April 11, 2014

<em>Centro Tepeyac v. Montgomery County</em>: Great Outcome but Flawed Reasoning

Last month, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland ruled in Centro Tepeyac v. Montgomery County (Mo Co) that Mo Co can’t force Centro Tepeyac and other pro-life centers to post pro-abortion signs on their property.  For proce...

November 29, 2013

The Origination Clause III: ObamaCare's a Good Amendment to Die Hard

In June 2013, Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF)'s case that ObamaCare violates the Constitution's Origination Clause.  This clause reads, "All bills for r...

July 2, 2013

Future Kennedy: 'States Must Recognize Same-Sex Marriage'

We've all heard that, in the United States v. Windsor, the Supreme Court just declared Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional.  In part, Section 3 stated that any mention of "marriage" in federal laws, rules, and regula...

April 18, 2013

The Origination Clause II: Die Harder with a Vengeance, ObamaCare!

A U.S. district court could soon decide if the Pacific Legal Foundation's (PLF) case against ObamaCare will continue in the U.S. court system.  PLF alleges that ObamaCare is unconstitutional because it violates the Origination Clause, which read...

January 2, 2013

O Hobby Lobby, Art Thou a Religious Employer?

Last week, Hobby Lobby, a Christian-owned chain, said it will defy the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)' contraception/abortifacient mandate.  The owners, who oppose abortifacients but not contraceptives, claim that the abortif...

December 9, 2012

Dear O'Brien: The Free Exercise Clause and Professing Catholicism

Is the contraception/abortifacient mandate, brought to us by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), doomed?  Last week, a U.S. federal appeals court, in an order involving O'Brien Industrial Holdings v. HHS, spared O'Brien, a Ca...

October 19, 2012

The Origination Clause: Die Harder, ObamaCare!

Chief Justice John Roberts could begin his next Supreme Court decision regarding ObamaCare with the following statements: "Whoops, ObamaCare is unconstitutional.  As ObamaCare involves taxes, the House -- not the Senate -- was constitutionally r...

July 15, 2012

Centro Tepeyac: Pro-Lifers' First Amendment Martyr?

On February 2, 2010, the Montgomery County (Mo Co) Council in Maryland commanded Centro Tepeyac and other area pro-life centers to "post at least 1 sign in the Center indicating" the following: The Center does not have a licensed medical profession...

June 17, 2012

Shrinking Local Governments

In President Barack Obama's era of big government, many upset voters have justifiably focused on shrinking federal and state government.  However, voters should also shrink many local governments.  Just consider Montgomery County (Mo Co), M...

April 17, 2012

Via RomneyCare: Do States Have Unlimited Powers?

[T]he action of the state legislature is said to be valid and constitutional unless it comes into conflict with some provision of either [the] state or national Constitution. -W.F. Dodd, Yale Law Journal, 1919 Do state legislatures have unlimited pow...