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USA FIRST AMENDMENT AND SALUTING THE FLAG

WEST VIRGINIA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION V BARNETTE 319 U.S. 624 (1943) Argued: March 11, 1943 / Decided: June 14, 1943 Mr. Justice Jackson delivered the opinion of the Court “But freedom to differ is not limited to things that do not matter much. That would be a mere shadow of freedom. The test of its substance is the right to differ as to things that touch the heart of the existing order.” “If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion, or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein. If there are any circumstances which permit an exception, they do not now occur to us.” “We think the action of the local authorities in compelling the flag salute and pledge transcends constitutional limitations on their power, and invades the sphere of intellect and spirit which it is the purpose of the First Amendment to our Consti...
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AFFORDABLE CARE - COMMENT

Whereas  Congress create Laws. If the ELECTORATE do not agree with laws Congress create, the ELECTORATE  must  vote  Members  of Congress out of office. “What the Court did not do on its last day in session, I will do on my first day if elected President of the United States, and that is I will act to repeal Obama-care." — Mitt Romney
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US SUPREME COURT OBAMA-CARE JUDGMENT

National Federation of Independent Business et al. v Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services et al.   Judgment, Chief Justice Roberts — June 28, 2012 ( EXCERPTS) “We do not consider whether the Act embodies sound policies. That judgment is entrusted to the Nation's elected leaders. We ask only whether Congress has the power under the Constitution to enact the challenged provisions.” “Members of this Court are vested with the authority to interpret the law; we possess neither the expertise nor the prerogative to make policy judgments. Those decisions are entrusted to our Nation's elected leaders, who can be thrown out of office if the people disagree with them. It is not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices.” “Our deference in matters of policy cannot, however, become abdication in matters of law. “The powers of the legislature are defined and limited; and that those limits may not be mistaken, or forgotten, the constitution is ...
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LITERARY LEGAL QUOTATIONS

MILAN KUNDERA Murder simply hastens a bit what God will eventually see to on His own. God, it may be assumed, took murder into account; . . . ─ The Unbearable Lightness of Being     But, he said to himself, whether they knew or didn’t know is not the main issue; the main issue is whether a man is innocent because he didn’t know. Is a fool on the throne relieved of all responsibility merely because he is a fool?     Let us concede that a Czech public prosecutor in the early fifties who called for the death of an innocent man was deceived by the Russian secret police and the government of his own country. But now that we all know the accusations to have been absurd and the execution to have been innocent, how can that selfsame public prosecutor defend his purity of heart by beating himself on the chest and proclaiming, My conscience is clear! I didn’t know! I was a believer! Isn’t his “I didn’t know! I was a believer!” at the very root of his irreparable guil...
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VALUES, VALUE JUDGMENTS AND FACTS

Now, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else. You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them. This is the principle on which I bring up my own children, and this is the principle on which I bring up these children. Stick to Facts, sir! Hard Times — Charles Dickens. THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL RUSSELL Sceptical Essays ─ Bertrand Russell But there is another ingredient, equally essential, but absent in the  Middle Ages, and not common in antiquity—namely, an interest in ‘irreducible  and stubborn facts’ Curiosity about facts is found before the Renaissance in individuals—for example, the Emperor Frederick II and Roger Bacon; but at the Renaissance it suddenly becomes common among intelligent  people. In Montaigne one finds it without the interest in Natural Law; consequently Montaigne was not a man ...
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BAIL MANUAL FOR SOUTH AFRICAN PRCTITIONERS

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(Revision in Progress) [Unless otherwise stated, all statutory citations refer to the Criminal Procedure Act (51 of 1977)] GROUNDS FOR REFUSING BAIL 1)      There are 5 grounds on which bail could be refused  [s60(4)(a)-(e)] ; 2)      For the factors which  could be taken into account in for refusal, consult  s60(5)-(8A) .   In other words: When bail is opposed in terms of — s60(4)(a) — the factors laid down in  s60(5 ) may be relied on. s60(4)(b) — the factors laid down in  s60(6)  may be relied on s60(4)(c) — the factors laid down in  s60(7)  may be relied on s60(4)(d) — the factors laid down in  s60(8)  may be relied on s60(4)(e) — the factors laid down in  s60(8A)  may be relied on 3)      There isn’t a fixed number ( numerus clausus)  of grounds for refusing bai; other grounds not specified may be considered. ...
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THE CONSTITUITONAL POSITION OF THE SUSPECT

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Satchwell J unleashed the debate in the discussion at hand in  S v Sebejan and Others  1997 (1) SACR 626 (W). The accused was under cross-examination by counsel for another accused who put it to the accused that she had made a statement to the Sergeant. The accused confirmed this. When the cross-examining counsel put this statement to  her, her own counsel contested the admissibility of the statement, arguing that, at the time of making the statement she was a suspect and that she had not, before making her statement, been warned of her right to legal representation. Counsel submitted that this failure rendered the statement constitutionally objectionable and that it should be disallowed as evidence (at 627 j -628 c ). Judge Satchwell summarised the position with regard to those categories of persons that enjoy constitutional protection as follows: s 25 of the [Interim] Constitution secures certain rights for 'detained, arrested and accused persons'. Acco...
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