In this edition of Legally Speaking, we explore the law and the effect of state voter identification laws that are sprouting up around the country. Several Republican-controlled state governments have been pushing laws that require voters to provide a photo ID every time they vote. We talk to Avi Green, executive director of MassVote, about [...]
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Legally Speaking: Citizens United and SuperPACs, 9/2/11
Intheir decision last year in Citizens United v. FEC, the United States Supreme Court said that the government could not restrict how much money corporations and other entities spend on political activities such as airing advertisements. The result has been the rise of the so-called SuperPAC which is already having a significant impact on the [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Legally Speaking: DOMA and Prop 8 Challenges, 8/26/11
The Defense of Marriage Act is being challenged in two federal court cases. Meanwhile, Proposition 8 is under attack in California in Perry v. Schwarzenegger (now Brown). Legal experts expect that, at some point in the not-too-distant future, one of these cases will land at the United States Supreme Court. Joining us for this discussion [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Legally Speaking: Constitutional Challenges to Health Care Law, 8/19/11
There are roughly a couple dozen constitutional challenges to the Affordable Care Act, the so-called Obamacare, that Congress passed and President Obama signed in 2009. These challenges primarily focus on the insurance mandate, a provision in the bill that requires those who can afford it to buy insurance. There are several arguments against the bill [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Legally Speaking: Big Tobacco Sues Over FDA Regs, 8/12/11
New tobacco regulations are about to go into effect that hugely impact the industry’s ability to market their products, including making them add shockingly graphic pictures that will take up 50 percent of cigarette packages. The industry is suing and the suit recently went to a federal court of appeals and is likely to reach [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Legally Speaking: FBI’s Warrantless Use of GPS, 8/5/11
Three cases are in the news regarding the FBI’s warrantless use of GPS devices. I talk with Zahra Billoo of CAIR, Kent Scheidegger of CJLF and Shahid Buttar of Bill of Rights Defense Committee about warrantless searches and the exclusionary rule.
Read the rest of this entry »Legally Speaking: World Trade Center Cross Lawsuit, 7/29/11
Atheists sue to take down the Ground Zero Cross. I moderate a panel with their attorney Edwin Kagin and Andrew Schlafly, a Constitutional lawyer and founder of Conservapedia.
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