“Plain English” Constitutional Law
“Plain English” Constitutional Law
I’ve practiced in many areas of the law over the last forty years. By far the most fascinating is Constitutional Law, both as a matter of substantive law and as a testament to the brilliance of the men and women who founded this country as the world’s first democracy. Before 1776, all countries or regions of the world were ruled by monarchs, dictators or other authoritarian figures. Our forebears did something unique in world history. We were the first. Our nation has succeeded for nearly 250 years in large part because of our Constitution and its separation of sovereign power.
The last few years, however, have shown how little citizens really understand about our Constitution, as we have seen in debates about immigration, religious freedom, free speech, guns, treason, due process, and presidential powers. To that end, I from time to time post short “plain English,” neutral/balanced summaries about constitutional and related statutes issues to help inform the public debate, especially among non-lawyers.
I hope you’ll subscribe.
RECENT POSTS
The Second Amendment and Guns, Part II
The Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) held that Second Amendment protection includes a law-abiding person’s right to possess a firearm for self-defense in the home, if using a weapon in common use at the time for home self defense, in this case a handgun.
The Second Amendment and Guns, Part I
Few debates have been more spirited in the last twenty years than those about the Second Amendment. Is it limited to hunting rifles, shot guns and single action revolvers? Or does it extend to semi-automatic and military style assault rifles.
“High Crimes and Misdemeanors” Do Not Need to Be Crimes.
Scholars have long agreed that “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” for impeachment and conviction do not have to be crimes or otherwise unlawful. The “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” phrase
Presidential Executive Privilege in Congressional Investigations
© 2020 Dan Cofran | Posted January 15, 2020 Introduction The President has claimed both absolute immunity and executive privilege to prevent [...]
Impeachment Trials in the Senate
© 2020 Dan Cofran Picture From: Wikimedia Commons The Senate’s “Rules of Procedure and Practice When Sitting on Impeachment Trials” [...]
Are Top Presidential Advisors Absolutely Immune to Congressional Subpoenas?
Are Top Presidential Advisors Absolutely Immune to Congressional Subpoenas? No. © 2020 Dan Cofran Picture From: Wikimedia Commons At least [...]
Can a Sitting President Be Indicted? Part II
Part II: Trading a Headache for an Upset Stomach © 2020 Dan Cofran Part I here Reading Time: 6 Minutes A sitting [...]
Can a Sitting President Be Indicted? Part 1
© 2020 Dan Cofran Part I: Yes Reading Time: 6 Minutes This issue has never been litigated, so there are no court decisions [...]
Religious Freedom & the Temporary Travel Ban
The Establishment and Exercise Clauses, First Amendment, cl. 1 The Middle Eastern Temporary Immigration Ban © 2020 Dan Cofran [...]
Know Your Common Law Writs: Quo Warranto.
Steve Bannon Is Not Eligible for the NSC & Should Be Removed © 2017 Dan Cofran By statute, Steve Bannon is not [...]
Can a President Take Military Action Without Congressional Approval?
Photo by: luxlumen_minor - stock.adobe.com Can a President Take Military Action Without Congressional Approval? © 2020 Dan Cofran Quick Facts [...]
Constitutional Immigration & the Temporary Travel Ban
© 2020 Dan Cofran Presidential Temporary Travel Ban: Autocracy or Democracy? Under the Constitution, all federal powers are specifically [...]
The Constitution and the Emoluments Clause
© 2017 Dan Cofran The Impeachment & the Emoluments Clause, Art. I, Sec. 9, cl. 8 – It Prohibits [...]
Removing a President Under the 25th Amendment
© 2017 Dan Cofran The 25th Amendment Removing a President “Unable to Discharge His Powers & Duties” Don’t be [...]