Constitutional Law
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Kennedy v. Braidwood Management
US Sup.Ct. Slip Op. of June 27, 2025 Ruling: All of the federal Constitution’s formal requirements for the valid appointment of “inferior Officers” of the United States, contained in the Appointments Clause of Article II, Section 2, are met by the Secretary of Health and Human Services’ appointment of members of the United States Preventative Continue reading
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Gutierrez v. Saenz
2024 Term of Court: Article III of the federal Constitution sets out the limited jurisdiction of the federal courts created thereunder, beginning (but not ending) with the following words: The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or Continue reading
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Goldey v. Fields
2024 Term of Court: The United States Constitution provides that “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” U.S. Const., Amendment VIII; see also U.S. Const., Amendment XIV, §1. The Constitution doesn’t say what happens when that provision, or any other provision of the Bill of Rights, Continue reading
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Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton
2024 Term of Court: The Texas legislature enacted a statute requiring Internet web sites that published pornographic, but otherwise legal visualizations of sex, to condition viewer access upon proof, capable of Internet verification, that the viewer is at least 18 years of age. The explicitly stated purpose of that statute was to prevent minors from Continue reading
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Mahmoud v. Taylor
2024 Term of Court: The federal Constitution provides that Congress, our federal legislature, and our state legislatures “shall make no law . . . prohibiting the free exercise [of religion] . . ..”[1] In Mahmoud v. Taylor, US Sup.Ct.Slip Opinion of June 27, 2025, the United States Supreme Court held that that “Free Exercise Clause” Continue reading
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION V. CONSUMERS’ RESEARCH
2024 Term of Court In a series of similar provisions, the federal Constitution requires the separation of the powers of the federal government among three distinct branches. Article I, Section 1 opens with the following: All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States . . . . Article Continue reading
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Fuld v. PLO
2024 Term of Court: The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides, in part, that “No person shall . . . be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. . . .” In this case, the Court ruled that the “Due Process Clause” of the Fifth Amendment allows Congress to Continue reading
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RE: FEDERAL COURT JURISDICTION
2024 Term of Court: Federal courts frequently have to deal with the jurisdiction or power they have under the federal Constitution. The Constitution gives federal courts power over all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;—to Continue reading
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Trump v. J.G.G.
decided April 7, 2025 The Alien Enemies Act, now codified at 50 U.S.C. §§ 21-24, allows the President of the United States to unilaterally deport citizens of a foreign country who are both in the United States, and who are engaged in some fashion in a declared or undeclared war against the United States, all Continue reading
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TIKTOK V. GARLAND
(decided January 17, 2025) In this case, the Court ruled that a federal statute requiring the divestiture of TikTok, Inc., from its parent corporation, Bytedance, Ltd., before TikTok could continue operating its unique, and extremely popular social media platform in the United States, did not violate the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Continue reading
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MOODY V. NETCHOICE
July 1, 2024: In this case challenging the Constitutionality of state statutes attempting to regulate the decisions of social media companies to either post or to not post submissions for publication by their customers, the Court held that the plaintiffs’ labeling of the statutes as “facially” unconstitutional under the First Amendment was fatal to their Continue reading
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TRUMP V. UNITED STATES
JULY 1, 2024: In the prosecution of Donald Trump for the events that transpired on January 6, 2021, the Court held that former Presidents are Constitutionally immune from prosecution for their “official acts” committed while serving as President. The Court left the question of which charges against Mr. Trump are for his “official acts” (and Continue reading
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION V. JARKESY, U.S. Sup. Ct. Slip Op. of June 27, 2024
The Court’s Ruling: The federal Securities and Exchange Commission’s imposition of a statutory civil penalty against a person whom it had found guilty of a statutory securities fraud violation, violated the Trial By Jury Clause of the Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution. To obtain a statutory civil penalty from a private individual, a Continue reading
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No Fundamental Right to a Visa for a Foreign Spouse
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides, in part, that “No person shall be . . . deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. . ..” In Department of State v. Munoz, decided on June 21, 2024, the Court ruled that the American spouse of a foreign national had Continue reading
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The Traditional Right to Trial by Jury Applies to Criminal Sentencing Hearings
The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury. . . .” The Fifth Amendment provides that “No person shall be . . . deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of Continue reading
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