Constitutional Law

A freelance photographer who allegedly chased singer Justin Bieber on the 101 Freeway this summer and became the first person arrested and charged under the state's new anti-paparazzi law is now waging a constitutional challenge to the law. Paul Raef, 30, faces four misdemeanor charges in connection with the July 6 incident: reckless driving, failing to obey a peace officer and two counts of following another vehicle too closely and reckless driving...

WASHINGTON -- When Republican leaders in Congress started talking about revisiting the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees citizenship to anyone born in the United States, the discussion appeared to many to be election season maneuvering. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said he was hearing from constituents who wanted Republicans to take a tough stance against illegal immigration. House Minority Leader John A. Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell proposed a congressional hearing on the matter.

Supreme Court nominee Robert H. Bork on Saturday ended five days of grueling testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee--the longest such proceeding in the history of the high court--trying once again to reassure skeptical senators that he would follow precedent, if confirmed, and not try to advance "some kind of personal agenda." The committee's unprecedented 27 1/2 hours of questioning of Bork's legal philosophy and views were "long, detailed and often profoundly interesting," Bork said.

When Republican leaders in Congress started talking about revisiting the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees citizenship to anyone born in the United States, the discussion appeared to many to be election season maneuvering. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said he was hearing from constituents who wanted Republicans to take a tough stance against illegal immigration. House Minority Leader John A. Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell proposed a congressional hearing on the matter.

Most legal conservatives think the Supreme Court was wrong to declare that women have a constitutional right to an abortion. Many are still upset at the court for striking down prayer in schools, and a few even think the court should not have outlawed segregated schools as "inherently unequal." But Bernard Siegan may be alone in thinking that, in addition to all these, the Supreme Court was wrong to allow Congress to print paper money, because the Constitution mentions only the minting of coins.

Saying that portions of Proposition 187 may conflict with federal statutes and the U.S. Constitution, a federal district judge in Los Angeles issued a temporary restraining order Wednesday blocking immediate enforcement of the sweeping initiative's bans on non-emergency medical, educational and social services for illegal immigrants. U.S. Dist. Judge Matthew Byrne Jr.

As the court fight over Proposition 187 resumes today in Los Angeles, many constitutional analysts say the measure's legal flaws could block some provisions for two to three years until the U.S. Supreme Court or the state high court makes a final ruling. "I think at least a substantial part will be enjoined, and there is a good chance all will be enjoined," said USC law professor Erwin Chemerinsky. State Atty. Gen.

As if he hasn't been in enough controversies already, former Los Angeles Police Sgt. Stacey C. Koon is now at the center of a political dispute between Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren and a ranking Democratic assemblyman over a law barring criminals from profiting from their crimes.

Bowing to popular pressure, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he would rescind a new intelligence law that critics said would have forced citizens to spy on one another and would have moved the country toward a police state. During his Sunday talk show "Alo Presidente," Chavez said he had had second thoughts about the National Intelligence and Counterintelligence Law that he decreed May 28, a law that has been under attack from the nation's human rights and legal experts as unconstitutional.