5th Amendment

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Michigan can test welfare recipients for drugs, court rules

LANSING, Mich. - A federal appeals court cleared the way on Friday for Michigan to test welfare recipients for drug use.

U.S. District Court Judge Victoria Roberts halted a pilot drug-testing program in 1999 after a group of welfare recipients and the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan argued that the testing is unconstitutional.

A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Roberts' decision Friday, saying the testing program is based on a legitimate need to ensure that public money is not used for illegal purposes.

Robert Sedler, the attorney who sued the state Family Independence Agency on behalf of several welfare recipients, said he will appeal to the full court.

Mandatory, large-scale drug testing (of *anyone*, including children) violates the 4th and 5th amendments to the Constitution, regardless of the excuses the government makes about welfare.

U.S. Supreme Court could make Miranda warnings thing of the past

For five years, Oliverio Martinez has been blind and paralyzed as the result of a police shooting. Now he is at the center of a U.S. Supreme Court case that could determine whether decades of restraints on police interrogations should be discarded.

The blanket requirement for a Miranda warning to all suspects that they have the right to remain silent could end up in the rubbish bin of legal history if the court concludes police were justified in aggressively questioning the gravely wounded Martinez while he screamed in agony.

"I am dying! ... What are you doing to me?" Martinez is heard screaming on a recording of the persistent interrogation by police Sgt. Ben Chavez in Oxnard, a city of 182,000 about 60 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

I am stunned that this case even survived to reach the supreme court.

<-- Prev Displaying results 0 - 2 of 2 Next -->

Read this group via RSS or Atom.

Enter your email address to receive email updates for new entries in this group: