135
votes
Accepted
On what basis might Trump's executive order on immigration be illegal?
A few possible reasons it could be illegal (on an issue spotting basis, not a careful analysis of each possible reason):
The EO is intended to discriminate on the basis of religion and in fact does ...
- 230k
84
votes
Accepted
What is the legal distinction between Twitter banning Trump and Trump blocking individuals?
Trump was an officer of the government, and Twitter wasn't. The First Amendment forbids the government and its agents from viewpoint discrimination, but private companies are not bound by it and can ...
- 30.1k
72
votes
Accepted
Is it against the constitution to require restaurants to only serve people with a vaccine certificate in the United States?
NO
Under the US Constitution, a public health authority could even make vaccination mandatory, and this was done in some historical epidemics.
In Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11 (1905) the US ...
- 114k
61
votes
Is the worst version of the accusations against President Trump impeachable?
High crimes and misdemeanors is interpreted by Congress
While the concept is an import from English law as grounds for removing an officeholder from office, the conduct referred to is better thought ...
- 219k
55
votes
Accepted
Is it legally permitted to quote from legally restricted materials in US?
Overview
Under Near v. Minnesota it is very hard to "legally restrict" any publication in the US. The "Banned books" linked to in the question have, in some cases, been removed ...
- 114k
55
votes
How does NC's atheism prohibition fit with the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution?
In Torcaso v. Watkins, 367 U.S. 488 (1961), the US Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a similar provision in Maryland's constitution violated the First Amendment and could not be enforced. So ...
- 30.1k
54
votes
Accepted
Does a politician’s promise to "overthrow" the current system and replace it with a “Socialist World” rise to treason?
TL; DNR: No. Charging the Councilwoman under §2383 for making a speech would violate the First Amendment, and "levying war" in the §2381 means actually fighting, not conspiring to fight.
18 ...
- 8,428
50
votes
Is the banning of large events in the USA constitutional?
How is banning such events constitutional with the freedom of
assembly?
The rights created by the First Amendment are not absolute. They are subject to reasonable restrictions as to time, place and ...
- 230k
46
votes
Can a US President, after impeachment and removal, be re-elected or re-appointed?
Impeachment of a president does not on conviction automatically disqualify the convicted party from becoming president again. However, after conviction, the Senate can vote to add to the punishment ...
- 38.8k
45
votes
Accepted
How is a plain-clothes officer entering your house not an unreasonable search?
Wooden made two arguments to suppress the evidence, first that he had not consented to the officer entering his house (the officer and the court disagreed) and the second that even if the officer's ...
- 4,743
44
votes
Could the federal government ban people from drinking coffee?
None. The federal government is allowed to prohibit coffee drinking under its power to regulate interstate commerce. Prohibition would not have required a constitutional amendment under modern ...
- 230k
43
votes
Does a politician’s promise to "overthrow" the current system and replace it with a “Socialist World” rise to treason?
No. Setting aside hyperbole, it is perfectly legal to "overthrow" the US government (and arguably even the Constitution), provided it is done in a legal manner. Overthrowing the government ...
- 8,841
42
votes
Accepted
Why does the First Amendment apply to states?
The Fourteenth Amendment generally requires the states to recognize the same individual rights that the Bill of Rights requires Congress to recognize.
In Gitlow v. New York, 268 U.S. 652 (1925), the ...
- 61.4k
40
votes
Are Putin's constitution amendments legal?
Speaking strictly from a legal standpoint, what can be said on the issue?
Strictly speaking, the Constitutional Court is the top authority on the legality of anything. One can speculate as much as ...
- 28k
39
votes
Airport Security - advanced check, 4th amendment breach
The 4th amendment is irrelevant because you consented to being searched as a condition of passing through security - you don’t have to fly. You cannot revoke that consent once x-ray screening or metal ...
- 219k
35
votes
Is the worst version of the accusations against President Trump impeachable?
Reading the wikipedia entry on High Crimes and Misdemeanors probably suffices to answer the question. Ultimately this phrase doesn't mean what you think it means. Your modern notion of "crimes" and "...
- 3,078
35
votes
How is a plain-clothes officer entering your house not an unreasonable search?
If a plain-clothes officer entered your house without your permission or a warrant, then it would indeed run afoul of the 4th Amendment (and the same is true for a uniformed officer.) But essentially ...
- 3,158
35
votes
What is the purpose of pardoning powers?
They are the modern legacy of the Royal prerogative of mercy
Or in Commonwealth countries that still have a monarch, it is the Royal prerogative of mercy.
Its modern functional purpose is to provide ...
- 219k
34
votes
Accepted
Why did CJ Roberts apply the Fourteenth Amendment to Harvard, a private school?
Justice Gorsuch attempts to explain (at p. 20 of his concurrence):
In the years following Bakke, this Court hewed to Justice Powell's and Justice Brennan's shared premise that Title VI and the Equal ...
- 65.8k
34
votes
If everyone in the Senate is drunk, does that invalidate their actions?
This is covered under what is known as the Enrolled Bill Rule, as used in Field v. Clark, 143 U.S. 649 (1892). The very fact that a law was passed raises an essentially unrebuttable presumption that ...
- 3,835
32
votes
Does art. 12(1) of the German Basic Law require students to be automatically graduated regardless of grades?
No
What it means is that no German can be forced by the government into a job, education or place of work. So for example, the Government cannot come and say "we are short on railroad workers, ...
- 9,472
31
votes
Accepted
Would it be constitutional for a US state or the federal government to ban all homeopathic "medications"?
Would it be legal for a US state or the federal government to prohibit
the sale of homeopathic "remedies"?
Yes.
There are all sorts of medical treatments and drugs that are illegal. In ...
- 230k
30
votes
Accepted
Could US President use the Secret Service to gain entry into the Capitol Building for the SOTU address?
The US President is Commander-in-chief of the US military.
The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called ...
- 114k
30
votes
Is presenting a play showing Military characters in a bad light a crime in the US? Or does the First Admendment prevent this?
Yes, A First Amendment defense would apply. This is no longer a crime.
Schacht
In Schacht vs. United States, 398 U.S. 58 (1970) the US Supreme Court held the final clause of 10 USC 772(f) ...
- 114k
30
votes
Accepted
In the US are jurors actually judging guilt?
Short answer, yes, jurors will typically render a decision of guilt vs. innocence. This is pretty common in nations where the legal system is derived from British Common Law (about 2 billion people ...
- 23.1k
29
votes
Why is the federal judiciary of the United States divided into circuits?
While the answer by Jen does a good job explaining why some possible alternative structures for US courts of appeal (circuit courts) would be unworkable, the real reason why we have such courts is ...
- 114k
28
votes
Does the sixth amendment entitle me to know who called the county on me for a code violation?
It depends on whether you were cited for the violation and the nature of the violation.
Contrary to the other answers here, building-code violations in Maryland can, in fact, be criminal offenses, ...
- 61.4k
28
votes
Accepted
Is murder unconstitutional?
The Constitution does not define any crimes (except for an explicit limit on what can be considered 'treason.') It places limits on what penalties the government may apply for crimes and how crimes ...
- 3,158
28
votes
What happens when Congress violates the Constitution through inaction?
The Constitution grants Congress powers to do things but generally does not obligate them to do any particular thing. Constitutionally, it is equally valid for Congress to pass a bill, to vote a bill ...
- 3,256
27
votes
Does the sixth amendment entitle me to know who called the county on me for a code violation?
The Sixth Amendment states that "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy... the right to be confronted with the witnesses against him". You are not being criminally prosecuted, ...
- 6,020
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible