Cline on the Constitution

Presidential Succession

October 5, 2020 by philcline in Blog / Cline on the Constitution / Congress / Presidency

Cline on the Constitution Presidential Succession The President has the Covid. He’s sick and in the hospital. According to expectations, medical and otherwise, there is a 95% chance he will okay. He’s expected to be discharged any day now. But what if he suffers a turn for the worse? Well, the Vice President seems healthy enough. So far, so good. But the […]

Religious Tests

September 27, 2020 by philcline in Blog / Cline on the Constitution / Judiciary

Cline on the Constitution – Religious Tests I posted this discussion right after Amy Barrett appeared in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee after she was nominated for the Federal Appellate Court. There is a high expectation that this outstanding woman will be smeared and vilified in the coming weeks, including undergoing sustained attacks based upon […]

Wall of Separation

September 12, 2020 by philcline in Bill of Rights / Blog / Cline on the Constitution / Religion

Cline on the Constitution – It was not meant to be a Prison Wall A Four-Part Series on Religious Liberty My last post covered the origin of the phrase “Wall of Separation Between Church and State.” Although the language does not appear in the Constitution, the Supreme Court has sometimes used the metaphor to describe […]

Wall of Separation-Introduction

September 10, 2020 by philcline in Bill of Rights / Blog / Cline on the Constitution / Religion

Cline on the Constitution – It is not supposed to be a Prison Wall Introduction The Supreme Court this term issued decisions in three cases directly addressing religious liberty. A fourth presages a future case that may be a harbinger for the resolution of the growing conflict between religious freedom and gay rights. No discussion of […]

A Deal’s a Deal’s

August 23, 2020 by philcline in Blog / Cline on the Constitution / Congress

Cline on the Constitution Hey Oklahoma, A Deal’s a Deal! Or is it? After my usual Summer hiatus, I am happily turning back to take a closer look at some of the Major Supreme Court cases decided last term. There are some good ones to explore before the new term opens in October. Let’s start with something fun, […]

Use of Deadly Force

July 4, 2020 by philcline in Bill of Rights / Blog / Cline on the Constitution

Cline on the Constitution-The Rules on the Use of Deadly Force by Police Officers. A fearful nation is in retreat. We are deep in the appeasement phase. History shows it is inevitably a mistake. Closing one’s eyes to looting, vandalism, tearing up traditions and tearing down sacred monuments doesn’t work. It doesn’t appease the Tyrant nor the mob. It emboldens, […]

Fear and Qualified Immunity

June 28, 2020 by philcline in Bill of Rights / Blog / Cline on the Constitution / Judiciary

Cline on the Constitution – Qualified Immunity and The Paralysis of Fear We are afraid. Americans, once a proud, robust, hearty people, sometimes stubborn, often stern, cower in fear. College professors are afraid to speak the truth; College Administrators are intimidated by students. It is rare the author, with the fortitude to call a man a […]

Self-Defense

June 13, 2020 by philcline in Bill of Rights / Blog / Cline on the Constitution / Criminal Justice

Cline on the Constitution – “Defunding” the Police and the Right to Self-Defense. Efforts to “defund” and dismantle police departments are not about reform, nor are they not about punishing individual police officers for wrongs, real or imagined. They are about weakening the social fabric of the nation, giving license to law breakers and ignoring […]

June 3, 2020 by philcline in Bill of Rights / Blog / Cline on the Constitution / Federalism / Second Amendment

Who has the Power? Talk about your ironic twists of fate. We may soon see one national emergency clarify whether another national emergency is real. That’s important. In the name of public health, governors and mayors have claimed extraordinary powers over citizens and abrogated Constitutional rights due to the threat of the Covid virus. Our schools have been […]

The Power to Close and the Power to Re-open

May 17, 2020 by philcline in Bill of Rights / Blog / Cline on the Constitution

This week’s segment of Cline on the Constitution discusses The Power to Close Down and Re-Open. I have watched with interest the developing debate over “reopening” American society. It is playing out at the federal, state and local levels. It seeks answers to exactly who has power under the Constitution as well as under a […]

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