The Convict President: Trump & the 25th Amendment Shuffle

Let us suppose that Trump is convicted in the Washington D.C. case  and the New York case, but in the latter only of a misdemeanor. (See Conjectures & Arguments, Philosophy & Law: Legal Problems of the New York Criminal Case against Trump.) In the Florida case he benefits either from postponement until after the election from the hand of his appointee Judge Canon or from her Judgment of Acquittal (Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29, which, when granted after the jury is sworn, is unappealable).

Legal Problems of the New York Criminal Case against Trump

In the case brought by the New York County District Attorney,  Trump’s goose would be pretty well cooked on the misdemeanor Falsification of Business Records in the Second Degree, NYPL. §175.05. There are 34 counts of the indictment listing e.g., invoices and checks falsified to cover up the hush money payments made via Michael Cohen to Stormy Daniels. That is, it would be cooked but for the two year misdemeanor statute of limitations.

Did Trump committed the felony of falsification of business records in the first degree, §175.10, for which there is no limitations problem?

Should Parents Control Pronouns at School?

 The teacher received a note from fifth grader Jill’s parents:

We understand that you and other school personnel as well as pupils refer to Jill using “she, her, hers.” This is contrary to our family values. Please, in the future, use “they, them, their” and ask all school personnel and pupils to do so as well. We understand that Jill may resist this and ask you to use “she, her, her.” We expect her to grow out of this with time and discipline.

Citation

 

See also Orwell, George, 1984, Big Brother

Trump Would Be Constitutionally Barred on His Own Theory

Suppose Trump were right that Congress should have made him president because it was actually he who was Constitutionally elected in 2020.

Why Aren’t We Afraid to Go to Sleep?

Some people, of course, are afraid of going to sleep, and for good reason: sufferers from sleep terrors, nightmares, sleep walking, apnea, and other maladies of sleep. Then there is the aversion to bedtime of small and not so small children. Maybe some of this is fear of sleep; more is probably because being awake is more fun. Eventually, it is outgrown. In any event, I am not addressing these groups. I also exclude from the “We” people who never remember their dreams.

My question is why those of us who are beyond childhood, not subject to sleep maladies, and remember some of our dreams are so blasé about going to sleep, indeed often positively relishing the prospect.

Henry II and Donald Trump

 "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?"  Henry II

“Shouldn’t the IRS investigate Strozk and Page” (and maybe Comey and McCabe) Trump 45^th

Rights and the 2nd Amendment

In an old blog post I argued that the Second Amendment created three constitutional rights.  “One is a right to participate in the military, in Latin jus militiae, from its origin in Roman law. The second is a right to possess weapons for the purpose of the participation in the militia, [now the National Guard] guaranteed by the first right. The third is a broader right to possess weapons unrelated to matters military.” The Second Amendment: Not One or Two but Three Rights  I was mistaken.

Prosecution Folds in Baldwin Case

The prosecutors sudden and complete capitulation shows not just that the case against Baldwin was weak. It confirms that there was all along either gross prosecutorial incompetence or ethical breach, more likely the breach, as  I suggested in my 1/30 post and was far from alone in so suggesting. 

Why didn’t Trump appear before the New York grand jury?

Celebrating Police Misconduct

It is not only US movies and televesion that show the good guys ignoring the fundamental rights of suspects.

The Prosecution’s Grudging Concession in the Baldwin Case

The Santa Fe District Attorney and the special prosecutor chose not to submit papers in opposition to the defense motion to dismiss their firearm enhancement claim with its five year mandatory sentence. The enhancement was obviously and fatally erroneous. The enhancement for a “discharged” firearm was enacted after the incident and so its enforcement would be ex post facto. The firearm enhancement that was in place at the time is for “brandishing” the firearm, which requires an intent to intimidate or injure. Clearly neither Baldwin nor the armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who is charged with the same offenses as Baldwin and for whom the enhancement was also dropped, had any such intent.

Is Alec Baldwin Being Overcharged?

Almost certainly: prosecutorial tactics!