Constitutional Law

Long Beach Pride Parade and Festival

Parade on Ocean Blvd.; Festival at LBCC

Jessica Karp, UCI Adjunct Professor, Seeks to Expose ICE's "Secret" Meetings with Gov. Brown

The American public must be let in on what's going on behind closed doors regarding the federal government's attempts to preserve the full force of its controversial Secure Communities immigration enforcement program, a UC Irvine law professor argues."There's a public right to know about issues surr ... More >>

[UPDATED with Jury Rules FOR Douglas Zerby Family:] Long Beach Police Officers Negligent

See the update at the end of this post about the jury ruling for the dead man's family.ORIGINAL POST, APRIL 3, 2:13 P.M.: A $21.5 million civil rights and wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Long Beach over cops fatally shooting a guy holding a gardening water nozzle on a friend's Belmont Sho ... More >>

Manuel Diaz Shooting: Case Closed?

Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait met with representatives from the United States Attorney's Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation last summer regarding the incidents of July 21, 2012. Now that the Orange County District Attorney's office has completed and released its investigative letter clearing An ... More >>

Dave Hester, Ex-Costa Mesa Thrift King, Losing Early Rounds of His Suit Against Storage Wars

The A&E network and the Storage Wars production company are reportedly winning the early rounds in the lawsuit brought against them by former cast member and Costa Mesa thrift store king Dave Hester.The ballcap-wearing hoarder known for his "YUUUP!" calls at storage locker auctions claims he was ... More >>

[CORRECTION:] Perv-in-Park Case Dismissed Against Jean Pierre Nguyen

UPDATE, NOV. 29, 3:26 P.M.: Based on corrected information from the Orange County Public Defender, this post has been corrected throughout.ORIGINAL POST, NOV. 28, 4:44 P.M.: Jean Pierre Nguyen holds the distinction of being the first person arrested in Irvine for violating the city's limited ban on ... More >>

Kelly Thomas 1-Year Beating Death Anniversary Rung in with Lawsuit by His Father Ron Thomas

Proving yet again that what happens in the Kelly Thomas family does not necessarily stay in the Kelly Thomas family, the father of the slain homeless man is suing the city of Fullerton.The wrongful death lawsuit, filed by Ron Thomas on the one-year anniversary of his frail, 37-year-old schizophrenic ... More >>

Mass Cycosis

[Hey, You!] A brush with a bipedal flash mob

American Bandstand, Rock & Roll and the Struggle for Civil Rights: An Interview with Matt Delmont (Part II)

​Yesterday, we published the first part of an interview with Matt Delmont, author of The Nicest Kids in Town: American Bandstand, Rock 'n' Roll, and the Struggle for Civil Rights in 1950's Philadelphia, where, contrary to Dick Clark's claims, he reveals how the iconic television show discriminated ... More >>

James Corbett, "Jesus Glasses" Teacher, Wins Divine Non-Intervention of U.S. Supreme Court

James Corbett​The U.S. Supreme Court refused Tuesday to hear an appeal in Capistrano Valley High School's "Jesus Glasses" case.That means the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision last year that exonerated European history teacher James Corbett stands.The end!

PETA Loses Whale of a Slave Suit But Still Crows

​A federal judge Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit brought by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) that argued five orcas should be freed from SeaWorld under the anti-slavery 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.Judge Jeffrey Miller of the U.S. District Court in San Diego reasoned in ... More >>

'Barbershop Punk' Makes the Case for Net Neutrality

Information wants to be free, etc.

Dana Rohrabacher Identifies National Income Disparity Cause

Rohrabacher​Since 1993, the wealthiest one percent of Americans have captured 50 percent of the nation's economic growth.If that fact alarms you, Orange County Congressman Dana Rohrabacher knows who to blame for the 18-year-old crisis: a Chicago constitutional law professor. You may have heard of ... More >>

Who's Gagging Whom In the Irvine 11 Case?

The First Amendment, academic freedom and Islamophobia collide in an OC courtroom

Dream Team Assembled at UCI Law School Squeezes Boring Right Out of 2010-11 U.S. Supreme Court Term

​For the UC Irvine School of Law's first-ever Supreme Court Review Wednesday, the assembled panel was saddled with a reportedly "boring" 2010-2011 term. Fortunately, the legal all-stars who enlightened about 170 lunching students, lawyers and professors on campus (and an equal number watching the ... More >>

[UPDATED with Sentence for Deborah Pauly Threats:] Video Captures Protesters, Politicians Berating Muslims at Yorba Linda Charity Function

Paul Dean Andrews​UPDATE, MAY 25, 3:46 P.M.: A San Pedro man was sentenced today to 97 days in jail, three years probation and an order to stay away from Deborah Pauly for threatening violence against the Villa Park city councilwoman via a Facebook message. Paul Dean Andrews, 28, was slapped with ... More >>

[UPDATED with New Anti-Muslim Rally Plans:] Video Captures Protesters, Politicians Berating Muslims at Yorba Linda Charity Function

Muzammil Siddiqi​Here we go again.Organizers of February's controversial and much-blasted anti-Muslim rally in Yorba Linda have issued an ultimatum to the Orange County Human Relations Commission: rescind the Community Leader award it is presenting to Islamic Society of Orange County Imam Muzammil ... More >>

[UPDATE: OC Democrats Blast Pauly] Video Captures Protesters, Politicians Berating Muslims at Yorba Linda Charity Function

​UPDATE, MARCH 25, 4:40 P.M.: The Democratic Party of Orange County has weighed in on Villa Park City Councilwoman's Deborah Pauly's harsh remarks at an anti-Muslim rally in Yorba Linda last month. (Welcome to the party, folks!)As you might expect from a party philosophically opposite of a teabagg ... More >>

[UPDATED] Irvine 11 Charged With Misdemeanors, Face Jail, Probation, Community Service if Convicted

Photos by Christopher Victorio/OC WeeklySeven of the Irvine 11​UPDATE, MARCH 11, 4:08 P.M.: The arraignment of the Irvine 11 was continued this morning until April 15 so the court can consider defense motions to seal grand jury documents, remove the Orange County District Attorney (OCDA) from the ... More >>

Dervaes Family Sends Out Ridiculous Press Release Claiming They're Not Trying to Shut Up Urban Homesteaders

Say what you will about the dingbat Dervaeses of Pasadena, the family that stirred a national controversy when they decided to trademark the terms "urban homstead" and "urban homesteading," but at least they're remaining consistent. They've maintained their innocence from the start, blaming a conspi ... More >>

Natalie Kennedy, OC Civil Rights Pioneer, Among Those We Lost in 2010

Photo by Kimberly ValenzuelaSharon and Natalie Kennedy​One of my all-time favorite quotes came not from a legend but rather a nun quoted in the National Catholic Reporter, who said, "When you work on the margins, you really don't expect much recognition at the center. This is the choice I made." S ... More >>

The Feds Bury Border Patrol Abuses of Immigrants

But what's been unearthed reveals a culture of cruelty

Prop. 8 Judge Married to ACLU Leader Refuses to Disqualify Himself

​If there's one group that so-called "family values" social conservatives love to hate more than gays, it's the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU. So there's more than a little bit of karma in the fact that Stephen Reinhardt, the judge expected to rule whether Prop. 8, which would deny gay c ... More >>

Nativo Lopez Cries 'Racist,' Appeals Court Cries 'Defamation'

[Moxley Confidential] Split decision in Overhill Farms case has chilling free-speech implications, dissenting justice asserts

Five Reasons Why Orange County Should Thank Mexico Today

​Today, as Orange County Register readers know too well, is the official marking of Mexico's bicentennial. SanTana will become one massive fiesta this weekend, although the elites marked their own celebration last evening at the Bowers Museum. With all the arribas in the air, what better time to d ... More >>

Leo Carrillo, Gonzalo Mendez, Frank Palomino, Carey McWilliams, and Lame-O Westminster/Garden Grove Unified School Districts

​The recent push by activists to have a school in the Orange Unified School District named after local civil rights pioneer Lorenzo Ramirez reminded me that the Westminster Unified School District still hasn't named a school after its famous civil rights pioneer: Gonzalo Mendez, who along with Ram ... More >>

Much-Awaited Appellate Decision on Medical Marijuana Dispensary Bans is a Non-Decision

​Orange County cities and medical-marijuana dispensaries had been eagerly awaiting a decision from the California 4th District Court of Appeal on the constitutionality of municipal bans on cannabis clinics.That decision is now in . . . . . . and it's pretty much a non-decision.

UPDATED: Prop 8 Judge: Same-Sex Weddings Can Resume ... on Wednesday

Law.UCI.eduChemerinsky​UPDATE: The dean of the UCI Law School does not see grounds for an appeal of the stay against gay weddings in California (see below) . . . U.S. District Court Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker in San Francisco today lifted the stay on same-sex marriages in California--beginning ... More >>

Prop 8 Argued in Law & Order Court, Paddy's Pub (of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia)

​The legal war over Prop 8 is still fresh fodder for Sunday news snore fests, daily chat spat shows and late night laugh offs, so it was only a matter of time before California's controversial gay marriage initiative filtered its way into scripted television programming.But the two shows that will ... More >>

Orly Taitz Appeals $20,000 Fine to Supreme Court

Trevor Keen / OC Weekly​It seems like ancient history now, but it was only in September that a federal judge in Georgia threatened to fine Laguna Niguel's Orly Taitz with $10,000 for filing a frivolous lawsuit--and then doubled the amount of the fine when Taitz continued to accuse him of treason.A ... More >>

ACLU Issues Arizona Travel Advisory

​The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, whose coverage area includes Orange County, and the ACLUs of Northern California, San Diego and Imperial Counties and 26 other affiliates, issued an Arizona travel alert today.Arizona's response?"Meh."

Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Concert

Barclay Theatre

Major Donor Pulls Funding, Leaves ACLU and Locals Scrambling

​An item the New York Times posted online Tuesday night that outed David Gelbaum as a major anonymous donor to the American Civil Liberties Union and reported the Newport Beach philanthropist was cutting off $19 million in yearly donations because of economic setbacks has left the ACLU scrambling, ... More >>

Big Week for the ADA and the Disabled

Eddie Rea, 21, an emerging disability rights leader from Fresno, is the youth speaker at the Sacramento forum's luncheon.​It's a big week for the disabled in Sacramento--and, no, that was not a timely dig at the governor and legislature.Well, not this time.The 18th annual Youth Leadership Forum fo ... More >>

Loretta Sanchez Will Defend a Kid in Vietnam But Refuses to Support Kids Here?

Photo by Christopher VictorioWhat was Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez thinking today when she took to the floor in Congress to fight for the rights of a youth activist in Vietnam while she continues to ignore the youth activists pleading for her support in her own backyard? It's not that Nguyen Tien T ... More >>

LGBT Groups Seek to Intervene in Prop. 8 Challenge

This just in from the ACLU, which believes the action taken today will help a judge hearing a challenge of Prop. 8 understand the unequal rights inherent in the ballot initiative . . . SAN FRANCISCO -- Lambda Legal, the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and the American Civil Liberties Union ... More >>

Ward Connerly: Protector of High Asian Admissions at UC Irvine

Connerly: Asian fetishWard Connerly, the African American crusader who has never met a government set-aside based on race that he's liked, believes the University of California is hellbent on reducing Asian-American admissions--and Asian-American rights groups are not doing enough to stop them.Writi ... More >>

Chapman Law Dean Shifts From One Controversy to Another

Photo by Christopher VictorioJohn C. Eastman (right) listens as John Yoo debates at Chapman last month.The last time you read a Navel Gazing post that mentioned John C. Eastman, dean of Chapman University's School of Law, it was in reference to him teaming with the university's visiting law professo ... More >>

Muslim Groups Consider Breaking FBI Ties Over Irvine Case

Citing the highly publicized case involving an undercover informant who spied on an Irvine mosque, a coalition of U.S. Muslim organizations has announced it may suspend relations with the FBI."Muslim communities throughout the United States have made significant advances in promoting and contributin ... More >>

Sign From God? Rick Warren Shouted Down at MLK Service

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that protesters interrupted pastor Rick Warren's speech to a packed house for the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day service at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta today--one day before the leader of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest is to deliver a controversy ... More >>

Rev. Rick Warren Loves Gay People

He loves them so much that he offers them doughnuts and water! See, he's not a bad guy just because he wants to deny these loving, committed couples their equal rights. Listen to his heartfelt explanation to Ann Curry about why doughnuts water = not homophobic, during their interview set to air on ... More >>

Waterbored

It’s not torture, but Mideast thriller Rendition is as conventional as they come

Eviction Blues

Homeless musician vows crusade against landlords

Beating around the Bush, or not, in Irvine

Good news for those of us who have never seen the power of a monarchy in action, and the servility it demands of its subjects. President Bush is extending his weekend trip to California, and will be visiting scenic Irvine on Monday. According to the Register, "Bush will speak to the Orange County B ... More >>

The Mommy Party

Harriet Miers and me

Hate Sells

Tim Millers tale of gay love

Party Pooper

Browser Beware

Cookie monster may be following you

Why I Hate Ho Chi Minh

The Year in Cyberspace