In March, the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing released an interim report that recommends expanding the federal government's already considerable role in the affairs of local police forces. Last week, in response to a question about the Baltimore riots, the President touted that...
Published: Thursday, May 7th, 2015 @ 9:25 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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Last week the NC House voted unanimously to approve a bill (HB 183) that would repeal in its entirety a contentious piece of legislation known as the Map Act. As I explained in a previous newsletter, when the General Assembly passed the Map Act in 1987 its declared purpose was...
Published: Friday, April 24th, 2015 @ 12:15 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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And to kick off the celebrations, over at the Liberty and Law blog Justin Lyons has posted an interesting discussion of Winston Churchill's views on the Great Charter and its role in British and American history. Lyons illustrates his discussion with many stirring quotations from Churchill's...
Published: Tuesday, April 14th, 2015 @ 7:20 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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Despite being upheld by the US Supreme Court in 2005 as a legitimate exercise of eminent domain, the decision by the City of New London, CT, to take some of its citizens' homes and give the land on which they stood to a private developer was a source of widespread outrage at the time...
Published: Thursday, April 9th, 2015 @ 9:50 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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As I have previously explained, civil asset forfeiture is an obnoxious legal process that empowers law enforcement agencies to confiscate property they suspect has been used in, or derived from, criminal activity. Part of what makes this process so abhorrent is the fact that, because it is a...
Published: Monday, April 6th, 2015 @ 11:10 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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Earlier this month the Department of Justice finally released a report summarizing its investigation of the Ferguson, Missouri Police Department. Some have denounced the report as little more than irresponsible race baiting. Others have praised it as a much needed expose of a rogue agency...
Published: Tuesday, March 31st, 2015 @ 2:57 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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A couple of weeks ago I discussed an excellent NC Court of Appeals decision in which the Court held that development moratoria imposed under the Map Act constitute takings for which just compensation must be paid. Today I'm happy to report that the General Assembly is already responding to that hold
Published: Friday, March 20th, 2015 @ 1:45 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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During the progressive era, federal antitrust enforcement agencies were known as "trustbusters." They were usually depicted as righteous warriors courageously fighting to rescue helpless ordinary citizens from the machinations of rich and powerful monopolists. In reality, federal trust busting...
Published: Sunday, March 15th, 2015 @ 6:30 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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My colleague Jon Sanders has already commented on last week's Supreme Court decision in North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. Federal Trade Commission. As Jon suggests, this is a good result in many ways — the bad guys lost, and the good guys will eventually benefit. It is...
Published: Tuesday, March 10th, 2015 @ 5:55 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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On Tuesday the N.C. Court of Appeals handed down a ruling that strikes at the heart of a controversial piece of legislation known as the Map Act. Here at the John Locke Foundation, we have been urging the General Assembly to repeal or reform the Map Act for some time. Now, however, thanks to...
Published: Saturday, February 21st, 2015 @ 10:34 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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The N.C. House of Representatives has approved a proposal to amend the state constitution by adding the following language: Private property shall not be taken by eminent domain except for a public use. Just compensation shall be paid and shall be determined by a jury at the request of either party.
Published: Wednesday, February 18th, 2015 @ 1:56 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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On Tuesday the N.C. House of Representatives approved a proposal to amend the state constitution by adding the following language: Private property shall not be taken by eminent domain except for a public use. Just compensation shall be paid and shall be determined by a jury at the request of...
Published: Sunday, February 15th, 2015 @ 5:44 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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For years a diligent group of North Carolina state representatives has been trying to add an eminent domain clause to the North Carolina Constitution. Their latest attempt, HB 3, was filed on January 14th. Thanks to their perseverance - and thanks also to recent changes in the makeup of the...
Published: Thursday, February 5th, 2015 @ 10:45 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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In my previous newsletter, I called Eric Holder's January 16th order modifying the DOJ's civil asset forfeiture policy "a significant step in the right direction," and I encouraged my readers to join me in hoping, not only that more reform would follow but also that Holder's order might mark...
Published: Friday, January 30th, 2015 @ 12:48 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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US Attorney General Eric Holder has been subjected to a good deal of criticism during his time in office, but even many of his fiercest critics have joined the chorus of praise for an order he signed last week entitled "Prohibition on Certain Federal Adoptions of Seizures by State and Local Law...
Published: Monday, January 26th, 2015 @ 5:38 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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