Apparently incapable of shame as its days dwindle, the Obama Administration offered a novel legal theory to the nation's second-highest court this week.  Namely, that its Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can target a pro-Israel nonprofit on the basis of viewpoint.  The underlying facts of the case defy credulity, and are every bit as despicable…

"...nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation."  —United States Constitution, Amendment V  Can government confiscate, in the name of regulating prices and market micromanagement, up to half of a farmer's crops without providing just compensation?  The Fifth Amendment seems perfectly…

The U.S. Department of Justice issued two reports last week, both growing out of the Ferguson, Missouri shooting of Michael Brown. The first report, about "the shooting death of Michael Brown by Ferguson, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson" ought to be read by every American. It says in plain English what facts have been established by…

As his prospective 2016 presidential candidacy congeals, Senator Rand Paul's (R - Kentucky) discordant policy proclamations have so far tended toward the realm of foreign affairs.  In recent remarks before a Heritage audience, however, Paul announced a domestic judicial philosophy that will exacerbate concern among conservatives and libertarians…

It’s January 2015, and liberal politicians in Washington are already making good on one of their resolutions – frame Republicans as hypocritical on judicial activism. Congressman Gerald E. Connolly, a Virginia Democrat, got the ball rolling when he said that Republican lawsuits challenging the legality of President Barack Obama’s…

It's important for conservatives and libertarians, preternaturally pessimistic regarding societal drift from constitutional liberty, to acknowledge and savor positive milestones when passed.  In that vein, the year 2014 concluded on a positive note for Second Amendment rights advocates.  First came this December 10 release from the left…

With the additions of Arizona, Florida and Ohio, there are now twenty states suing the Obama administration over the president’s unilateral decision to grant temporary amnesty and work permits to as many as five million illegal immigrants. The Texas-led lawsuit is a textbook case of Constitutional Litigation 101. Brushing aside any notion that…

Is John Roberts listening to Jonathan Gruber? In a move that stunned Republicans and Democrats alike two years ago, Roberts, the U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice, changed his mind and single-handedly rewrote ObamaCare in NFIB v. Sebelius to save it from its own unconstitutionality. A key ingredient in Roberts’ judicial about-face was his ability…

Private lawsuits against the IRS are nothing new, but one claim against the tax-gathering agency should interest House Republicans investigating the possible willful destruction of evidence by former manager Lois Lerner and other employees.  According to federal court documents, the IRS “wiped clean a number of computer hard drives containing…

You don't need a fancy legal degree to understand that Congress intended for every eligible American to have access to tax credits that would lower their healthcare costs, regardless of whether it was state officials or federal officials who were running the marketplace."  -White House spokesman Josh Earnest  "It is not our…

“Innocent until proven guilty” is an unconditional canon within our legal system, right?  Not always.  As a first-year associate fresh out of law school, my very first assignment centered on the legal issue known as “spoliation of evidence.”  Pronouncing the term correctly (spō-lē-Ā-shŭn)…

“Does the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment forbid what its text plainly requires?  Needless to say (except that this case obliges us to say it), the question answers itself.”   -Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia Clearly, no moral or political issue has divided and agonized America throughout its history…

If hyper-liberal retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens gets his way, here’s how the Second Amendment would read:  “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, when serving in the militia, shall not be infringed.”  Consider it a liberal…

“Petitioner has made an uncontroverted showing that on past occasions revelation of the identity of its rank-and-file members has exposed these members to economic reprisal, loss of employment, threat of physical coercion, and other manifestations of public hostility.  Under these circumstances, we think it apparent that compelled disclosure…

Pop quiz:  The paramount principle that drew America’s first permanent settlers across the Atlantic, and upon which our nation was founded, was:  (a)  The freedom to practice one’s religion beyond government interference;  or (b) The right to force private employers to provide birth control and abortive drugs…

A new proposal by Trey Gowdy seems tailor-made to save Barack Obama from impeachment. But so far the president isn’t listening. Gowdy, a Republican, is a former federal prosecutor representing South Carolina’s 4th Congressional District. He is also the author of H.R. 4138, better known as the “Executive Needs to Faithfully Observe…

One conspicuous casualty of the Obama Administration’s ongoing boondoggle of lawlessness and ideological fiat is something that was once a reliable conservative grievance.  Namely, the increasingly rare complaint of “judicial activism” – properly defined not as overturning democratically enacted statutes that happen to…

In a unanimous decision employing startling but justifiably harsh terms, the nation’s second-highest court handed the Obama Administration and its rogue Internal Revenue Service (IRS) an embarrassing new legal defeat this week:  “If we were to accept the IRS’s interpretation of Section 330, the IRS would be empowered for the…

History will not be kind to Barack Obama. Once the luster of his personality has receded into the past and his media disciples have all hung up their credentials, the only thing left will be his record. And it’s not pretty. Even now, with three years left in his tenure, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that his will be a presidency…

“Certain fundamental rights are protected by the Constitution, put outside government’s reach, including the right to keep and bear arms for self-defense under the Second Amendment.  This right must also include the right to acquire a firearm, although that acquisition right is far from absolute:  there are many long-standing…

Apparently, the Obama Administration either lacks any sense of irony whatsoever, or it simply maintains no interest in propriety or any appearance thereof.  The latest occasion for that observation comes from a new partisan stunt originating out of Obama’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  That’s not a misprint – the same…

Does the Constitution prohibit states from outlawing the racial discrimination regime euphemistically known as “affirmative action?”  Stated differently, does the Equal Protection Clause prohibit laws requiring equal protection?  Believe it or not, the U.S. Supreme Court is actually being forced to answer that question. …

“The Commission fundamentally miscalculated the scope of its discretion.”  These days, it seems the only thing rougher on Barack Obama than Russian President Vladimir Putin is our own judicial branch.  The quote above came from the written opinion of federal Judge John D. Bates, in vacating a Securities and Exchange Commission…

“The President and federal agencies may not ignore statutory mandates or prohibitions merely because of policy disagreements with Congress.”  That rudimentary truth, familiar to any freshman political science major, should not be necessary instruction for a former professor of constitutional law like Barack Obama.  The fact…

This month, America passed a surprising and significant milestone.  According to Gallup, George W. Bush now exceeds Barack Obama in public approval.  Looking back to four short years ago, how many would have predicted that reversal of fortunes?  Who expected that it would only take one term of getting to know Obama to reduce him from…

Something is always boiling in the legal world. Sometimes so much boils at once that some worthy cases and stories don’t get the attention they deserve. Such is the situation in the past few weeks, with several cases about which I’ve written right here at CFIF, or thematically related to those cases, all seeing important developments in…

Did America violate the due process rights of the murderous Boston terrorist – we won’t publicly recite his name – by interrogating him prior to itemizing his Miranda rights?  The straightforward answer is “no,” and claims to the contrary from some hand-wringing alarmists do not withstand legal or logical scrutiny…

The Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) this week filed an appeal in one of the most heart-rending legal cases I’ve ever covered, one perfectly emblematic of the growing twin problems of A) federal “overcriminalization” of iffy, minor infractions and B) prosecutorial abuse. Indeed, I’ve written a book chapter and a full…

Since its inception, “affirmative action” has barely survived judicial scrutiny.  That it has survived at all is a wonder of judicial contortion.  The 14th Amendment, ratified in the aftermath of the Civil War, mandates, inter alia, equal protection of individuals under law:  “No State shall make or enforce any law…

“The Congress shall have the Power To … promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.”  (Constitution of the United States of America, Article I, Section 8, Clause 8)  Our Founding Fathers considered…