The Courts

A recent decision by Boston Federal District Judge Joseph Tauro says the 1996 Federal Defense of Marriage Act (which defines marriage as between a man and a woman) violates the equal protection clause of the US Constitution and thus is unconstitutional. The judge according to CNN also says the law strips states of their long standing right and practice to dictate laws of marriage locally as opposed to federal regulation. Read more »

The Supreme Court recently decided it was ok for the government to hold what it dub's "Dangerous Sexual Predators." Justices, in the 7-2 ruling, said that some sexual predators are just too dangerous to be release into society after their prison sentences end. The court claims civil commitment laws being used to keep so called predators locked up after their prison sentences ends is not a violation of due process under the constitution. Read more »

Obama has already made his decision on a replacement for Supreme Court justice, John Paul Stevens. He has said he wants a bridge builder who can sway a consensus on the issues. His current pick, Solicitor General Elena Kagan, meets this goal to a certain degree but leaves many questions unanswered to say the least. Sure, she is a so called "liberal" who would at least guarantee a replacement voice for Stevens but she may indeed not be the kind of liberal light like Thurgood Marshall or Warren Burger. Read more »

Child support enforcement by local state courts is no doubt a thorny issue for many who get unnecessarily caught up in the judicial hamstring with children who are in the custody of their former partners. In the 80's "dead beat dad" was coined by powerful and unchallenged feminist lobby. Read more »