U.S. Supreme Court Weighs in on Minnesota Drunk Driving Laws
Like many states, Minnesota has an “implied consent law” requiring drivers suspected of driving under the influence to submit to a chemical test of their blood, breath, or urine. Minnesota law makes it a crime for a person to refuse to take a chemical test. Forcing a person to consent to a chemical test (a search under the Fourth Amendment) by threatening criminal penalties has been the source of much debate in recent years. Defendants argue that these laws are unconstitutional without a warrant. Prosecutors argue that various exceptions to the warrant requirement apply. In the recent opinion Birchfield v.... Read More
Death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
With the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, there has been quite a lot of debate regarding President Obama’s intentions to nominate a replacement. Can he do this in the last year of his Presidency? The simple answer is found in the very text of the U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 2, which states that the President shall nominate and appoint judges to the Supreme Court, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. There is nothing in the text of the Constitution that limits a President’s nomination power to the first three years of the Presidency, or any... Read More