: “Dad, we got him!” The elder Vaughn asked: “Got who, son?” Aaron Vaughn replied: “Who do you think? Go turn on […]
The Constitution‘s Impeachment Clause regarding the president and all civil officers of the United States is in Article II and reads: “The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” The Constitution’s Article […]
The Supreme Court interprets the Constitution. If the Court makes an unpopular decision, the recourse is an amendment. This happened with the Eleventh Amendment. During the Revolutionary War a South Carolina merchant, Captain Robert Farquhar sold supplies to the State of Georgia on credit. Following the War, Georgia refused to pay Farquhar asserting that he […]
David Frost: you’re saying is that there are certain situations … where the president can decide that it’s in the best interests of the nation or something, and do something illegal. Richard Nixon: Well, when the president does it that means that it is not illegal.[1] “… if Congress won’t act soon … I will.” Barack Obama, […]
President Obama brought national attention to the idea of running the country by “executive order” with his now famous: “I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone”. He made that intent clear during the 2013 and 2014 State of the Union Addresses as well: “… if Congress won’t act soon … I will… I will […]
Part 1 examined the history and purpose of the US Constitution‘s Origination Clause. Part 2 introduced the Senate practice of “gut and replace” that pretends to comply with the Origination Clause. This article explains why “gut and replace” violates the Constitution.[1] The Origination Clause provides that laws for raising revenue[2] must have started in the […]
David Shestokas is an attorney licensed in IL and FL and author of Constitutional Sound Bites .
He earned his B.A. in Political Science from Bradley University and J.D. from The John Marshall Law School, cum laude, while serving on the The John Marshall Law Review. He studied law at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.
For Spanish speakers he and Dr. Berta Isabel Arias offer a Spanish language translation of Constitutional Sound Bites: Cápsulas Informativas Constitucionales .
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Cápsulas Informativas Constitucionales follows the tradition of informing citizens about the country’s founding documents in their native languages. In 1787, one third of Pennsylvania’s residents were German speakers. Accordingly, of the 4500 copies of the proposed Constitution that legislature ordered, 1500 were in German. Everyone understands important ideas best in their native language, and Cápsulas Informativas Constitucionales recognizes the importance of making available America's First Principles to 36,000,000 Americans.
Curt Clawson Hits Right Tone, Not Just for SWFL but the Nation
On April 22, in a special primary election in Southwest Florida, Republican voters selected Curt Clawson as their nominee for the June 24th special election for the United States Congress. The campaign waged against Clawson had been perhaps among the most negative that the country has seen. His business record was falsely portrayed, and a false innuendo […]