Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Sorted by date Results 201 - 207 of 207
The widespread expression of hopes, fears and predictions about the forthcoming votes and opinions of Justice Amy Coney Barrett reflect a practice as old as the republic itself. Since the beginning, mere mention of a prospective nominee to the high court has inspired advice, counsel and warnings from the four corners of the nation. In 1812, Thomas Jefferson issued a stark warning to his friend, President James Madison, who contemplated the nomination to the court of Joseph Story, a Harvard Law School professor and eminent scholar. “He will out-...
President Donald Trump’s declaration on June 4, 2020, that he has “the absolute right to pardon” himself has drawn increased scrutiny in the closing days of the election campaign and the realization that his potential status as an ex-president would not protect him from criminal prosecution. His thesis, never seriously contemplated by any of his predecessors and never litigated in American courts, raises constitutional questions. Beyond the immediate matter of the scope of the presidential pardon power and what the framers of the Const...
Judge Amy Coney Barrett, destined to be the next member of the U.S. Supreme Court, has characterized her approach to constitutional interpretation as a mixture of “originalism” and “textualism.” She has said that the Constitution should be interpreted as it was understood when it was ratified. She shares this approach with her mentor, the late Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative icon. The two doctrinal methods are frequently in conflict. That leaves Judge Barrett in a position to choose which method she would employ, in which cases, for var...
History confirms the keen insight of James Madison’s warning in No. 51 of the Federalist Papers that the greatest challenge confronting the republic is persuading the government to obey the law. Governmental practice and sweeping, unfounded claims to power, reveal officials’ frequent indifference to the Constitution. The observation of a 17th Century English jurist that “the practice of government is but feeble proof of its legality,” may be a bit cynical, but it nevertheless illuminates the temptation to abuse power, which often leads to the...
All civics classes should begin with the first principle of American Constitutionalism: Government has only that power granted to it by the Constitution. As Justice Hugo Black stated in Reid v. Covert in 1957, “The United States is entirely a creature of the Constitution. Its power and authority have no other source. It can only act in accordance with all the limitations imposed by the Constitution.” This foundational principle, set forth by the legendary Revolutionary War lawyer, James Otis, Jr., in the landmark, Writs of Assistance Case in...
The nationwide celebration of the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment reminds us of an old, familiar lesson about American politics. The achievement of voting rights requires perseverance and energy, effective strategy and organization, moral appeal and political leverage. It shouldn’t be this way, of course, not in a democracy and certainly not if our nation truly aspires to fulfill the commitment to “equality” and “equal protection,” egalitarian principles exalted in the Declaration of Independence and the 14th Amendme...
The vast majority of Americans, polls reveal, lament the ugliness and incivility that punctuate our politics. The contentiousness, coarseness and divisiveness have spawned widespread apathy, and undermined faith and confidence in our system. Those who continue to participate agree that our nation requires wholesome remedies, sooner rather than later. While it is unrealistic to expect a standard of decorum that reflects lawn tennis language, it is not too much to expect elements of civility. Consider five modest pledges that citizens can accept...
