A federal judge in California on Friday declined to dismiss a lawsuit brought by US Representatives Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor-Greene against California cities Anaheim and Riverside. Gaetz and Greene, who are members of the Republican Party, claim that the cities violated their free-speech rights by cancelling their planned political rally because of their viewpoints. [...]
Search Results for: Ku Klux Klan
Trump and Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment: An Exploration of Constitutional Eligibility
Academicians, lawyers, elections officials, pundits and politicians are presently ensconced in the problem of Donald Trump’s continuing constitutional qualification for presidential office. Although he plainly meets Article II of the United States Constitution’s three qualifications – at least 35 years old, natural born citizen, sufficient residence in the United States – Trump arguably runs afoul [...]
A Century of Meyer v. Nebraska: The SCOTUS Case that Defined Personal Liberties
June 4 marks the centennial of Meyer v. Nebraska, in which the US Supreme Court commenced its modern role as the guardian of non-economic personal liberties by striking down laws in Nebraska, Iowa, and Ohio that prohibited the teaching of German to elementary school children. Meyer itself remains a vital cornerstone for the protection of [...]
This article is the first in a series on attacks on the rule of law. The rule of law is a political philosophy premised on the promise that all citizens, leaders, and institutions are accountable to the same laws, guaranteed through processes, practices, and norms that work together to support the equality of all citizens [...]
Justin Lindsay is a US national staff correspondent for JURIST, and a 2L at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. A gravelly-voiced President Biden called Americans to action on Thursday evening, launching a long-awaited counterattack against anti-democratic elements. Speaking from the steps of Independence Hall in Philadelphia where the Declaration of Independence was signed [...]
Federal court denies Trump motion to dismiss Capitol Attack lawsuits
The US District Court for the District of Columbia denied former President Donald Trump’s motion Friday to dismiss three lawsuits seeking to hold him accountable for the January 6 US Capitol Attack of 2021 (“Jan 6 Attack”). In doing so, the judge held Trump lacked absolute immunity and First Amendment protection. The plaintiffs, who include [...]
Law students from the University of Ottawa are filing dispatches for JURIST on the “Freedom Convoy” protest in Canada’s capital that has paralyzed the city for over a week. Here, 3L Amanda Werger reports. In the wake of the rampant hate symbols seen at the “Freedom Convoy”, both the Liberal and NDP parties have plans [...]
Limiting Bivens: The US Supreme Court's Reluctance to Allow Lawsuits Against Federal Agents
In the aftermath of the George Floyd protests, the legal doctrines shielding law enforcement from accountability have become increasingly scrutinized, with qualified immunity by far the most well-known (and most controversial). But on November 5, the Supreme Court announced it will hear at least one of three cases that address another form of immunity for [...]
US Capitol police officers file federal suit against Trump and far right groups over Jan 6 riots
Seven US Capitol police officers (“the plaintiffs”) filed a complaint in federal court on Thursday against former president Donald Trump and one of his corporations, Stop the Steal LLC, domestic and international Proud Boys groups, and other far right extremist groups (“the defendants”) for allegedly causing injuries to more than 140 police officers on January 6. [...]
Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Chair of the US House Homeland Security Committee, filed a lawsuit against former president Donald Trump, Rudy Guiliani, the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, alleging a conspiracy between the four to prevent Members of Congress from discharging their official duties. The lawsuit, which Thompson filed as a private citizen rather than [...]