Skip to main content

15th Amendment

15th Amendment - The federal judiciary has had a chip on its shoulder ever since Alexander Hamilton described it as the “weakest of the three departments of power.” From Marbury v. Madison and McCulloch v. Maryland through to its present day progeny, federal judges consistently misinterpret the Constitution and misinterpret the powers assigned to them therein. In fact, for decades the district courts, courts of appeal, and the Supreme Court have gone out of their way to show that they can obliterate the Constitution just as powerfully as their sister branches.

One of the latest examples of the federal courts’ disregard for the black letter of Constitutional law is found in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in the case of Gonzalez v. Arizona (2010). Handed down in October of this year, the reasoning set forth in the majority opinion written by Judge Sandra S. Ikuta is remarkably unsound, especially so in light of the concurrence of former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor (Justice O’Connor heard this case pursuant to the prerogative exercised pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §294(a)).

Proposition 200 was passed in November 2004 when 56% of citizens of the State of Arizona voted in favor of it. The initiative was drafted by the Protect Arizona Now (PAN) Coalition with the support of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) and basically it requires individuals to produce proof of citizenship before they may register to vote or apply for public benefits in Arizona. The proposition also makes it a misdemeanor for public officials to fail to report persons unable to produce documentation of citizenship who apply for these benefits, and allows citizens who believe that public officials have given undocumented persons benefits to sue for remedies.

15th Amendment

In the Ninth Circuit’s opinion, Ikuta and O’Connor held that the measure fails Constitutional muster for violating the intent of the legislature as manifest in the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NRVA). The decision in the case states that the “central purpose is to increase voter registration by streamlining voter registration procedures.” Therefore, as the NRVA does not require proof of citizenship as established under the provisions of Proposition 200, the state of Arizona is preempted from passing a law that illegally burdens the pre-existing federal statute.

15th Amendment
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Best Indoor Exercise

Best Indoor Exercise - There are several indoor exercises you can do to keep in shape. But which are the best? They can be split in to two categories. The first is body weight exercises, meaning you use your own body weight to provide resistance. The second is using some sort of equipment. There are pros and cons to both. The biggest advantage to doing body weight exercises is they can be done anywhere. Whether you're on holiday, travelling for work, or if you just want a quick exercises to do. There are quite a few body weight exercises that can be done. If you wish to work out your abdominal muscles, sit ups or crunches are a good one. Doing pull ups on a door frame will work out your lats and back. Squatting with just your body weight will work out your thighs and calves. There are also indoor exercise machines by the hundreds. There's the traditional treadmill and exercise bikes which can be used indoors. Resistance bands and free-weights are also good ones for indoo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Kinect Review

Kinect Review - First presented to the world as Project Natal at E3 2009, Microsoft's Kinect sensor peripheral has since been positioned by the software (and hardware) giant as the next phase of Xbox 360's evolution as a platform. A combination of hardware and software, it's been billed as a means for users to interact with their consoles and play games without using a physical controller, using natural gestures, voice commands and face recognition. I've had a final retail Kinect unit at home for a little over a week now, and have had ample time to put the shiny new gadget through its paces. Is it as magical as expected? Will it transform gaming? Or, more importantly, does it even work? Read on past the break for my in-depth review of this ambitious apparatus. Kinect is a single piece of hardware, yet it incorporates several distinct technologies. There's an infrared emitter that floods your play space with invisible light, paired with a CMOS sensor that then l...
Post a Comment
Read more

'Green Hornet' Star Edward Furlong Jailed

'Green Hornet' Star Edward Furlong Jailed - Troubled former teen star Edward Furlong was thrown in jail Tuesday for allegedly violating a restraining order against his estranged wife, just hours after attending the Hollywood premiere of his new film, “The Green Hornet.” Furlong was arrested during a progress hearing Tuesday morning over the 100-yard, three-year restraining order taken out by Rachael Kneeland, People reported. The “Terminator 2” star was found to have violated the order last month by coming within 50 yards of Kneeland and was booked on $75,000 bail, the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office told news outlets. 'Green Hornet' Star Edward Furlong Jailed The arrest is the latest sad chapter for Furlong since Kneeland filed for divorce in July 2009 after three years of marriage. The pair have a 4-year-old son, Ethan. Soon after their split, Kneeland accused Furlong in court papers of rampant cocaine and other drug use and of making threats against...
Post a Comment
Read more