Will Coronavirus Push New York’s Courts Out of the Colonial Era? (Updated!)
Tweet Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks of the Courts of New York State delivers testimony during a joint legislative budget hearing on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016, in Albany, N.Y. (Photo/Hans Pennink) [Huge update at the end as NY suspends new jury trials, both civil and criminal] New York’s Chief Administrative Judge, Lawrence K. Marks, issued a memo late Thursday to the judicial system about procedures to deal with COVID-19. Short story, the courts are still open and there is no suspension of jury trials. Yet. But there’s a tantalizing morsel I want to discuss. There are the six paragraphs, of which I will deal only with the 5th. Because it deals with procedures to reduce attorney traffic inside the courts: (1) Intro; (2…
Want to Understand the Constitution? Don’t Ask a Lawyer!
Most Americans say the Constitution is important. Most Americans say it’s crucial for the government to stay within its constitutional bounds. But what exactly are the constitutional limits on federal power? How do we know? Well, whatever you do, don’t ask a lawyer. Most of them know very little about the Constitution. I can already hear some people protesting. Lawyers know a lot about the Constitution. They learn constitutional law, for goodness sake! But read closely what I wrote. I didn’t say they don’t know a lot about constitutional law. I said they typically don’t know a lot about the Constitution. There’s a huge difference. Constitutional law is made up of a bunch of lawyers’ opinions about what the Constitution means. But that’s not how you understand …