Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 1/17/17: Presidential Oath of Office

The Presidential Oath of Office is specified in Article II, Section One, Clause 8: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”  The Constitution does not specify who is to administer the oath, although by convention it is usually the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. There have been several exceptions to this, including the swearing-in of George Washington in 1789 by the Chancellor of NY and Calvin Coolidge’s swearing in by his father, a notary public, in 1923. Originally the oath was administered in the form of a question, but now the President-elect repeats the words as stated by the Chief Justice. In 2009 Chief Justice Roberts administered the oath a second time to Barack Obama, privately in the White House the day following his inauguration, because Roberts inadvertently omitted the word “faithfully” from the oath.  By convention the President-elect commonly raises his right hand and place his left hand on a Bible, although not every president has done so — exceptions include John Quincy Adams and Franklin Pierce who both swore their oaths on a law book.

 

Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 12/5/16: The Original Proposed 13th Amendment

While the Thirteenth Amendment outlawed slavery, the original proposed Thirteenth Amendment was altogether different. Approved by Congress in 1810, the Titles of Nobility Amendment was designed to strip U.S. citizenship from any citizen who accepted an aristocratic title from a foreign country. Ratified by twelve states (the last in 1812) the proposed amendment is technically still pending but would require ratification by an additional twenty-six states. It was erroneously included as the Thirteenth Amendment in some early-nineteenth-century Constitutional publications despite never having been ratified. ‘Thirteenthers’ is a term sometimes used to refer to people who maintain it was in fact ratified, or those who support its ratification now. An interesting article from 2010 on attempts to ‘restore’ this proposed amendment in Iowa may be found here.

Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 11/28/16: The Third Amendment

The Third Amendment states that “No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.”  The British practice of quartering troops among (and in buildings owned by) colonists was one of the  grievances enumerated in the Declaration of Independence. While never the subject of a Supreme Court case, the Third Amendment was cited in Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965 as one of the sources of the implied right to privacy.

Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 11/21/16: Thanksgiving as a Federal Holiday

A proclamation by President George Washington and a congressional resolution established the first national Thanksgiving Day on November 26, 1789. The holiday was intended to give thanks for the new government formed under the Constitution. It became an official federal holiday under President Lincoln in 1863, and in 1941 was set as the fourth Thursday in November.

Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 11/14/16: Alienation of Affection

One of the most common 19th century civil suits was for alienation of affection, awarding damages to litigants whose marriages disintegrated due to the actions of a third party. In order for a plaintiff to prevail, he or she had to show that the marriage had been a loving one, that the relationship was alienated (i.e., destroyed), and that the defendant was responsible for this alienation. While long since abolished in most states, in 2010 a record $9 million judgment was awarded in North Carolina against a defendant who had seduced the plaintiff’s husband.

Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 11/7/16: The Prohibition Party

Just in time for election day: the oldest third party in the United States is the Prohibition Party, founded in 1869, which advocates against the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages. It declined dramatically in its popularity after the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. It has nominated a candidate for president in every election since 1872, and in the last federal election in 2012 garnered a total of 518 votes.

 

 

 

Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 10/31/16: The Meaning of ‘Rap’

The word rap – referring originally to a mild form of rebuke (such as to rap one’s knuckles) – by the late 18th century referred to punishment or blame for serious offences. By the early 19th century, it entered American slang in a variety of expressions related to criminal justice, such as: to get the rap (to get the blame), to take the rap (to accept the blame), bum rap (to be blamed even if innocent), beat the rap (to avoid conviction), and rap sheet (a police record of arrests and convictions).

Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 10/24/16 — the Rule of Lenity

The Rule of Lenity is a judicial doctrine requiring that courts use a principle of leniency when resolving ambiguities in statutes related to punishment. Should there be multiple or inconsistent penalties set out in a criminal statute, the Rule requires courts to resolve the ambiguity by applying the more lenient punishment.

Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 10/17/16: The Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was signed into law in 1966 after a twelve-year campaign to have it introduced and passed by Congress. Seen as controversial at the time of its passage, it was strengthened by Congressional amendment in 1974 in the wake of the Watergate scandal. Now widely seen as one of the most important pieces of 20th century legislation, the FOIA Improvement Act was signed into law by President Obama in June 2016, and is designed to further improve and modernize the FOIA, particularly with respect to digital records.

Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 10/10/16: Gun Laws

A recent study in The Lancet, led by BU researchers, analyzed gun control laws across the U.S. and concluded that more than 80% of gun deaths could be prevented by national adoption of 3 laws: firearm identification through ballistic imprinting or microstamping; background checks for sale of ammunition; and universal background checks for gun sales.

Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 10/3/16: The Origins of the Term ‘Boilerplate’

The legal term “boilerplate” — referring to standard language used in contracts, warranties, and other legal documents — has its origins in industry. A ‘boiler plate’ originally referred to sheet steel used in the manufacture of boilers which was pre-manufactured before being assembled. An analogy was made between these and the steel plates that were distributed in the late 19th-century to newspapers containing pre-written syndicated columns or advertisements, which came to be known as “boilerplates”. These were in common use by publishers until the 1950s.

 

Ian’s Legal Fact of the Week 9/26/16: The Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights— the first 10 Amendments of the U.S. Constitution– was never an actual bill introduced before Congress. Its name was inspired by the U.K. Bill of Rights of 1689, and borrowed freely from its concepts and language, including terms such as “cruel and unusual punishment.”