Dear Readers, Legislators gathering once a year under the Golden Dome to debate and pass laws every year has its good side and its bad. Laws are in constant need of attention and modernizing, yet, if we sleep on the process, we lose our rights.  Let's start with an example of a proposal that makes ever so much sense. HB 511 tries to rectify a serious inequity when it comes to "expungement" rights concerning arrests.  If you go to trial and you are acquitted, how many of you out there ... Tags: Untagged

Dear Readers, Since President Obama's election, there have been periodic false political arguments centered on his birth certificate. Georgia is now "home" to the latest more subtle approach, resting not on the authenticity of a birth certificate, but what is meant by "natural born citizen."  Several Georgia voters (or electors) filed an objection with Georgia's Secretary of State's office contesting President Obama's place on March's primary ballot, which was just recently rejected by the... Tags: 14th amendment, citizenship, President Obama

Dear Readers, Show of hands ... How many of you out there know what the 7th Amendment is all about? Oh,we know the 1st Amendment (free speech), 2nd Amendment (right to bear arms), 4th Amendment (search and seizure) ..., but, the 7th Amendment??? Here's the precise text, "In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, t... Tags: Untagged

Dear Readers, As I had mentioned in a prior column, the United States Supreme Court recently wrestled with defining the 4 th Amendment's place in an electronic age. All 9 justices reached the same conclusion in a bit of a muddled mess, as a prelude to probably a decade of litigation to sort out the parameters of electronic surveillance. The facts in this ground-breaking decision are simple and straightforward. Antoine Jones was suspected of being a major drug dealer; he was sentenced to life i... Tags: Untagged

Dear Readers, All thinking Americans know that our Constitution is a glorious document. As a country, it has been our blue-print for legal success, as well as a guide for people around the world to experience the joys of freedom. Where we diverge is in how vibrant and relevant a document it is today. Some assert that all we need to know is written in the very text of the Constitution and/or the mores at the time of its genesis. Others (and I will candidly disclose I definitely fall into this ... Tags: Untagged