Constitutions

Proponents of a state constitutional convention that could reshape California's government have run out of money and canceled plans to put their proposal before voters in November. The announcement Friday by Repair California, the organization behind the convention bid, raises questions about how effective good-government groups can be in marshaling resources to address Sacramento's dysfunction. Repair California seemed well positioned for such a task; its leaders are from the Bay Area Council, a business advocacy group that includes some of the largest corporations in the state.

Cheerleaders in a small Texas town can continue to display their Bible verse banners at football games, after a district judge ruled Wednesday that their actions did not violate the Constitution. The cheerleaders in the football-dominated town of Kountze garnered national attention when they sued the school district in a case that pitted free-speech rights and religious freedom against the doctrine of separation of church and state. Hardin County 365th Judicial District Court Judge Stephen Thomas said the banners that included religious messages - such as "If God is for us, who can be against us?

Luxembourg approved the European Union's proposed constitution despite uncertainty over the document's future. Luxembourg's vote means a majority of the union's nations -- 13 out of 25 -- have approved the constitution. The charter was rejected by French and Dutch voters in late spring. The constitution needs unanimous approval to take effect, and leaders in France and the Netherlands said they would not hold a second vote.

Last week, Texas and Oklahoma squared off in a Supreme Court battle over water rights that has the drought-ridden West on edge. At issue is a state's control over its own water: Texas seeks to buy or otherwise tap water from Oklahoma under the terms of an interstate water compact, actions that Oklahoma has so far refused to permit despite the compact. The stakes of the court's decision are high. Interstate water agreements provide the legal foundation for the economies of most Western states, which are disproportionately dependent on irrigated agriculture.

Kenyans rejected a proposed constitution by 57% to 43%, said Samuel Kivuitu, chairman of the Electoral Commission. Little of the campaign was about the draft charter, which would have created a prime minister post, strengthened civil rights and decentralized the government. Kenyans instead were asked to consider whether President Mwai Kibaki had kept promises to foster democracy and end graft.

Millions of Rwandans turned out to vote on a new constitution intended to usher in a stable, democratic society nearly a decade after genocide devastated the nation. Nearly 4 million people -- more than 95% of those eligible -- registered, officials said. The draft constitution is intended to limit the power of any single political party, thus preventing leaders from manipulating differences between the Hutu majority and Tutsi minority.

Taiwan's leader said his party wants to push in 2006 for a new constitution for the island -- a step that could anger leaders in rival China, who would probably see it as a leap toward independence. President Chen Shui-bian was speaking to a huge crowd of supporters in the central city of Taichung for the 17th birthday of his Democratic Progressive Party. He did not elaborate. China insists that self- governed Taiwan belongs to it.

The California Constitution instructs state lawmakers to pass the budget by midnight June 15. According to Article 4, Section 12: (a) Within the first 10 days of each calendar year, the governor shall submit to the Legislature, with an explanatory message, a budget for the ensuing fiscal year containing itemized statements for recommended state expenditures and estimated state revenues.

Only a trickle of voters turned up at Romanian polling stations to vote on bringing their constitution into line with EU law, as many stayed away to rebuke the government for failing to alleviate poverty and corruption. The two-day referendum has been touted by the government as a vote for the European Union, which Romania hopes to join in 2007. But only 8.19% of eligible voters cast ballots in the first eight hours of voting.

Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos and Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega have agreed on a postponement of constitutional changes. U.S. ally Bolanos has been under pressure from dissidents in his party and leftist Sandinistas to accept provisions that would weaken him by giving Congress jurisdiction to name officials to some key posts. Bolanos said the reforms would take effect in 2007, after his five-year term ends.

WASHINGTON - The federal rules say a person making an arrest "must take the defendant before a magistrate without unnecessary delay. " And the Supreme Court has said the judicial process must begin within 48 hours. This rule aims to "prevent secret detention," wrote former Justice David H. Souter, adding that "no one with any smattering of the history of 20th-Century dictatorships needs a lecture on the subject. " Despite criticism from Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill that the questioning of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was prematurely curtailed, legal experts say the only way to have avoided triggering that process once he was arrested a week ago would have been to declare him an enemy combatant.

Re "Legal debate swirls around treatment of suspect," April 21 I am glad the Boston bombing suspect has been caught. But however despicable his alleged crimes are, do we want to deny a U.S. citizen his right to a trial, as guaranteed by our Constitution? Terrorist prosecutions enjoy a near-perfect conviction rate. A cowardly attack on innocent people is scary because it is hard for us to understand why anyone would do something so uncivilized. But it is also scary when those who have sworn to protect and defend the Constitution use such an act to attack our constitutional rights.

On Monday morning, Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was charged with using a weapon of mass destruction. According to a transcript of that proceeding, a magistrate at Tsarnaev's hospital bedside read him the Miranda warning, informing him of his right to counsel and his right to remain silent. But among the things we don't know is if, or to what extent, Tsarnaev was interrogated before being informed of his rights. Over the weekend, Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. gave every indication that he intended to have Tsarnaev questioned without the Miranda warning.

NEW YORK - An independent review of the U.S. government's anti-terrorism response after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks found that it was "indisputable" the U.S. engaged in torture and the George W. Bush administration bore responsibility. The report released Tuesday by the Constitution Project, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, is an ambitious review of the Bush administration's approach to the problems of holding and interrogating detainees after the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

Religious leaders may deliver opening prayers at Lancaster city council meetings and mention Jesus if they like, as long as a variety of denominations are invited, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. Lancaster Mayor Rex Parris says the prayers have unified the community, and the lawsuit was about “making Jesus a dirty word.” Sectarian prayers are not prohibited at government meetings, the court said, and the city has not endorsed one religion over another, even though a majority of the prayers are Christian.

North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple should not sign any of the legislature's half-dozen bills that seek to subvert a well-established constitutional right to abortion. Late last week, the North Dakota legislature passed a bill that would ban a woman from having an abortion as soon as the heartbeat of the fetus is detected, which can happen as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. If Republican Gov. Jack Dalrymple signs it into law, North Dakota will have the ignominious distinction of being the most restrictive state in the country on abortion.

Defying an opposition boycott, Bolivia's constitutional assembly approved a charter that would empower the nation's indigenous majority and let President Evo Morales run for reelection indefinitely. The new constitution must be approved by Bolivians in a national referendum. No date has been set, and it is not expected to be held until September 2008. Opposition leaders vowed to launch protests and legal challenges to the new document, which they say does not represent all Bolivians.

Irish citizens voted on whether to accept or reject the European Union's new constitution, which seeks to reshape EU institutions and powers to cope with the bloc's near-doubling in size over the last four years, from 15 to 27 nations with 495 million people. The Lisbon Treaty contains many of the same plans as the EU's previous master plan, which French and Dutch voters rejected in 2005. This time, only Ireland's 3.05 million voters pose a serious threat to ratification, because the other 26 members are requiring approval only by their national governments.

About a quarter of the African Americans who participated in a human relations study reported experiencing discrimination or harassment from law enforcement, in schools or from others in Orange County. The survey was conducted after an incident in upscale Yorba Linda, in which an African American family said they had been forced to flee the county after enduring months of racial attacks and acts of vandalism that seemed racially charged. In response, the Orange County Human Relations commission held a series of public "listening sessions" at churches across Orange County, urging African American families to share their stories of life in a county that - at one time - had a reputation as a place of intolerance.