For more than a century, state courts around the country have sought to understand legislative intent when interpreting legal statutes and state law. When judges are trying to understand the intended purpose of particular laws, federal statutes, and even the constitution itself, they must often rely on arcane and complex legislative research. Of course, sometimes the meaning behind a law is abundantly clear. Case in point: President Donald J. Trump's executive order on immigration, which was rushed into effect to deliver on one of the president's primary campaign promises. There's no need to review the fallout or controversy surrounding ... Read More >

It is safe to say that within the past week, our nation's government has gone through a lot of changes. The transitional period between presidents is always quite interesting, and new presidents usually come under fire to make multiple changes within their first 100 days. President Trump has stayed true to multiple campaign claims and has undoubtedly done more in his first week of being the 45th President than many who have come before him in terms of executive orders. This is quite different because typically within the statutory history of the United States, a bill must be passed by both the House of Representatives and then the Senate. ... Read More >

In the 200 years since the Constitution began establishing the law of the land, thousands of state rules and federal regulations have been created. Throughout the legislative history of U.S. code, there have consequently been many unbelievable lawsuits. In the spirit of the holidays, here are some of the craziest holiday lawsuits ever filed. Do I need to copyright my turkey cooking instructions? Back in 2010, Greenburg Smoked Turkeys, Inc. filed a lawsuit against Goode-Cook, Inc. for copyright infringement over their smoked turkey recipe. The complaint alleged that Goode-Cook stole Greenburg's recipe for preparing the bird for a ... Read More >

There is a presidential election every four years in the United States, and with every election comes a whole new set of promises from the presidential candidates. However, many of the promises they make do not comply with state statutes and federal regulations. With the election of president-elect Donald J. Trump, many Americans are wondering whether the promises he made on the campaign trail are feasible in terms of our Constitution. For more than one hundred years, state courts have looked to the evidence of legislative intent in construing state law, so here is everything you should know about Donald Trump's claims. Issue: building a ... Read More >

Now that the 2016 election cycle is (finally) coming to a close, it's probably safe to say that many Americans are getting tired of hearing about both Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton. While this may seem like the most contentious, over-the-top elections ever, our nation's history has actually seen some pretty crazy presidential shenanigans. Here are some of the most interesting presidential elections from America's past. Presidential... dueling? The 1800 election, in which Americans had to choose between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, was so strange that it led to the 12th Amendment of the Constitution. Before this addition, the federal ... Read More >

A Colorado man will get his day in court -- once again -- after jurors on his case were said to have made racist remarks during deliberation proceedings. Normally, Colorado state rules and federal statutes restrict cases from being re-opened for juror testimony after an initial ruling has already been reached. But in the case of Miguel Pena-Rodriguez, legislative history may need to be changed after a juror reportedly assumed his guilt "because he's Mexican." Pena-Rodriguez was working as a horse trainer at a race track in Colorado in 2007 when he was arrested for allegedly assaulting two teenage girls in the women's restroom. Though ... Read More >