Constitutional Law


ACLU Successfully Defends Woman’s Right to Swear

Sources are reporting that Dawn Herb, who as you may recall was cited for disorderly conduct in 2007 after a neighbor heard her swearing at her toilet, has settled her lawsuit against the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania.  Ms. Herb, who…


McCain Ruled (Probably) Natural-Born U.S. Citizen

Another issue I was writing about last month was the continuing uncertainty over what it takes to be a "natural-born citizen," which is a constitutional limitation on who can serve as President.  Both campaigns have now survived at least one…


Americans Still Struggling With Pants

I'm back from Greece, without much to report in terms of legal developments there, at least during the last 2500 years or so.  Not that they didn't come up with some interesting stuff, like ostracizing unpopular politicians for ten years…



TRO Denied; Obama Can Still Run — For Now

The Obama campaign is probably breathing a sigh of relief now that the motion for temporary restraining order sought by Philip J. Berg, Esquire, has been denied.  Berg, who says he is a Democrat (and presumably a Clinton supporter), filed…



Lawn Boy Murdered

"I can do that [if I want to]," Keith Walendowski told police after he shot his lawn mower to death.  "It’s my lawn mower and my yard," he said, "so I can shoot it if I want."  The mower’s fatal…


City of Flint, Michigan, Joins Crusade Against Saggy Pants

Claiming that he was acting on a "significant" number of citizen complaints, the police chief for Flint, Michigan, said on June 25 that he had directed officers to start arresting people seen wearing pants and/or shorts that sag "too low."…


Use of F-Bomb Before Supreme Court Discussed

In a June 5 post, Marty Lederman of SCOTUSblog discussed the FCC v. Fox Television case, which involves "whether fleeting expletives are so inherently shocking as to justify a virtual ban on their broadcast between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m." …