U.S. Constitution

COMPLAINT CHALLENGES DOGE ACTIONS AS UNCONSTITUTIONAL

By Miriam Raftery

February 20, 2025 (Greenbell, Md.) -- A legal complaint filed by 26 unnamed former and current employees in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland alleges that Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has violated the Constitution’s Appointments Clause.  That clause mandates that presidential appointments require the advice and consent of the Senate, which President Donald Trump did not seek when he appointed Musk and delegate vast powers.


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SUPREME COURT WEIGHS LEGALITY OF LETHAL INJECTIONS

 

By Miriam Raftery

April 29, 2015 (Washington D.C.) – One year after a botched execution in Oklahoma left an inmate, Clayton Lockett, writing in pain for 43 minutes before dying of a heart attack after the execution was halted, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments about the constitutionality of lethal injection procedures.


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IS OBAMA'S DECISION TO BOMB ISIL TERRORISTS IN SYRIA LEGAL?

 

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: U.S. Department of Defense

September 23, 2014 (Washington D.C.)—The U.S. Constitution states that Congress has the power to declare war.  Yet Congress has not provided such declaration to presidents for any war since World War II, back in the 1940s.  That puts presidents in the hot seat when confronting threats including those from terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda and now, ISIL, or the Islamic State.


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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.