Articles

Bills of Attainder and the” Cromwell effect.” We filed our amicus brief in Fowler v. Lanier in the Ninth Circuit emphasizing to the court the importance of the Constitution’s prohibition on “bills of attainder.” While this is a fairly obscure constitutional provision, it is an important protector of our liberty. Indeed ...

Three years ago, California businesses faced crippling liability in the wake of court decisions interpreting the state’s minimum wage laws. This year, the state legislature enacted Assembly Bill 1513, which allows businesses to avoid statutory liability if they promptly paid back wages in accordance with those decisions. Yet, to secure the ...

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District Court of California heard oral argument last week in Fowler v. Lanier. The case involves AB 1513, a state law that created an affirmative defense for agricultural businesses in the wake of surprising California court decisions. This affirmative defense was available to every employer except for Fowle ...

The Daily Journal recently ran an op-ed on a bill of attainder case pending in the Eastern District of California. … ...

Supreme Court member apologizes  Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg today issued an apology today on behalf of all Justices, living and dead, who ever espoused the notion of a “living constitution.” Saying that she was visited by the ghost of her late friend, Nino Scalia, she exclaimed, “it’s a stable constitution that we need, no ...

You’ve read about it in history books. You’ve seen in it on The Tudors. During the seventeenth century, British Parliament presided over specific cases, heard evidence on criminal charges, and voted on the guilt of individuals accused of certain wrongs. The practice shocked the Framers. They ratified the bill of attainder clauses in th ...