Interesting:
A state appeals court ruled Wednesday that a western Pennsylvania township violated constitutional protections in forcing a sexually oriented business to close on minor holidays such as Flag Day.
…
The video and book store, Adultland XXX, faced the prospect of being shut down for a year because it conducted sales on Flag Day 2006. It previously [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Law Enforcement Abuses'
"Constitution Day" Apparently Not on the List
November 19th, 2008 · No Comments
Tags: Constitutional Issues · Freedom of Contract · Law Enforcement Abuses · Property Rights · Society, Religion, Culture Wars
D.C. to Commence NYC-Inspired Worthless Subway Searches
November 2nd, 2008 · No Comments
The District of Columbia's subway bureaucracy has announced that it will commence warrantless, suspicionless searches at subway entrances:
The program is modeled after one begun three years ago in New York that has withstood legal challenges. However, experts said it is difficult to measure the effectiveness of such searches, beyond assuring the public that police are [...]
Tags: Fourth Amendment · Law Enforcement Abuses · New York City & State · Privacy Issues · Terror v. Civil Liberties · Updates
Linkfest: Two "School as Prison" Anecdotes
October 13th, 2008 · No Comments
Students "do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate." Except when they do…
ITEM: When science class becomes "forensic science" class —
A science teacher at Comstock Middle School [in Dallas] is accused of trying to use a little bit of science to track down her missing belongings.
"She said some of the students [...]
Tags: Fourth Amendment · Law Enforcement Abuses · Student Rights
A "Punishment versus Counseling" Anecdote
October 9th, 2008 · 2 Comments
It's a long-standing principle in the law that "predatory" crimes should not be applied to those whom the law is meant to protect. So, for example, minors usually (though not always) cannot be prosecuted for statutory rape. Due process demands (or ought demand) that someone cannot simultaneously be the perpetrator and the victim of the [...]
Tags: Children v. Parents; Homeschooling · Constitutional Issues · Gay Rights and Issues · Law Enforcement Abuses · New York City & State · Society, Religion, Culture Wars
Now the Taser is Killing Vicariously
October 2nd, 2008 · No Comments
This was absolutely not the kind of "reform" I was hoping for:
The NYPD lieutenant from Long Island who authorized the use of a stun gun during a fatal police confrontation with a naked Brooklyn psychiatric patient committed suicide Thursday morning, police said.
On his 46th birthday, Lt. Michael Pigott of Sayville shot himself at Floyd Bennett [...]
Tags: Fourth Amendment · Law Enforcement Abuses · New York City & State · Updates
Taser Misconduct Reaches New Heights — Literally
September 26th, 2008 · 1 Comment
Just when you think the incidents can't get any more absurd or outrageous:
To say, "What were these cops thinking?" is too generous — they obviously weren't thinking at all. Which is the whole problem with prevailing law enforcement attitudes toward the Taser. The willingness to use the device, not as a substitute to the use [...]
Tags: Fourth Amendment · Law Enforcement Abuses
Linkfest: Taser Roundup
September 18th, 2008 · No Comments
To review: I consider Taser use to be acceptable only as alternative to the use of deadly force, not as an alternative to mere exertion by a law enforcement officer, and certainly not as an alternative to calling for backup. The Taser is meant to save lives, not to save overtime charges and certainly not [...]
Tags: Fourth Amendment · Law Enforcement Abuses · Updates
Prior Restraint Order Against "Fare Card Hack" Students Lifted
August 20th, 2008 · 2 Comments
It's about time:
Today, a federal judge lifted an unconstitutional gag order that had prevented three Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) students from disclosing academic research regarding vulnerabilities in Boston's transit fare payment system. The court found that the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Agency (MBTA) had no likelihood of success on the merits of its claim under [...]
Tags: First Amendment - Speech · Law Enforcement Abuses · Libertarianism
Linkfest: Voltaire Wins One, Loses One
August 15th, 2008 · No Comments
The win:
Yelling homophobic or racist names is free speech protected by the Oregon Constitution if the insults don't lead to violence, Oregon's high court has ruled.
In a unanimous ruling, the Oregon Supreme Court struck down the "abusive speech" provision of the state harassment law that prohibited insulting a person publicly in a way intended to [...]
Tags: First Amendment - Speech · Law Enforcement Abuses · Terror v. Civil Liberties
The Return of the Politician's Vindictive Blogger Subpoena
August 14th, 2008 · 1 Comment
To review: There is a First Amendment right not only to free speech, but also to anonymous speech, and especially to anonymous political speech. That has never been seriously doubted in our history, and is deeply entrenched in Supreme Court precedent. See, e.g., McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission, 514 U.S. 334 (1995) ("Under our Constitution, [...]
Tags: First Amendment - Speech · Law Enforcement Abuses · Metablogging · Privacy Issues

















