The Other Voting Right: Protecting Every Citizen's Vote by Safeguarding the Integrity of the Ballot Box

By |2020-04-23T21:59:34-04:00September 1st, 2009|

There is a saying that "people get the government they vote for." The implication of the maxim is that if undesirable or unwise legislation is enacted, if executive branch officials are inept or ineffective, or if the government is beset with widespread corruption, then such unfortunate results are the consequence of the electorate's decision regarding whom to trust with the powers and prestige of public office. The Constitution does not forbid people from enacting wrongheaded policies. If voters elect leaders that fail them, then the citizenry is saddled with the consequences of its choice until the next election. Such is the reality in a democratic republic. But this argument begs the question of whether voters did in fact elect the individuals who take their oaths of office.

Terrorists Using 1960s Legal Precedent

By |2020-04-23T21:58:21-04:00June 12th, 2008|

Terrorists Using 1960s Legal Precedent to Escape Punishment

New Study Exposes the “Terrorist Get Out of Jail Free Card”

In a report released today by the American Civil Rights Union, best-selling author and terrorism expert Richard Miniter demonstrates how a 1969 Supreme Court ruling is being used to get terrorists off scot-free–an extremely pertinent issue, given today’s ruling by the Supreme Court that Guantanamo Bay detainees are allowed access to civilian courts.

The case, Brandenburg v. Ohio, effectively safeguards suspected terrorists from prosecution by categorizing their fatwas–or calls to terrorism–as protected free speech if the threat does not designate a specific date and […]

Constitution Week

By |2023-05-20T09:41:07-04:00September 21st, 2007|

Thanks to the American Civil Rights Union for the opportunity to blog about students’ rights on American college and university campuses. I am especially pleased to be able to blog this week as we pass the two hundred twentieth anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the United States. Below I quote a post from yesterday on The Torch, the blog of my employer, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), on Constitution Day, the rise of the Bill of Rights, and its significance to college students.

To secure liberty, the Framers had agreed to structural arrangements in the Constitution including checks and balances, […]

Press Release: ACRU Applauds Another Step Towards a Colorblind Society

By |2023-05-20T09:38:57-04:00June 29th, 2007|

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court just ruled on an affirmative action case involving a Seattle school district. The ACRU supports the challenge to the school district’s race-based student assignment plan. In Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1, the school district argued its decision to use race is entitled to deference, a presumption of correctness before the law.

ACRU Senior Fellow and constitutional law expert Horace Cooper said that, “The Supreme Court today barred school assignment plans that take account of students’ race. It is a shame that more than 50 years after Brown v. Board of Education was decided by […]

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