U.S. Constitution - Page 2

Divided Supreme Court Says Taking Cell Phone Records Is Unconstitutional

A divided Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on Friday that the Constitution does not permit the government to get cell phone records from service providers without a search warrant. The 114-page decision was comprised mostly of dissents from conservative justices criticizing the Court majority for ignoring the original meaning of the Fourth Amendment.

FILE - In this Feb. 17, 2016, file photo an iPhone is seen in Washington. The Supreme Cour

Klukowski: Trump Should Cancel Senate’s August Recess

President Donald Trump should make history by using his constitutional power to recall the Senate (but not the House) in August, canceling the August recess, and force the Senate to stay in session five (or six?) days per week until the Senate confirms a record number of federal judges and fills key positions in his administration to enact his America First agenda.

President Donald Trump listens during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sa

Cardinal Dolan Bears False Witness Against Steve Bannon as Catholic Bishops Choose ‘Social Justice’ over Constitution on Illegal Immigration

On the Jennifer Fulwiler Show on Sirius XM’s Channel 129 Thursday, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan falsely characterized Breitbart Executive Chairman Steve Bannon’s comments to CBS’s Charlie Rose about why Catholic bishops “have been terrible” in their support of the unconstitutional Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals [DACA] program President Obama enacted by fiat in 2012.

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Texas Supreme Court Curbs Same-sex Marriage Benefits

The Supreme Court of Texas held that the U.S. Supreme Court opinion recognizing the right of same-sex couples to marry does not automatically entitle them to spousal employment benefits. The unanimous court held that the 2015 opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges did not address the right to tax, insurance, or other benefits–only the right to marry.

REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

Texas Enacts ‘Anti-Sharia’ Law

Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law House Bill 45, more commonly known as “American Laws for American Courts,” or ALAC. It prohibits the use of any foreign law in the state’s courts, specifically in family cases that involve marriage or parent-child relationship matters.

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Texas Court Hears Case to Curb Gay Marriage Rights

The Supreme Court of Texas heard oral arguments today in a case where Houston taxpayers sued urging that subsidizing employment benefits for the spouse of a same-sex couple is illegal. Lawyers for the taxpayers describe the case as “the only one of its kind in the nation.”

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Texas Governor Declares Convention of States a Lege Emergency Item

“For decades, the federal government has grown out of control. It has increasingly abandoned the Constitution, stiff-armed the states and ignored its citizens,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott told legislators and those gathered for his State of the State address on Tuesday. He declared legislation supporting an Article V Convention of States to be an emergency item for the session.

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Texas Supreme Court Asked to Reconsider Same-Sex Spousal Benefits

Two taxpayers filed a motion for rehearing with the Texas Supreme Court on Monday to reconsider their order denying review of a case against the openly gay former Houston Mayor and the City of Houston. They urge that Mayor Annise Parker violated the Texas Constitution and state statutes when she gave spousal benefits to gay employees in 2013 and 2014. Parker issued these benefits to employees prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage ruling.

The Associated Press

Texas Supreme Court Justice: Same-Sex Spousal Employment Benefits Can Be Denied

A Texas Supreme Court Justice has issued a dissenting opinion stating that while the U.S. Supreme Court has declared that same-sex couples may marry, the U.S. Constitution does not necessarily require cities to offer benefits to same-sex spouses of employees. While marriage may be a fundamental right, spousal benefits are not. He says that the same constitutional strict scrutiny does not apply to employment benefits.

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Exclusive Video: Veteran Forcibly Dragged from Air Force Ceremony for Mentioning God

When a veteran started offering traditional remarks at a military flag-folding ceremony, several uniformed airmen assaulted him, dragging him out of the room because his remarks mentioned God. Now First Liberty Institute lawyers representing retired Senior Master Sergeant Oscar Rodriguez are demanding that the U.S. Air Force apologize and punish those responsible or face a federal civil-rights lawsuit.

Exclusive Video: Veteran Forcibly Dragged from Air Force Ceremony for Mentioning God

Texas Governor Calls for Article V Constitutional Convention

Governor Greg Abbott calls on Texas to join other states in calling for an Article V Convention of the States to write new amendments to the U.S. Constitution. He says his 100-page “Texas Plan” “fixes this government run amok” and “returns lawmaking to the process enshrined in the Constitution.”

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Rick Perry Battles at Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

Former Governor Rick Perry and his legal team were at the state’s highest criminal court on Wednesday morning arguing that the remaining count against him (abuse of official capacity) should be dismissed. A special prosecutor argued that a second count (coercion of a public servant) dismissed by an immediate court of appeals should be reinstated.

The Associated Press

History and Law Agree: No Birthright Citizenship

Conservative Republicans have been saying for years that the Constitution only guarantees birthright citizenship to some children born in this country, not to all. In an unlikely turn of events, the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause has emerged from the halls of the law-geeks to come front-and-center in the national dialogue.

AP Photo/Seth Robbins

Board: Judges Can’t Use Freedom of Religion to Avoid Performing Same-Sex Marriages

Citing the judicial oath of office to “support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Ohio,” the opinion states, “A judge who is willing to perform marriages of only opposite-sex couples because of his or her personal, moral, or religious beliefs may be viewed as possessing a bias or prejudice against a specific class or group of people based on sexual orientation.”

AP Photo/J Pat Carter