In a startling announcement yesterday at the White House, President Barack Obama indicated he would step down from the office of President, effective June 1, 2016. Citing undisclosed “personal reasons,” the two-term President declared he and his family would re-locate to the Island of Maui and “kick back for awhile.”
Sources close to the President, who wished to remain anonymous, indicated that the growing controversy over Ted Cruz’ status as a Natural Born Citizen has renewed interest in whether the current President qualifies, leading some Congressmen to add this to a growing list of Articles of Impeachment.
In accordance with Article 2 of the Constitution, Vice-President Joe Biden will assume the office of President on that date and, in accordance with the 25th Amendment, is expected to nominate a replacement for the position of Vice President. (You started to believe it, right?)
Article 2. Natural Born Citizen Clause (to be continued until it is definitively settled).
Another week, another NBC suit.[1] This time a New York appeals court upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a suit seeking to remove Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz from the state’s primary ballot due to his birth status. Once again, there was no ruling on the merits of the case; the lower court dismissal was on a technicality (plaintiffs missed the deadline for filing their objection by nearly three weeks!). The appeals court said: “Yep, shore enough missed it, by jimminy!” (or the legal equivalent). Other suits remain pending in other states.
Article 3. Replacing Scalia
As more and more analysts find time to sift through each of Merrick Garland’s previous opinions, more conclusions come to the fore. This one[2] concludes that “In Criminal Rulings, Garland Has Usually Sided With Law Enforcement.” That should all make us sleep better at night.
Shortly after the death of Justice Scalia, I discussed the potential impact of his vacancy, including the potential for 4-4 tie votes. Well, it happened this week.[3] We can be nearly certain that Scalia would have provided the fifth vote necessary to overturn the appeals court ruling that California teachers must still pay fees to their union even when those funds are then used to support candidates and political issues with which some teachers disagree.[4]
A 4-4 tie leaves intact the lower court decision and establishes no precedent for the rest of the country. Chief Justice Roberts could have delayed the opinion until such time as Scalia’s seat is filled and had the case re-argued, but decided against that for some reason.
Meanwhile in the States:
Fifth Amendment. “Progress” trundles on. What city, including North Saint Louis,[5] wouldn’t like to improve its appearance and increase its tax revenue? The opportunity for federal dollars makes the idea even more alluring. Too bad some homeowners have the misfortune of living in the way of that “progress.”
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is apparently thinking of moving it headquarters, and North St. Louis wants to make them a deal it can’t refuse. Since no decision has been made to actually move the headquarters, the city’s eminent domain action seems a bit pre-mature. And then there’s the issue of low-balling the value of the homes. Thanks to the Supreme Court’s Kelo v. City of New London, cities require very little justification for the taking of private property.
Eighth Amendment. The Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution prohibits excessive bail (among other protections). What’s excessive? There have been many, many court decisions[6] over what is excessive, but each case brings particular circumstances. Two Texas mothers driving through Louisiana had the misfortune of being charged with a crime they say they didn’t commit: eating two hot dogs, milkshakes and an icee at a convenience store without paying. They were certain surveillance video would clear them but the officer who arrested them didn’t want to take the time to investigate, so he took them into custody. When they couldn’t initially make bail (relatives were 400 miles away) the women had to spent five days in jail instead. Reading this account one wonders what happened to common sense in this country.
Upcoming Events.
Constitution Seminar for Youth – 9 April. Don’t you want your kids (or grandkids) to understand their Constitution better? Here’s an opportunity. On 9 April I’ll teach from Juliette Turner’s “Our Constitution Rocks” at the Foundation for American Christian Education classroom in Chesapeake, VA. There is a nominal $5 charge for students and parents are encouraged to attend as well. Register through email to gary@constitutionleadership.org
Constitution Seminar – 16 April. On Saturday, 16 April, I will be teaching the Constitution at Pottstown, PA, co-sponsored by WFYL Radio. Valley Forge, PA was CLI’s inaugural 1-day seminar, the success of which led me to adopt the format as my standard. $30 per person until 13 April then tuition goes to $40. If you live in the Philadelphia area, please come join us. Register for this event via email: gary@constitutionleadership.org.
Constitution Seminar – 21 May. Southside Hampton Roads residents can learn what their Constitution says and means by coming to a CLI Saturday Seminar on 21 May sponsored by Concerned Veterans for America. There will be no charge for this event and participants will receive a 150-page Student workbook, free pocket Constitution, and lunch. There is no better deal around. Location TBD.
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[1] http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/cruz-canadian-birth-suit/2016/03/24/id/720759/
[2] http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/03/23/us/politics/merrick-garland-supreme-court-nominee.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=3&referer=
[3] http://us4.campaign-archive1.com/?u=f6eb78f457b7b82887b643445&id=8526f4c9bf&e=5fdac00100
[4] The teachers can opt out from paying these fees but must re-initiate the opt-out each year.
[5] http://dailysignal.com/2016/03/18/st-louis-residents-are-battling-the-city-to-keep-their-homes/?utm_source=heritagefoundation&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=saturday&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonu6rPd%2B%2FhmjTEU5z16uwtWqS2gIkz2EFye%2BLIHETpodcMTcRhNL3YDBceEJhqyQJxPr3NLtQN191pRhLiDH3rhbLOWYxceLV9yOhlovn9jDc%3D
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Supreme_Court_cases_involving_constitutional_criminal_procedure#Eighth_Amendment.27s_Excessive_Bail_Clause