Author: nick

From Patrick v. Pasco County Fla. Tax Collector, decided Tuesday by Judges Kevin Newsom, Andrew Brasher, and Frank Hull: Plaintiff Lana Patrick is a self-described “Journalist/Activist.” This case arises from Patrick’s attempt to record a video inside the Pasco County Tax Collector’s (“Tax Collector”) office near Dade City, Florida…. “The First Amendment protects the right to gather information about what public officials do on public property, and specifically, a right to record matters of public interest.” Smith v. City of Cumming (11th Cir. 2000). But the right to record is not absolute, because “the Constitution does not require the government…

When people plead guilty to crimes, they typically give up the right to appeal any aspect of the outcome, including the sentence they ultimately receive. On Thursday in Hunter v. United States, the Supreme Court imposed limits on such appeal waivers, which are improbably described as “knowing and voluntary” even when the defendant is acting under intense pressure and does not yet know what penalties and release conditions he will face. “An agreement not to appeal a sentence is unenforceable when it would result in a miscarriage of justice,” Justice Elena Kagan writes in the majority opinion, which was joined…

Trump poses rightwing leaders during the Shield of the Americas summit in Miami, Florida. White House Photo by Daniel Torok. Donald Trump’s second term has precipitated a tsunami of criticism from Democrats over his foreign policy. Yet when it comes to Washington’s efforts to dominate Latin America and the Caribbean, the substantive dispute – if there is any substance remaining, once stripped of partisan bickering – is less about ends than means. Beneath the rhetoric of inter-party conflict lies a broad bipartisan consensus in favor of promoting US hemispheric hegemony and crushing governments that resist it – with Venezuela, Cuba,…

For many years, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a professor and an advocate. She had written and litigated extensively on many constitutional law issues, including sex discrimination and abortion. When Ginsburg became a circuit court judge, and then a Supreme Court justice, no one would have expected her to abandon all of her views on constitutional law. Of course she insisted during her confirmation hearing that she would approach issues with an open mind. But to no one’s surprise, Ginsburg’s constitutional jurisprudence largely reflected her scholarly agenda. I think much the same can be said of Professors Scalia, Breyer, Kagan, and…

Story at-a-glance Just seven days of intensive mind-body training produced measurable changes in brain efficiency, energy production, and cellular repair processes Brain cells formed stronger connections and communication improved, which translates into clearer thinking, better focus, and faster decision-making The body shifted to a faster energy system, supporting sharper mental performance and improved resilience under stress Real benefits came from mentally demanding effort, not relaxation, as staying present through discomfort trained the brain to handle stress more effectively Consistent, structured daily meditation sessions can replicate these changes, helping you build lasting mental resilience and more stable emotional control What if…

The United States has gotten used to specific ways of ending wars. Sometimes the U.S. military decisively forces the enemy state to surrender, imposes a new political order, and gets it to stick, as in Germany and Japan in the 1940s or Panama in the 1990s. Other times, rebels wear down U.S. resources and willpower before decisively kicking out U.S. forces, as in Vietnam in 1975 or Afghanistan in 2021. But the Iran war is ending with something quite unfamiliar to Washington: compromise. The United States and Iran were unable to defeat each other in the first round, and, staring…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing perhaps the most precarious moment of his political career. He knows it. His allies know it. And his rivals—both within his coalition and across Israel’s political spectrum—are preparing to capitalize on his growing weakness. Former Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon, who also served as deputy prime minister between 2007 and 2009, is among the latest Israeli political figures to join a growing chorus of criticism directed at Netanyahu. “In the final result,” Ramon said in an interview with Radio Galey, cited by the Israeli outlet Srugim, “we did not win.” He then broke…

Hunter v. United States was not on my radar screen. But this may be one of the most unexpectedly fascinating cases of the year. The question presented is simple enough. In what cases can a defendant escape a knowing and intelligent waiver of appellate rights. The top-line vote was 8-1, though as I noted yesterday, the majority splits 2-3-3. Justice Kagan and Chief Justice Roberts were squarely in the majority. Justice Gorsuch, joined by Justices Sotomayor and Jackson, tried to expand the majority opinion. Justice Kavanaugh, joined by Justices Alito and Barrett, felt compelled to say the majority opinion was…

Israel, Hezbollah Renew Ceasefire as Iran Talks Postponed Source link

Image by Frida Lannerström. On the Left’s curious infatuation with a man who thinks their cousin Lisa is going straight to hell “God made tigers carnivorous,” Pi Patel observes from the cramped and terrified corner of a life raft somewhere in the Pacific, “so I must learn to catch fish.” He is a strict ethical vegetarian. He is also, more pressingly, sharing a twenty-six-foot boat with a four-hundred-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. And Pi, being a sensible boy despite his many gods, has grasped something that appears to elude a considerable portion of the left and precisely the Spanish…