Speakeasy Ideas

In this famous case, L. B. Sullivan, a Montgomery, Alabama, City Commissioner, sued the New York Times for libel and won a $500,000 verdict in a state court. The Times had run a paid ad critical of the way Alabama and some of its local police had treated civil rights activists. It was undisputed that the ad contained factual errors in its criticism. The Times appealed the half a million dollar verdict to the U.S. Supreme Court, claiming its rights protected under the First Amendment had been infringed by the state court ruling.  The Supreme Court agreed.

In a 9-0 decision, it held that a public official, like Sullivan, had to show “actual malice” in the publication of slanderous material to recover for libel. Any lesser standard, the Court held, would chill discussions regarding the public behavior of public actors. Where they right?

LINKS

The case itself: N.Y. Times v Sullivan

A copy of the full page ad at issue.

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LINKS

The September 16, 2019, event with Jason McBride and Jeffrey A. Hirsch.

The 1619 Project by the New York Times.

Sample Speakeasy Ideas lesson plan on the problem of slavery in the American Founding (#10)

Another sample Speakeasy Ideas lesson plan on the problem of slavery in the American Founding (#11)

In this episode, we get to talk liquor and Prohibition! In the recent case of Tennessee Wine & Spirits Retailers Association v. Thomas, the U.S. Supreme Court had to apply the 21st Amendment, which repealed Prohibition, to a modern licensing regime in Tennessee. Tennessee had a two-year residency requirement to be eligible for a license to operate a retail liquor store in the state. 

While such a residency requirement would normally be easy to dismiss as unconstitutional, the Retailers Association argued that the 21st Amendment allowed states extensive authority to regulate in-state liquor sales. First, the Supreme Court analyzed the judicially created doctrine known as the “dormant commerce clause,” then analyzed the language of Section 2 of the 21st Amendment to determine if the extent of Tennessee’s authority to regulate in-state liquor sales allowed the residency requirement. 

It did not. 

Links

The case itself: Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers Association v. Thomas

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Everyone knows that the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment means you can not be criminally tried for the same thing twice, right? Well, you actually can.

The “Dual Sovereign Doctrine” allows for a state court AND a federal court to punish you for the exact same thing. That’s what happened to Terance Gamble, who was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm in Alabama state court where he was sentenced to one year of incarceration. Then, because the federal government does not have enough to do, he was charged for the same thing in federal court where he received a 46 month sentence.

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Also, here’s the link to the Intent to Enroll form for the Ascent Classical Academy of Northern Colorado which will be opening in 2020. Fill it out, submit it, and share it with friends, family, and organizations you think might be interested.

Here’s the link to The Violence Project, which I mentioned in the podcast. When completed, it will be a database of information regarding mass shootings in the United States from 1966 to 2018.

How important is stare decisis?

Two months ago the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, overturned a 40 year old precedent concerning the sovereign immunity of individual states. The majority opinion, written by Clarence Thomas, held that correcting the court’s constitutional mistakes outweighed the doctrine of stare decisis and the importance of abiding by precedent. The respect given to stare decisis and the willingness of the Court to overturn prior decisions will play a major role in upcoming Supreme Court decisions. 

Links:

The case itself: Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt

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