In the Courts Archives - Page 18 of 82

Spending and Morality

By ACRU Staff|2014-07-09T14:26:24-04:00July 9th, 2014|

This column by ACRU Policy Board Member and Professor of Economics Dr. Walter E. Williams was published July 9, 2014 on Townhall.com.

During last year’s budget negotiation meetings, President Barack Obama told House Speaker John Boehner, “We don’t have a spending problem.” When Boehner responded with “But, Mr. President, we have a very serious spending problem,” Obama replied, “I’m getting tired of hearing you say that.” In one sense, the president is right. What’s being called a spending problem is really a symptom of an unappreciated deep-seated national moral rot. Let’s examine it with a few questions.

Is it moral for Congress to forcibly use […]

Economic Freedom

By ACRU Staff|2014-07-02T13:35:18-04:00July 2nd, 2014|

This column by ACRU Policy Board Member and Professor of Economics Dr. Walter E. Williams was published July 2, 2014 on Townhall.com.

A couple of years ago, President Barack Obama, speaking on the economy, told an audience in Osawatomie, Kansas: “‘The market will take care of everything,’ they tell us… But here’s the problem: It doesn’t work. It has never worked… I mean, understand, it’s not as if we haven’t tried this theory.” To believe what the president and many others say about the market’s not working requires that one be grossly uninformed or dishonest.

The key features of a free market system are private […]

ACRU: Hobby Lobby Ruling Is a 'Win for Religious Liberty'

By ACRU Staff|2020-04-23T21:50:46-04:00June 30th, 2014|

ObamaCare’s abortifacient mandate violated Religious Freedom Restoration Act, ACRU’s brief said.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 30, 2014) — In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld Hobby Lobby’s constitutional right not to be forced to violate the conscience of the company’s Christian owners.

“The ObamaCare order would have imposed ruinous fines on Hobby Lobby and other companies merely because the owners refused to violate their religious beliefs by paying for abortion drugs,” said Susan A. Carleson, American Civil Rights Union Chairman. “This is a win for religious liberty.”

“Obama’s beleaguered Affordable Care Act includes a requirement that all employers offering insurance must make […]

As Maine Goes, So Goes the Nation

By ACRU Staff|2014-06-30T13:17:55-04:00June 30th, 2014|

This column by ACRU Senior Fellow Robert Knight was published June 27, 2014 on The Washington Times website.

LEWISTON, MAINE — Like a bottle tossed in a faraway sea, Washington’s recklessness keeps washing up elsewhere, such as the great state of Maine.

The federal government’s refusal to enforce immigration laws has prompted Republican Gov. Paul LePage to take his own steps in this semirural New England state of about 1.3 million people.

Mr. LePage, whose colorful rhetoric often gets him into hot water, decreed that any Maine municipality that gives general-assistance money to illegal aliens will lose money for all general-assistance-aided programs.

With […]

ACRU: Court Gets It Mostly Right in NLRB Case

By ACRU Staff|2014-06-26T15:23:03-04:00June 26th, 2014|

9-0 Ruling Says President Cannot Make “Recess Appointments” When Senate Is Not in Recess.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 26, 2014) — The U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision to rebuke President Obama for making executive recess appointments while the Senate was not in recess is a victory for the rule of law, American Civil Rights Union Chairman Susan A. Carleson said.

“Although the Court could have gone further to keep the Executive Branch from violating the Constitution in the future, as explained in concurring opinions by four conservative justices, the 9-0 ruling is still very welcome,” Carleson said. “Presidents cannot flout the law simply because they think […]

Linking the Dollar to Gold: Completing the Recipe for Restoring an Economic Boom for America

By ACRU Staff|2014-06-23T12:20:31-04:00June 23rd, 2014|

This column by ACRU General Counsel Peter Ferrara was published on June 21, 2014 on Forbes.com.

Alexander Hamilton was America’s first Secretary of Treasury under President George Washington. When he first entered office in 1789, America was an agricultural nation of just 4 million still broke from its financially costly victory over the British Empire in the Revolutionary War.

The states had accumulated relatively massive debts to finance that war, which mostly remained unpaid. The United States did not even have a national currency, with Spanish coins still in wide circulation and use. Steve Forbes explains in his recently published definitive work, Money: How the […]

Scalia: Supreme Court Making Major Change to Constitution's Religious Liberty Protections

By ACRU Staff|2020-04-23T21:50:46-04:00June 19th, 2014|

This column by ACRU Senior Legal Analyst Ken Klukowski was published June 16, 2014 on Breitbart.com.

Today the Supreme Court denied review in an important First Amendment case, Elmbrook School District v. Doe. But there’s big news in a dissent that accompanied this denial, declaring that big change is underway for religious liberty.

When the Supreme Court handed down its blockbuster religious-liberty case Town of Greece v. Galloway on May 5, upholding prayer during meetings of legislatures and local governments, Breitbart News’ analysis was that the Court signaled the principles it was declaring would apply to all religious speech and religious displays.

These principles […]

Unanimous Supreme Court Holds Pro-Life Susan B. Anthony List Can Continue Legal Challenge

By ACRU Staff|2020-04-23T21:52:38-04:00June 19th, 2014|

This column by ACRU Senior Legal Analyst Ken Klukowski was published June 16, 2014 on Breitbart.com.

The pro-life Susan B. Anthony List (SBA) was investigated for allegedly violating an Ohio election law banning false speech in campaign messages. It has now won on an issue at the Supreme Court that allows SBA to proceed with its lawsuit, arguing Ohio’s law violates free speech.

Ohio law prohibits “false statements” about the “voting record of a… public official” in campaign ads during elections. Former Rep. Steven Driehaus (D-OH) filed a complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission against SBA in 2010. The pro-life group made an ad that […]

Supreme Court Affirms Police Officer's Felony Conviction for Buying Gun for Law-Abiding Uncle

By ACRU Staff|2014-06-19T11:07:12-04:00June 19th, 2014|

This column by ACRU Senior Legal Analyst Ken Klukowski was published June 16, 2014 on Breitbart.com.

When purchasing a firearm, federal law makes it a crime to make any false statement about “any fact material to the lawfulness of the sale.” Bruce Abramski is a former police officer in Virginia who purchased a gun for his uncle in Pennsylvania. His uncle is law-abiding and could have bought the gun himself, but Abramski made the purchase to get a policeman’s price discount to save his uncle money.

The former officer was convicted for violating federal law in buying the gun. Today in

President Obama's Plan to "De-develop" America Shifts into High Gear

By ACRU Staff|2014-06-10T15:28:28-04:00June 10th, 2014|

This column by ACRU General Counsel Peter Ferrara was published on June 9, 2014 on Forbes.com.

President Obama’s own Administration officially reports that the U.S. economy DECLINED by 1% in the first quarter of this year. That follows 1.9% reported total annual growth for all of 2013.

The U.S. economy sustained a real rate of economic growth of 3.3% from 1945 to 1973, and achieved the same 3.3% sustained real growth from 1982 to 2007. Before President Obama, it was only during the stagflation decade of 1973 to 1982, reflecting the deeply misguided reigning intellectual leadership of the time, that real growth fell to only […]