Showing posts with label Unconstitutional. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Unconstitutional. Show all posts

Monday, January 3, 2011

DEA, an unelected, non-legislative agency, bans 'fake pot' products

WASHINGTON (USA Today) - The DEA used its emergency powers Wednesday to ban K2 and other "fake pot" products that mimic the effects of marijuana.

The action by the Drug Enforcement Administration makes it illegal to possess or sell the five chemicals used to make the products for at least one year. The agency and the Department of Health and Human Services will determine whether the chemicals should be permanently added to the federal list of controlled substances considered unsafe, highly abused and without medical use.

(Full story)

Monday, December 13, 2010

Obama's health-care law ruled unconstitutional over insurance requirement

(Bloomberg) - The Obama administration's requirement that most citizens maintain minimum health coverage as part of a broad overhaul of the industry is unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled, striking down the linchpin of the plan.

U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson in Richmond, Virginia, today said that the requirement in President Barack Obama's health-care legislation goes beyond Congress's powers to regulate interstate commerce. While severing the coverage mandate, which is set to become effective in 2014, Hudson didn't address other provisions such as expanding Medicaid.

(Full story)

Monday, December 6, 2010

Federal lawsuit alleges stop-and-frisk unfairly targets minorities

(Philadelphia Inquirer) - In the debate over the [Philadelphia] police tactic known as stop-and-frisk, both sides agree there's nothing inherently wrong with officers stopping more black and Hispanic than white residents, at least in cities where violent crime is concentrated in minority neighborhoods.

The question is: At what point does stopping a disproportionate number of minorities cross the line into illegal, race-based policing?

When does a legitimate, proactive tactic become the wholesale harassment of communities?

Determining those limits has been one of the more controversial topics in big-city law enforcement - and a question that often has gone before the courts to be answered.

(Full story)

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Senator: FDA will ban alcoholic energy drinks

(ABC) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will effectively ban the sale of beverages that combine caffeine and alcohol, including Four Loko and Joose, by ruling that caffeine is an unsafe food additive, according to Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).

In a press release, the Senator also announced that the Federal Trade Commission will notify manufacturers that they're potentially marketing the products illegally.

(Full story)

Friday, September 17, 2010

Friday, August 27, 2010

The government can use GPS to track your moves

(Time) - Government agents can sneak onto your property in the middle of the night, put a GPS device on the bottom of your car and keep track of everywhere you go. This doesn't violate your Fourth Amendment rights, because you do not have any reasonable expectation of privacy in your own driveway — and no reasonable expectation that the government isn't tracking your movements.

That is the bizarre — and scary — rule that now applies in California and eight other Western states. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which covers this vast jurisdiction, recently decided the government can monitor you in this way virtually anytime it wants — with no need for a search warrant.

(Full story)

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