Being a life long resident of Washington, D.C., I’m used to seeing Members of Congress engage in all types of election year high jinks. You’ve got to go and sell it to the good people back in Omaha or Sacramento that you’ve getting it done for them. Similarly, you don’t want your opponent to be able to represent that you’ve failed.
I would argue however, that demonstrating success to the citizenry would require you to show some basic knowledge of how government worked. Like the Constitution maybe? Article I, Section 9 would be a good place to start, as it specifically enumerates the things that Congress is prohibited from doing. This would include
No bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
Fascinating. Perhaps the 4th Amendment, which states Continue reading ‘4th Amendment? Never Heard of It.’
I have always enjoyed summer school. I took summer classes in both undergrad and in my masters program. Summer was always more laid back. The classes are more compacted because of the shorter time frame, and that meant no filler and just good information that helped teach the subject. And at my undergrad and grad instiution, summer was no different from the rest of the year. Academically, it was business as usual.
Then I took summer classes this summer. Here’s my advice - don’t ever take summer classes. At least, not at CUA. Continue reading ‘Here’s a Tip - Skip Summer School.’
One of the reasons that I was interested in Catholic is that it had the highest average age of an evening cohort in D.C. Hearing of the brutality of the law school grading curve, I convinced myself that this was a good thing, since it meant that I would be competing against people with similar, age appropriate pressures, including jobs, family, kids.
Wrong.
Continue reading ‘The Myth of the Evening Student.’
’Ritche” by Bill Owens from his photo essay “Suburbia.” (1973)
While the Sherpa is knocking back cabernet in Napa, and I’m golfing my brains out, we thought we would let all of you get your creative juices flowing. Let us know what “Ritche” is thinking. We’ll reveal his monther’s thoughts and pass out prizes on Monday. Happy 4th!
The murders of Corporal Richard S. Findley and the prime suspect in the case Ronnie L. White have opened some old wounds here in the D.C. area. The Prince George’s County Police department has long had a history of excessive force in its policing, culminating in a 2004 memorandum of understanding between the County and the U.S. Department of Justice requiring the County to revise itsuse of force policies. Anecdotal evidence also suggests racial bias is pervasive in the Department, such that it has even been pointed out by Amnesty International. This is why the first thing my mother told me when I got my driver’s license was “whatever you do, don’t get pulled over there.”
Now my heart goes out to Corporal Findley and his family. I can’t imagine the pain they must be going through. I would love nothing more than to see Mr. White - assuming he was found guilty - get the book thrown at him. At the same time, I can’t imagine what his family must be going through, coming to grips with the fact that their son a) may have killed a cop, and b) was strangled to death while in police custody. Continue reading ‘Do We Ask Too Much From Cops?’
We recently had the opportunity to sit with Elizabeth Getman, a recent graduate of The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law and now an associate at Sandler, Reiff & Young, P.C., to discuss her role in Davis v. F.E.C. (recent SCOTUS decision on the “Millionaire’s Amendment” in McCain-Feingold).
Her role in the case was recently profiled in Roll Call, but we thought we’d get the inside story. She’s here, naturally, of her own accord and not as a spokesperson for any clients or employers.
So… be nice. (that means you, BigShow)
Fight The Hypo: Elizabeth, thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for our readers. I’m sure it will provide excellent reading during our summer classes!
Elizabeth Getman: No problem at all. Better to get me now before I dive into my next Supreme Court case (just kidding, just kidding). I could see this becoming addictive, though. And if you’re looking for a quick primer on the subject, the Davis opinion is one of the shortest campaign finance opinions out there.
Continue reading ‘Interview with Catholic Law Grad, Elizabeth Getman’
Before Big Show decided to use the SCOTUS decision in Louisiana v. Kennedy as cover for the Federalist Society talking points, I found myself considering the “punishment” that the Court found appropriate on for an individual defendant and a corporate one.
If you’re going to allow capital punishment at all, the rape of a child seems more than a reasonable basis for it. As long as a state can demonstrate that the process was fair – that the defendant was represented by adequate counsel, no gross errors in evidentiary process, the judge was not of the “hanging” variety – then if they want to execute someone for this crime, so be it. I simply do not understand why the Court found this violated the 8th Amendment. Continue reading ‘Crime and Punishement?’
