True or False Answer! While ALL government employees & officials have the responsibility to follow (and thus know) the law (especially the Constitution), the vast majority of them (at all levels of government and in all branches of government) do NOT know the Constitution NOR all the statutes pertaining to their own official duties. So, be prepared to RESPECTFULLY share the law, and hold steadfast to your rights!

T/F Tuesday Answer! No, just because you don’t like the decision a judge has made on an issue in your case does not mean you can just get another hearing on the same issue. Typically, there are specific requirements for requesting a rehearing on an issue, such as those found in FL Rule 9.330.

SCOTUS Has Final Say? T/F Tuesday Answer:  Art III of the Constitution vests judicial power in the SCOTUS for all cases arising under the constitution.  So, what is “judicial power?” It is the “authority vested in courts to hear and decide cases and to make binding judgments on them; the power to construe and apply the law when controversies arise over what has been de or not done under it.” Black’s Law Dictionary. So, does SCOTUS have power to declare acts constitutional or unconstitutional? Or only within the contexts of the specific disputes before them? #ConstitutionMatters

True or False Answer! Although court rules and common procedures make it an uphill battle to have an appeal actually considered, We The People have a RIGHT to adequate access to the courts. In April’s SCOTUS FBI v Fikre case, they held that “a court with jurisdiction has a virtually unflagging obligation to hear and resolve questions properly before it.” Now, to just be able to enforce this … 🤔

Updated Laws for Your Case- True or False Answer! FALSE! Once you have submitted your main documents (brief, petition, complaint, etc) to the court, there IS a way to update the court if you find new statutes or cases relevant to your lawsuit. Although it varies by jurisdiction, it is usually done as a Notice of Supplemental Authority, where you briefly explain what the newly discovered law or case precedent is, but do not include any additional argument about it. I.e., FL Rule 9.225

T/F Tuesday Answer: True! As unfortunate and unconstitutional as it is, Court clerks across the country are being allowed to deny your ability to file legal documents, even documents you’re legally required to file. Your best course of action if this happens to you is to document every time you try to file your documents or otherwise comply with the rule or law in question. And do what you can to get your request heard by someone else in that court, even the judge, if possible.

T/F Tuesday Answer: TRUE! In many jurisdictions, like in Florida, a lower tribunal’s final decision generally must be appealed within 30 days, or the right to appeal is forever lost. While it makes sense to have finality when there are two private parties involved, this strict time limit is NOT appropriate in cases between the government and a private party. But they still apply it nonetheless. See FL Rules of Appellate Procedure 9.110(b)&(d) [civil cases], 9.140(b)(3) [criminal cases], 9.900 [format], and 9.100 [appeals by writ, such as secondary level appeals, etc.].

T/F Tuesday Answer: TRUE! Where there is no RIGHT to appeal (see last week’s T/F post), you must ask the appeals court to take your case through an Application for Leave to Appeal or a Petition for Writ of Certiorari, depending on your jurisdiction. In this brief, you must convince the court the importance of accepting your case.

T/F Tuesday Answer: TRUE! All federal judges, regardless of which President appoints them, take oaths affirming that they will “faithfully and impartially discharge” their duties, 28 USC § 453, and uphold and protect the Constitution of the United States, 5 USC § 3331.

T/F Tuesday Answer: TRUE! It was Patrick Henry who said, “Give me liberty or give me death.”

T/F Tuesday Answer: TRUE! 1/3 of the US Senate is elected every two years. That is why it’s important to stay involved every election cycle! #ConstitutionMatters

T/F Tuesday Answer: TRUE! If a president does not act on a bill within 10 days, it will become a law if congress is in session. See US Constitution Article I Section 7. #ConstitutionMatters

T/F Tuesday Answer: FALSE! Art 1 Sec 9 of the US Constitution expressly forbids the US Government from enacting or enforcing Ex Post Facto laws, while Art 1 Sec 10 forbids the States from doing so. #ConstitutionMatters

T/F Tuesday Answer: TRUE! These types of laws deny the people due process, and are, therefore, unconstitutional. #ConstitutionMatters

Scheduling Orders – True or False Answer! FALSE! Scheduling Orders can be very important tools in YOUR case. The scheduling order in your case likely sets out the filing deadlines, discovery deadlines, and other requirements of the case. If the other side fails to abide by those requirements, you can ask the court to enforce the order (or perhaps dismiss their case, etc.). After all, the scheduling order usually includes the preferences of that particular judge and if the other party isn’t following the order, the judge is not going to take kindly to his or her preferences and orders being disregarded!

T/F Tuesday Answer: FALSE! If the government violates your Constitutionally-protected rights in bringing a case against you, you CAN raise those constitutional issues as a defense! In fact, if you don’t raise those issues in the original case, you may be prohibited from bringing them up in a separate civil case against them. #ConstitutionMatters

T/F Tuesday Answer: FALSE! A Constitutional Oath is NOT allegiance to party leadership or campaign donors, but to the faithful support and defense of the Constitution and the rights it protects. #ConstitutionMatters

T/F Tuesday Answer: FALSE! The Constitutional Oath of Office is NOT relying on an attorney to advise you, but reading and following the Constitution yourself! You didn’t take an oath to follow the advice of counsel; you took an oath to support & defend the Constitution! #ConstitutionMatters #Oath

T/F Tuesday Answer: TRUE! Regardless of the level or kind of work done by a public employee or official required to take the Constitutional Oath, the oath requires ACTIVE defending of the Constitution and the rights it protects. The Oath is NOT pointing to another branch of government or public official; it is ACTIVELY defending the Constitution and the rights it protects. #Oath #ConstitutionMatters

T/F Tuesday Answer: TRUE! Our state governments were created out of a gratitude to Almighty God for the goodness and guidance of God; our general freedom; and our civil, religious, constitutional, political and economic liberties. Most state constitutions literally say they are grateful to Almighty God, and they identify God’s goodness, God’s guidance, our freedom and our specific liberties as the things for which We The People are grateful to Him. #Thanksgiving #Constitution #Preamble #ConstitutionMatters

T/F Tuesday Answer: FALSE! A court can NOT constitutionally deny access to the media for a criminal trial in which the defendant wants the media there. The #1stAmendment #6thAmendment and #14thAmendment explicitly provide for such media access. #ConstitutionMatters For more info, check out https://youtu.be/QLaQpjqAcy8

The federal government has the power to tax, raise & support Armies, provide and maintain a Navy, regulate the land and naval forces, declare war, regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, etc., but NOWHERE in the Constitution is the federal government have the authority to provide financial aid to foreign nations! #TruthMatters #ConstitutionMatters

T/F Tuesday Answer: TRUE! Appeals often take months, and in some cases years, to resolve. Most people needing to appeal a bad lower court decision can’t wait that long for the error to be corrected, but that is one of the downfalls of our court system.