Court Cases
Neither Necessary nor Proper
It was sixteen years ago last month that the U.S. Supreme Court, in the case ofย Gonzales v. Raichย (2005), ruled that the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801) did not exceed the power of Congress under the Commerce Clause as applied to the intrastate cultivation...
Supreme Court: Property Rights vs Labor Unions
As the Supreme Courtโs recent Obamacare caseย illustrates,ย the justices no longer enforce most of the Constitutionโs limits on the federal government. But a new property rights decision demonstrates how they are super-enforcing the Bill of Rights. First some...
Torture Enters the Courtroom
For the first time in American history, a federal judge last week authorized the government to admit as evidence in a criminal case in a public courtroom words uttered by the defendant that were obtained under torture. The fruits of torture – which is any cruel...
The Supreme Court Used to Consider the Minimum Wage Unconstitutional
I wonder how many Americans realize that the U.S. Supreme Court once declared the minimum wage to be in violation of U.S. Constitution. This occurred in 1923 in a case entitledย Adkins v. Childrenโs Hospital.ย In a 5-3 decision in that case, the Supreme Courtย heldย that...