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American government agencies—state, local, and federal—made a record 13,753 requests to read emails or gather other information sent through Google’s Gmail and other services in 2012, more than half without warrants, according to statistics released by Google. The total number of users about whom government agencies wanted information also set a record at 31,072, up from 23,300 in 2011, the first year Google began reporting the data. The discrepancy comes because government agencies request information on multiple users or accounts at the same time. … Google keep records of all email and other communication sent through its e-mail, telephone, YouTube,...

No presidency is complete without a constitutional crisis, real or imagined. Political critics claimed George W. Bush committed a string of high crimes and misdemeanors, from the Iraq war, to torture, to illegal wiretaps. Bill Clinton’s impeachment was not over his horn dogging, but his mendacities regarding said activities. Ronald Reagan traded arms for hostages. Richard Nixon resigned over his involvement in the Watergate cover up when he forgot the president is not above the law. And, really, doesn’t every constitutional crisis start with a president believing the Constitution is a list of suggestions best left for others to follow?...

There are a number of problems with this administration’s conduct of the War on Terror in general, and with its drone campaign in particular. But the elimination of Anwar Al-Awlaki — an al-Qaeda militant with a demonstrated commitment to the destruction of the United States who happened to have been born in New Mexico — is not one of them. The release of a Justice Department white paper outlining the administration’s legal case for the targeted killing of American citizens who are in cahoots with al-Qaeda has raised protest from the left, which has leeway to criticize the president now...

The Justice Department memo makes a case for the legality of drone strikes to kill Americans abroad who pose an “imminent threat of violent attack.” This is a reference to “self-defense.” Brennan was the first administration official to publicly acknowledge drone strikes in a speech last year, calling them “consistent with the inherent right of self-defense.” The “inherent right of self-defense” is another clear reference to moral reasoning on war as represented by Just War theory. The problem is, the Justice Department memo doesn’t limit the legality argument to what would be commonly understood as “imminent threat” and thus the...

A confidential Justice Department memo concludes that the U.S. government can order the killing of American citizens if they are believed to be “senior operational leaders” of al-Qaida or “an associated force” -- even if there is no intelligence indicating they are engaged in an active plot to attack the U.S. The 16-page memo, a copy of which was obtained by NBC News, provides new details about the legal reasoning behind one of the Obama administration’s most secretive and controversial polices: its dramatically increased use of drone strikes against al-Qaida suspects, including those aimed at American citizens, such as the...

What is the most dangerous place in America? Is it the mean streets of the south side of Chicago? Well, it's very dangerous there, more dangerous than Afghanistan, apparently. But no, that is not the most dangerous place in America. Is it Detroit? No.  South Central LA? No. Miami? No. Is it the war zone we call our southern border? No. Those are very dangerous places, unfortunately. But the most dangerous place to be in America is in the womb of your mother. Abortion is the leading cause of death in this country. Think about that. What should be the...

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – A Hillsdale man says the government has violated his Second Amendment rights by prohibiting him from obtaining a firearm because of a three-decades-old involuntary commitment to a psychiatric hospital. Clifford Tyler, who says his mental-health issue was only temporary, has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids against local, state and federal agencies alleging that they are violating his constitutional right to keep and bear arms. “As a consequence of this overbroad ban, sane, trustworthy, competent individuals that are not a threat to themselves or others and are not in any way mentally...

An innocent man was shot dead by police after deputies mistook him for an attempted murder suspect. Lake County, Florida officers showed up at the Blueberry Hill apartment of Andrew Scott at around 1.30am on Sunday Roused from his bed in the middle of the night by an unknown presence at his property, Andrew Scott answered the door holding a gun. Officers had not announced who they were because they did not want the man they thought was inside, Jonathan Brown, to escape.

Led by Chief Justice John Roberts, the Supreme Court decided that Americans have no right to due process. Indeed, the Court not only upheld a fraud perpetrated on the public — it became a willing participant. The assessment charged for failure to comply with ObamaCare’s “individual mandate,” which requires Americans to purchase health insurance, was presented to the country by the administration and the Democratic Congress as a penalty assessed for lawlessness — i.e., for refusing to honor this new legal requirement. It was strenuously denied by proponents that they were raising taxes.

Oh yeah, peep her discussion with Bill O’Reilly the other night on the Trayvon Martin case as well... Jasmine Rand, an attorney representing Trayvon Martin‘s family, spoke to Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly on Tuesday night about how the case has been unfolding. O’Reilly asked about the new information about Martin’s school records, which Rand said bear zero legal relevance to case. Responding to the issue of the Black Panthers, Rand said the family does not support any calls for violence.

March 30, 2012 Coulter likens Zimmerman ‘lynch mob’ to another Democratic Party ‘outgrowth’: The KKK Jeff Poor The so-called “Justice for Trayvon Martin” movement has had its share of stumbles along the way, from Spike Lee’s tweet of shooter George Zimmerman’s incorrect home address to other social networking vigilantes calling for Zimmerman’s death. On Friday’s “The Laura Ingraham Show,” conservative commentator Ann Coulter, author of “Demonic: How the Liberal Mob Is Endangering America,” gave her reaction to the events and likened them to the rise of the Ku Klux Klan as an “outgrowth” of the Democratic Party. “It’s shocking,” she...

Two sources told WFTV on Monday that gunman George Zimmerman could be arrested this week, and that a Grand Jury will not meet on Tuesday. Zimmerman has been in hiding because of threats, after he shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. He claims he shot Martin in self-defense. Jacksonville State Attorney Angela Corey has the sole authority to determine whether Zimmerman will be charged for killing Martin. Governor Rick Scott put Corey in charge of the case late last month amid concerns that State Attorney Norm Wolflinger wouldn't do a thorough and fair investigation. "You've got to make sure justice...

If George Zimmerman is not arrested in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin soon, the Rev. Al Sharpton will call for an escalation in peaceful civil disobedience and economic sanctions. Sharpton would not say the efforts would be taken against the city of Sanford specifically, but he has been critical of the police department's handling of the case. Saturday's scheduled 11 a.m. march from Crooms Academy of Information Technology to the Sanford Police Department headquarters was organized by National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Coordinators said people will be bused in from other states to participate. Excerpted.

A school-cafeteria lunch lady and her husband have received hate mail, unwanted visits from reporters and fearful inquiries from neighbors — all because their Sanford-area address is being disseminated on Twitter as belonging to Trayvon Martin shooter George Zimmerman, her son said late Tuesday. The woman, 70, who has a heart condition, and her husband, 72, have temporarily moved to a hotel to avoid the spotlight and possible danger, said son Chip Humble of Longwood. The woman has another son named William George Zimmerman who lived with her in 1995 and still lives in Central Florida. He is no relation...

It is not often that I agree with Geraldo Rivera, but recently he said something very practical and potentially life-saving, when he urged black and Hispanic parents not to let their children go around wearing hoodies. There is no point in dressing like a hoodlum when you are not a hoodlum, even though that has become a fashion for some minority youths, including the teenager who was shot and killed in a confrontation in Florida. I don't know the whole story of that tragedy, any more than those who are making loud noises in the media do, but that...

Richard A. Jewell, whose transformation from heroic security guard to Olympic bombing suspect and back again came to symbolize the excesses of law enforcement and the news media, died Wednesday at his home in Woodbury, Ga. He was 44. The heavy-set Mr. Jewell, with a country drawl and a deferential manner, became an instant celebrity after a bomb exploded in Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta in the early hours of July 27, 1996, Only minutes earlier, Mr. Jewell, who was working a temporary job as a guard, had spotted the abandoned green knapsack that contained the bomb, called it to...

The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution declares that no person shall be “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” ... It’s one of the cornerstones of our entire legal system, with roots dating back at least as far as the Magna Carta, which declared, “No free man...shall be stripped of his rights or possessions...except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land.” Unfortunately, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prefers a less venerable form of justice, as the Supreme Court will hear next month during oral arguments in the case...

Well now we know, for those who have been holding out “hope” that Obama will veto the 1031 Indefinite Detainment Bill against holding U.S. Citizens without rights to a trial or lawyer or charges for the rest of their lives…. It was Obama who required the bill have the language of U.S. Citizens being held without rights in the bill! The only reason he would veto it, is because it does not give him the absolute power as he wants!...Here is Senator Levin on the floor of the Senate revealing it was Obama himself who Demanded U.S. Citizens be part...

Breaking News: Feds Falsely Censor Popular Blog For Over A Year, Deny All Due Process, Hide All Details... from the copyright-as-censorship dept Imagine if the US government, with no notice or warning, raided a small but popular magazine's offices over a Thanksgiving weekend, seized the company's printing presses, and told the world that the magazine was a criminal enterprise with a giant banner on their building. Then imagine that it never arrested anyone, never let a trial happen, and filed everything about the case under seal, not even letting the magazine's lawyers talk to the judge presiding over the case....

Should a lawyer be able to represent both a corporation and its employees? If a corporation’s executives and other employees can’t trust the company’s lawyer not to cooperate in their prosecution, how can anyone speak openly to that lawyer on behalf of the corporation? These, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers argued, were among the questions raised by the Third Circuit’s decision in United States v. Norris, which the Supreme Court this week declined to review. Morgan Crucible Co. had waived its attorney-client privilege as part of its cooperation with an antitrust investigation by the Department of Justice, and...

The Church must Herself be a mirror of justice. Cases like the one presented by Father John Corapi can, if true, cast a harsh light upon the state of justice and due process in the Church. An accusation, without evidence or corroboration, becomes enough to remove a priest from ministry indefinitely, and often forever.

Unlike many cases of accused Catholic priests, accusations against Father John Corapi have focused a spotlight on due process in the Catholic Church. "A zero-tolerance policy without due process that de facto impugns the reputations of the accused is immoral. The Church has a duty to protect the innocent, even if the innocent is a priest. Of course, the Church has a moral duty to make sure that the scandal of abuse and cover-up is never repeated, but it cannot willfully sacrifice the reputations of the innocent . . . The end does not justify the means. I do not...

Comes a HorsemanFrom the Sep. 20, 2010, issue of NR. Franklin Roosevelt’s clash with the Supreme Court is one of history’s greatest legal dramas, but it has generated an unfair and misleading mythology. In this legend, the Court greeted the New Deal with a blast of reactionary decisions in 1935 and 1936 — invalidating, among other things, the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) and the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) — to which Roosevelt retaliated by threatening to pack the Court with a new, more loyal majority of justices. The judiciary avoided the embarrassment of an expanded, politically neutered Court when...

Kyler Robertson's father was stabbed to death Sunday afternoon during an argument, a tragedy that the 16-year-old boy has struggled to understand. On Tuesday, still grieving, Kyler decided he would rather go to Byron Nelson High School and be around his friends than stay home. When he arrived at the Trophy Club school, his eyes were bloodshot and watery. He was accused of being under the influence of marijuana, according to a Northwest school district document provided to the Star-Telegram. Kyler was suspended for three days and was told that beginning Friday, he would be placed in the district's alternative...

Here's the latest story of judicial abuse: SAN FRANCISCO – A federal judge overturned California's same-sex marriage ban Wednesday in a landmark case that could eventually land before the U.S. Supreme Court to decide if gays have a constitutional right to marry in America. Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker made his ruling in a lawsuit filed by two gay couples who claimed the voter-approved ban violated their civil rights. Gay couples waving rainbow and American flags outside the courthouse cheered, hugged and kissed as word of the ruling spread. Despite the favorable ruling for same-sex couples, gay marriage will...

From TorrentFreak: http://torrentfreak.com/u-s-authorities-shut-down-wordpress-host-with-73000-blogs-100716/ Quote: After the U.S. Government took action against several sites connected to movie streaming recently, nerves are jangling over the possibility that this is just the beginning of a wider crackdown. Now it appears that a free blogging platform has been taken down by its hosting provider on orders from the U.S. authorities on grounds of “a history of abuse”. More than 73,000 blogs are out of action as a result. End Quote Yesterday, an event took place here in the United States that got little comment – cue the crickets… WordPress host Blogetery and 73,000 WordPress...

When eight British soldiers were indicted in Boston for murder in 1770 after five people were shot to death in a rioting crowd that was pelting the soldiers with projectiles, a young lawyer named John Adams took up the soldiers' case because he had a point to prove: Americans believed in -- and lived by -- the rule of law. "The law, in all vicissitudes of government, fluctuations of the passions or flights of enthusiasm, will preserve a steady undeviating course; it will not bend to the uncertain wishes, imaginations and wanton tempers of men," Adams said in his summation...

There is no greater injustice than punishment of a man for doing something good, and no more loathsome cowardice than when those responsible for defending good sacrifice their cause to accommodate an uncompromising evil. But this type of betrayal is not uncommon for the Republican leadership, and it happened again last week in Congress. Thursday's House committee hearings with BP CEO Tony Hayward consisted mostly of the empty political grandstanding one would expect from this type of proceedings, characterized by Mark Levin as Soviet-style show trials. There was an exception, however, when Representative Joe Barton spoke out against the Obama...

Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will LOVE him more?” Luke 7:42 The BP shakedown is the perfect example of the brainwashing of America. We have been transformed over the past 70 yrs into believing in an all compassionate gummit over capitalism. We have been taught from baby to grave into believing our govt is the only interest powerful enough to stand up to evil industry so the slaves can get their fair share of the pie when nothing could be farther from the truth....

WASHINGTON — A day after top BP officials met with President Barack Obama at the White House and agreed to set up a $20 billion compensation fund, Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas called the money a "shakedown" of the company and apologized for the president's action. Barton, the ranking Republican on the House Energy and Commerce committee, told BP CEO Tony Hayward Thursday morning that he was sorry about what the president had done. The money is a "slush fund," Barton said, and "unprecedented in our nation's history." "I do not want to live in a country where anything a citizen...

Halting the $10 billion-a-year dividend, reducing investments in drilling and selling oil and gas fields will do enough to ensure the company’s financial stability, Chief Financial Officer Byron Grote said today. Credit swap contracts before the announcement showed investors pricing in a 39 percent risk of default within five years. “This move protects the long-term [blah blah freaking blah]"

There has been a lot of criticism hurled at President Obama over his handling of the BP oil spill. Some on the left are upset the president hasn't been more forceful with the oil giant. Those on the right generally argue Obama's leadership has been inadequate. Rarely has the president been criticized for specific actions on this issue. But on "Closing Bell" June 16, CNBC's Matt Nesto was asked whether BP acted appropriately by agreeing to the White House's terms by cutting its dividend payments and agreeing to a $20 billion escrow account. Nesto argued that the administration was circumventing...

Washington (CNSNews.com) – Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.) said Tuesday that President Barack Obama is exceeding his legitimate constitutional authority in telling BP it must set up an independent fund, not controlled by the company, for compensating victims of the Gulf oil spill. She described the administration's policy as an action "that's all about extortion." "Private companies need to be held accountable but not necessarily to the executive branch," said Bachmann. "It seems to me there’s a misreading of the Constitution and a misunderstanding of jurisdictional limits from this White House on what the extent of executive power is. They don’t seem to understand that and it—now it seems that it’s all...

(CNSNews.com) - In his first-ever address from the Oval Office on Tuesday night, President Barack Obama said he was going to “inform” the chairman of BP that he must surrender the company’s money to an independent party that will distribute it to people and businesses determined to have been harmed by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The president’s declaration raises a serious constitutional question about his authority: Where does the president get the lawful power to order any private-sector company—BP or any other—that it must surrender its money? Should not courts and normal legal proceedings determine who is responsible, who has...

This is a link to a video blog: Synopsis: Bill O'Reilly and infobabes justify execution of American citizens without due process. They refer to an executive order as a "statute," completely driving by separation of powers. Next they shift topics and justify CPS harassment over joke pics on Facebook or raising a fat kid.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government will pay $1.26 million to five Muslim men detained for months without charges after the September 11 attacks who sued for unlawful imprisonment and abuse, their lawyers said on Tuesday. The men claimed they suffered inhumane and degrading treatment in a Brooklyn detention center, including solitary confinement, severe beatings, incessant verbal abuse and a blackout on communications with their families and attorneys. Rachel Meeropol, a lawyer for the Center for Constitutional Rights who brought the case in Brooklyn federal court, said it was the largest settlement so far for claims of abuse in...

Pedro Guzman has been an American citizen all his life. Yet in 2007, the 31-year-old Los Angeles native - in jail for a misdemeanor, mentally ill and never able to read or write - signed a waiver agreeing to leave the country without a hearing and was deported to Mexico as an illegal immigrant. For almost three months, Guzman slept in the streets, bathed in filthy rivers and ate out of trash cans while his mother scoured the city of Tijuana, its hospitals and morgues, clutching his photo in her hand. He was finally found trying to cross the border...

Some Texas law makers are pushing a bill to get rid of all red light cameras in the state. Motorists who spoke with CBS 11 had varying opinions. Leticia Menchaca said her car was tagged down in Houston by a red light camera. She said she wasn't even in Houston. She hasn't had much luck with red light cameras. Colleen Pilgrim took a different view, saying she's tired of people running red lights all of the time and causing accidents. But she believes they were put in to create extra money for city governments. Representative Carl Isett of Lubbock has...

Illinoise Governor Rod Blagojevich claims that the Illinois Senate Rules of Impeachment 8(b) and 15(f) essentially deny him the right to due process in the upcoming Illinois Senate impeachment trial. Is he correct? Does he have a constitutional right to challenge the accusations against him and call witnesses for his defense? Is he incorrect? Is he simply an employee of the State of Illinois and therefore subject to being fired for cause? The Illinois Senate contends that the impeachment trial is not a criminal proceeding. What say you?Rule 15(f) It is never in order to request a subpoena for the...

Taiwan on Trial by: Jesse Masai, December 05, 2008 The health of democracy within the tiny nation of Taiwan came under scrutiny at the Heritage Foundation recently. Former Deputy Minister of the National Science Council Ching Jyh Shieh described his 50 days of detention without trial at the hands of the Taiwanese government. Crowded in small cells, Shieh had seen the pain of incarceration without trial. Arrests are arbitrary, he said, and the evidence circumstantial. “One is jailed for supposed danger to others, reason of possible flight from the country, possibility to destroy evidence and to collude with others, yet...

A Hudson County trial judge has issued a very interesting decision recently regarding a litigant's claim that the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:25-17 to 35, is violative of the NJ and US Constitutions. The argument was that because domestic violence proceedings may result in serious consequences by the issuance of a Final Restraining Order (i.e. possible jail sentence for future violations; removal of all weapons and inability to obtain weapons in the future; fines; registry on a list of offenders), the Chancery court with equity jurisdiction should not hear these matters. The decision should rest with a jury...

Saying "I divorce thee" three times, as men in Muslim countries have been able to do for centuries when leaving their wives, is not enough if you're a resident of Maryland, the state's highest court ruled yesterday. Yesterday, the Court of Appeals rejected a Pakistani man's argument that his invocation of the Islamic talaq, under which a marriage is dissolved simply by the husband's say-so, allowed him to part with his wife of more than 20 years and deny her a share of his $2 million estate. The justices affirmed a lower court's decision overturning a divorce decree obtained in...

GREENVILLE, S.C. - Republican presidential contender Fred Thompson said Monday that while Osama bin Laden needs to be caught and killed, the terrorist mastermind would get the due process of law.

A query for the FR legal eagles: DOES THERE EXIST a FEDERAL Statute or Public Law mandating grand and petit jury service? If yes, can you provide citations? ( I realize some state constitutions co so ) The reason I ask is that my 86 year-old mother passed me an AP article from the AJC relating how sheriff's deputies in NC literally went to a grocery store parking lot and presented random people with jury summons (with a 1 hour or else ultimatum from the judge) so that the county's jury pools could be filled. Is this due process? WHAT...

The father of 24-year-old Beth Sprankle, who was shot to death in February at a Greenwood day care center by her estranged boyfriend, has started an effort to put more teeth into Blair County’s protection-from-abuse system. Jeffrey L. Sprankle, a Pennsylvania state constable known as “Spanky,” says a PFA order “has got to be more than a piece of paper.” He is recommending a 24-hour cooling-off period be instituted locally in emergency cases, which would mean the offending party would spend 24 hours behind bars. Sprankle says in some cases, individuals believed to be dangerous should have to wear ankle...

California Supreme Court Overturns Car Seizure Ordinance The California Supreme Court says cities may no longer seize automobiles from people merely accused of a crime. In a 4-3 opinion yesterday, the California Supreme Court ruled illegal the city of Stockton's program to seize automobiles from motorists not convicted of any crime. Under the city's ordinance, police could impound the vehicle of anyone accused of using it "to solicit an act of prostitution, or to acquire or attempt to acquire any controlled substance." The city could then hold the car for up to a year without hearing, trial or any finding...

Now, how would one disarm the American population? First of all, federal or state laws would need to make it a crime punishable by a $1,000 fine and one year in prison per weapon to possess a firearm...... The disarmament process would begin after the initial three-month amnesty...... Special squads of police would be formed and trained to carry out the work. Then, on a random basis to permit no advance warning, city blocks and stretches of suburban and rural areas would be cordoned off and searches carried out in every business, dwelling, and empty building. All firearms would be...

The Belmont (CA) City Council is considering drafting an ordinance that declares secondhand smoke “a public nuisance” and extends the city’s current ban on smoking in workplaces and most public areas to any residence except a single-family detached home. The proposal, aimed at multi-unit apartment buildings, is meant to address the health concerns of elderly apartment residents who complained of complications caused by second-hand smoke, according to The Associated Press. The City Council of this Silicon Valley suburb of San Francisco is expected to enforce the ordinance by relying on civil suits brought by citizens or the city, and by...

Man Beaten To Death In Low-Security O.C. Jail (CBS) SANTA ANA, Calif. A Mission Viejo man awaiting trial on suspicion of possessing child pornography for sale was beaten to death in a jail unit for low-security inmates, an Orange County sheriff's representative said Friday. John Derek Chamberlain, 41, was "murdered by an inmate or inmates while in the shower" at the Theo Lacy jail in Orange, the department's Jim Amormino said. Guards got a call of a "man down" about 6:30 p.m. Thursday, and Chamberlain was declared dead at a hospital about an hour later, Amormino said. Investigators were interviewing...