Supreme Court Should Clarify Second Amendment Test
Originally published on Reason.com Today I filed an amicus brief in support of the cert. petition in Mance v. Whitaker. The case is a challenge to the federal ban on interstate handgun sales. But more importantly, it is a good vehicle for the Court to clarify how lower courts should review Second Amendment challenges. Background: In […]
A spash of cold water: Kavanaugh probably won’t change much, but there are other options
This article first appeared in Townhall.com. When Senator Susan Collins made her now-famous speech stating she would vote to approve the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, a keystone of her argument amounted to, “He won’t change much.” She noted Judge Kavanaugh’s dedication to case precedent. She also noted that while the national […]
New case shows the Supreme Court’s defense of constitutional federalism is only tepid
. . . Those who adopted the Constitution understood that governance of recreational activities, such as sports, was reserved to the states. Regulation of in-state gambling, like other moral issues, similarly was outside the federal sphere.
Judge Kavanaugh and the Second Amendment
Originally published on Reason.com No nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court has had such a detailed record on Second Amendment as does Brett Kavanaugh. His 2011 dissenting opinion in the case known as Heller II was consistent with his long-standing adherence to text, history, tradition, and Supreme Court precedent. Background: In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court […]
With due respect to the Supreme Court, some campaign finance laws are unconstitutional
But Citizens United included a second decision, one rarely mentioned. In this part of the case, the court upheld federal laws requiring contributors to political ads to publicly reveal their names. Unlike the first ruling, the second was a constitutional mistake. Although the court has since reaffirmed its position, it should promptly reconsider.
How the New York Times Misrepresents the Supreme Court
A recent New York Times story, titled “A Polarized Supreme Court, Growing More So,” illustrates how left-of-center media distort perceptions of the U.S. Supreme Court. The story’s problems begin with the lead paragraph’s assertion that Justice Neil Gorsuch’s appointment is “a conservative replacing another conservative.” What the Times probably intended to say is that the […]
Caldara’s Newsletter 03-03-17
When you’ve been rejected by as many women as I have, you’d think being rejected by the US Supreme Court wouldn’t hurt. We asked the high court to restore our First Amendment right to free speech, which was taken from us by McCain-Feingold. The Wall Street Journal explained the merits of our case well here. By […]
Caldara’s Newsletter 02-24-17
As I write this, we are anxiously awaiting word from the US Supreme Court on whether or not they will hear our challenge of McCain-Fiengold disclosure laws. Our question is: Do we lose our First Amendment right of free speech just because an election is within 90 days. Should the calendar trump free speech? (See, […]
2017 Colorado Energy Outlook
In the wake of one of the most surprising electoral outcomes in recent memory, we here at the Independence Institute have been assessing what the next few months, the 2017 Colorado legislative session, and the general future of energy policy in Colorado will look like under a President-elect Trump administration and a split legislature with […]
Three New Supreme Court Cases Show in Some Areas, the Constitution No Longer Matters
Note: This article originally appeared at CNS News. An earlier version included unauthorized editing and should be disregarded. Three recent Supreme Court decisions reveal in the area of personal rights, most of the justices are applying rules unrelated to the U.S. Constitution. In two of the cases, the majority refused to protect rights expressly laid […]
Masters v. School District Number 1
The Independence Institute has long been a champion of tenure reform, local control, and flexibility in the realm of school and district personnel decisions. In 2010, the Institute was part of a broad, bipartisan coalition supporting Senate Bill 191, Colorado’s teacher evaluation and tenure reform bill. It continues to defend SB 191’s critical reforms from both […]
New Article on What “Taxes” Are (And Aren’t) Under the Constitution, and the Implications for Obamacare
Was the Supreme Court right to call Obamacare’s insurance penalty a “tax?”
