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Since retiring as an assistant United States Attorney, Thomas R. Ascik has written about legal and constitutional issues at a variety of websites.

July 3, 2019|Arizona v. California, Nevada v. Hall, state sovereignty, Tax Board of California v. Hyatt

Constitutional Logic and State Sovereignty

by Thomas Ascik|2 Comments

shutterstock.com (shock ninja studio).

The logic of the Constitution demands that states are not amenable to suits by other states without their consent.

March 5, 2019|Donald Trump, Federalism, Massachusetts v. EPA, national emergency

The New Federalism and the New Federal Judiciary

by Thomas Ascik|2 Comments

Protesters at the "Presidents Day Protest to Fight Trump's Fake Crisis," in San Francisco, California on February 18, 2019 (Sheila Fitzgerald / Shutterstock.com).

If the states can sue about their general “economies” and the general “health, safety, and well being” of their citizens, they can sue about anything.

February 22, 2019|Citizenship, Federalism, state government

State Versus National Citizenship in Our New Federalism

by Thomas Ascik|8 Comments

The U.S. Capitol building, as seen between the columns of the Supreme Court (Dan Thornberg/Shutterstock.com).

We are fast abandoning the fundamental jurisprudence of our law that legislatures make general rules and courts apply them to specific circumstances.

January 17, 2019|Affordable Care Act, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, John Roberts, Judge Reed O'Connor, NFIB v. Sebelius

On Obamacare, Is Common Sense Really Judicial Activism?

by Thomas Ascik|8 Comments

Affordable Care Act text (Ellen McKnight/Shutterstock.com).

Ironically, it was efforts to save the ACA that produced Judge O'Connor's conclusion that Obamacare could not stand.

November 30, 2018|asset forfeiture, Barron v. Baltimore, Federalist 45, Fourteenth Amendment, Gitlow v. New York, Incorporation, Timbs v. Indiana

Asset Forfeiture, Incorporation, and the Fourteenth Amendment

by Thomas Ascik|17 Comments

The U.S. Supreme Court at dusk (Greg Blakeley/Shutterstock.com).

Nothing surpasses the intellectual intoxication and will to power of a federal constitutional lawsuit—democracy be damned.

October 8, 2018|Fisher v. University of Texas, Gratz v. Bollinger, Grutter v. Bollinger, Harvard University, Racial Preferences, Regents v. Bakke

Harvard’s Student Body: Hitting the Targets, Spinning the Story

by Thomas Ascik|5 Comments

Commencement at Harvard University, 2014 (image: f11photo / shutterstock.com)

Harvard officials insist that the university does not engage in racial balancing, but their own admissions statistics prove otherwise.

August 28, 2018|DACA, DAPA, Dream Act, NAACP v. Trump, Prosecutorial Discretion

Enforcing Immigration Laws is “Arbitrary and Capricious”

by Thomas Ascik|7 Comments

Protest against end of DACA in Portland, OR, September 5th, 2017 (Diego G Diaz / Shutterstock.com).

Granting federal prosecutors the "discretion" to choose as a matter of policy what laws they favor and what laws they do not favor is just fine, right?

June 27, 2018|Abortion, crisis pregnancy centers, First Amendment, Governor Jerry Brown, Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Stephen Breyer, NIFLA v. Becerra