Proposition 8 part I : The Decision

As I find time this week, I'm going to try to look at the recent decision regarding California's Prop 8, and the issue of same-sex marriage generally.

This first post deals with nothing more than the basics of the decision itself.  Part II will look at the stronger arguments against the decision, and part III will look at the issue of same-sex marriage in general, making the argument that Prop 8 and measures like it should be held as Constitutionally impermissible instances of gender discrimination.

Misreporting II: NDAA and Indefinite Detention of U.S. Citizens

So, this post is about 2 months, or 10 years too late, as will be explained.  On 12.31.11, President Obama signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act.  While there is a good deal to be gravely concerned about in the NDAA, much of the commentary focused on components of the NDAA which would supposedly "allow the military to indefinitely detain terror suspects, including American citizens arrested in the United States, without charge."

The NDAA did no such thing.

Misreporting I: Search Warrants and GPS Monitoring

Not that commentary on either issue is relevant at this point, but I thought I would inaugurate my contribution to the white noise of "law blogs" by addressing two stories in the last few months that were -- nearly universally -- badly reported.

The first is the Supreme Court decision in United States v. Jones.  Jones was a Fourth Amendment case that dealt with GPS tracking of a suspect's vehicle.  A warrant was issued, allowing the government to install a GPS tracking device on the vehicle within 10 days of the warrant's issuance.  The device, however, was installed on the 11th day.  The trial court allowed most of the information gathered from the GPS to be entered into evidence, finding that there was no search, as Jones had no reasonable expectation of privacy when traveling on public roads.  The court of appeals reversed, and the case made its way to the Supreme Court.  So what did the Supreme Court hold?