Articles Posted in Constitutional Law

Federal Judge Upholds California Ban on Semiautomatic Rifles Updated: Published by:

Last week, a federal judge in Santa Ana, California ruled that the Second Amendment does not prevent California from enacting reasonable gun safety laws. This case arose when the California Rifle and Pistol Association, part of the National Rifle Association, challenged a state law that prevents California residents from making,…

Federal Appeals Court Dismisses Emoluments Lawsuit Challenging Trump’s Profits from DC Hotel Updated: Published by:

On Wednesday, July 10, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit unanimously dismissed a lawsuit that claimed President Trump is violating the so-called Emoluments Clauses of the U.S. Constitution by accepting payments from state and foreign governments at his luxury hotel in downtown Washington. Brought…

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Holds President Donald J. Trump Violated First Amendment by Blocking Users From Accessing Twitter Account Updated: Published by:

On Tuesday, July 9, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that President Donald J. Trump engaged in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination, in violation of the First Amendment, by blocking certain users' access to his Twitter account based on those users' speech on Twitter. The Knight…

Brownsville Residents Fighting Border Wall Condemnation Lawsuits Updated: Published by:

According to news reports, since May the federal government has filed four condemnation lawsuits against local residents in the Brownsville, Texas area for the purpose of constructing a border wall along the southern border of the US. Some residents, who have been informed that the government wants access to their…

United States Supreme Court Rules That Lanham Act’s Prohibition on Registration of Immoral or Scandalous Trademarks Violates the First Amendment Updated: Published by:

On Monday, June 24, 2019, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in Iancu v. Brunetti, 588 U.S. ___ (2019), holding that the Lanham Act's bar on registration of immoral or scandalous trademarks violates the First Amendment. At issue in the case is the trademark FUCT, pronounced as four…

Ninth Circuit Revokes Deportation of Immigrant Detained in Raid Without Reasonable Suspicion Updated: Published by:

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has canceled the deportation of a worker who was arrested and detained in a 2008 immigration enforcement raid on a California factory, ruling that immigration authorities violated federal regulations and the Constitution when they conducted the raid without reasonable suspicion that the approximately 130…

FCC Complaint Filed Against Telecommunications Giants Following Alleged Sale of Phone Location Data Updated: Published by:

Recent investigations have revealed that telecommunications companies have sold the real-time location data of their customers without the informed consent of the customers. In other situations, AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint simply have allowed third parties to access the data, rather than actively selling it to them. As a result,…