The short answer: the number of times the Supreme Court has ruled on a constitutional question. Every time the Supreme Court grants certiorari, allows a case to move ‘upwards’ from state and Federal courts to its chambers, and then proceeds to rule–keeping in mind the supposedly relevant precedents, and on the basis of a coherentContinue reading “How Many Constitutional Amendments Are There?”
Tag Archives: Fourth Amendment
The Legal Protection Of Armed And Deadly Assault By The Police
There are, supposedly, many legal protections to guard a citizen’s interaction with law-enforcement agencies and their officers: you may not be detained without cause (‘Am I under arrest?’ ‘Am I?’ ‘If I’m not, may I go?’); you and your personal spaces and possessions may not be searched without cause (‘Do you have a warrant?’); youContinue reading “The Legal Protection Of Armed And Deadly Assault By The Police”
Random Searches on the New York Subway: A User’s Story
Today’s post will simply make note of an interesting (and alarming) email I’ve received from a reader. Please do share this widely. Some time ago I was researching the random bag check policy for the NYC subway system and stumbled across your blog posting [on random searches on the New York subway]. Until today IContinue reading “Random Searches on the New York Subway: A User’s Story”
Orin Kerr Thinks Executive Branch Searches of The Press Are a ‘Non-Story’
Orin Kerr suggests the story of the US Department of Justice seizing AP phone records isn’t one, wraps up with a flourish, hands out a few pokes at anti-government paranoia, and then asks a series of what he undoubtedly takes to be particularly incisive and penetrating questions: Based on what we know so far, then, IContinue reading “Orin Kerr Thinks Executive Branch Searches of The Press Are a ‘Non-Story’”
The Closing of the NYPD’s Mind
Today, Brooklyn College hosted a panel titled ‘Are We Safer? Costs, Benefits, and Alternatives to 20 Years of Aggressive Street Policing” (organized by the Herbert Kurz Chair in Constitutional Law and Civil Liberties, Professor Anna Law.) The panel’s discussants were: John DeCarlo, Michael Powell (New York Times), Alex S. Vitale, and Franklin E. Zimring. The rangeContinue reading “The Closing of the NYPD’s Mind”
Ozzie Guillen, the First Amendment in the Workplace, and Bromance
The Florida Marlins’ suspension of its manager Ozzie Guillen for his ‘pro-Castro’ remarks provides yet another teachable moment about the First Amendment and its relationship to the workplace. (Guillen has been suspended for five games.) Guillen’s original remarks read: I love Fidel Castro. I respect Fidel Castro. You know why? A lot of people haveContinue reading “Ozzie Guillen, the First Amendment in the Workplace, and Bromance”
Random Searches on the New York Subways: Getting Used to the Stop-n-Frisk
New York City residents are, by now, used to the subway version of the stop-and-frisk, to the sight of policemen manning the turnstiles to the city subway, subjecting passengers to ‘random’ searches of their bags and belongings. The rules are quite simple: if you don’t subject yourselves to the search you don’t get to enterContinue reading “Random Searches on the New York Subways: Getting Used to the Stop-n-Frisk”
Samir Chopra 