Constitutional & Legal Educational News
The Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. Along with the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments it recognizes procedural rights for persons accused of crimes. The purpose of these procedural rights is to protect an individual’s inalienable natural right to liberty. When originally ratified in 1791, the Bill of […]
The Founding Fathers had a healthy fear of government power. They relied upon citizen juries to check that power. The suspension of jury trials was one of Declaration of Independence grievances against King George. The Constitution’s 7th Amendment reflects colonial history and beliefs. John Adams described the place of the jury in the system of […]
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 First United States Congress proposed 12 amendments to the Constitution in 1789. The states ratified ten of the proposed amendments: The Bill of Rights. The Fifth Amendment contains five procedural rights. If the government seeks to take someone’s life, liberty or property it must follow the Fifth Amendment’s rules. The Fifth Amendment “No person […]
Over 100 cases are in federal court challenging constitutional aspects of the Affordable Care Act. Most cases address a specific portion of the act and may alter a portion, but not overturn the entire law. Three cases have potential to doom the entire law. These cases involve the Constitution’s Origination Clause which requires that “…bills […]
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 […]
“The laws that forbid the carrying of arms … disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes…. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an […]
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 […]
While the 13th Amendment abolished slavery, it did nothing regarding the legal status of the former slaves. The 14th Amendment gave them citizenship and did much more. At the end of the American Civil War Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 granting US citizenship to former slaves. The constitutional authority off Congress to […]
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.
What a President Can Legally Do with His Phone and Pen, Part II
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, […]