The 14th Amendment interpreted against its original meaning [No. 86]

Could an Originalist interpretation of the 14th Amendment have prevented egregious court decisions?

Professor John McGinnis argues that true equality and civil rights for African Americans were intended in the 14th Amendment. In Plessy v. Ferguson and other cases, the Supreme Court chose to ignore the original meaning of the 14th Amendment and thus gave rise to decades of injustice that could have been avoided.

Professor John O. McGinnis is the George C. Dix Professor in Constitutional Law at Northwestern University School of Law.

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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.

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[dustinhedden]

So reconciliation is a MAJOR point for Dems to win 2020. We need to end the mistrust because it's going to take unity to weather the upcoming storm.

This is a problem that shouldn't have been. How do we bridge this division now that everything is so polarized?

[dustinhedden]

Actually this will probably be the easiest part of the whole plan

[davidgiles]

The U.S. Attorney's office is dropping charges against 129 people accused of rioting in Washington, D.C., on President Trump's inauguration day.

Prosecutors, in documents filed late Thursday afternoon, said the decision was made in light of a verdict last month, which found the first six defendants to stand trial for the charges not guilty.

In a statement, the government said it was exercising discretion, "so that it can focus its efforts on this smaller, core group that we believe is most responsible for the destruction and violence that took place on Inauguration Day."

Violent protests on Jan. 20, 2017, resulted in 234 people being charged or arrested with mostly felony charges. At the time of Thursday's filing, 188 people had pending charges.

The government said it will move forward with the remaining 59, which, it said, engaged in the destruction of downtown D.C., helped plan the demonstration and displayed "black-bloc" tactics.

Prosecutors will file motions to dismiss for the 129 defendants.

It's a massive win for the protesters and their supporters, who for months have urged the government to drop the charges. Many had claimed prosecutors were dragging the defendants through the legal process in order to send a message.

At the first trial, prosecutors conceded there was no evidence to support that the six defendants had committed any violence. Instead, they tried to explain the protesters were complicit in the violence because they did not remove themselves from the destruction. But a jury found all being tried not guilty on all counts.

"This has been a long road, but we're pleased that the government, albeit belatedly, saw fit to drop this case, " said Sheridan England, an attorney for Adam Simpson, whose charges were dropped Thursday.

Previously, about 20 defendants have had their cases dismissed and another 20 have pleaded to lesser charges, often misdemeanor rioting carrying a fine and community service. One person, Dane Powell, 32, went to prison. He pleaded guilty to felony rioting and assault on a police officer. He received a four-month prison term.

Follow Sean Rossman on Twitter: @SeanRossman

Read more:

6 Trump inauguration protesters found not guilty

[andinbriwel]

But which party was it that introduced the Civil Rights Act of 1875, and which party was then embracing those non-originalist ideas and fighting to chip away at the measure’s protections while mounting public pressure to embrace segregation? 🤔
Things really haven’t changed all that much, when it comes to “progressivism” and which side is more revisionist vs originalist in America. Remember, they liked to call it a, “living document.”

[Emanon-G]

I wish you would stop calling us African American it’s so disrespectful because I don’t identify as African American. I’m American and I wish you would address our culture as such. I understand you don’t want to acknowledge who we are but my family knows. Please Don’t speak about my culture without addressing us correctly. Because all this is telling me that you made this whole story up because I’m still looking for the African American your talking about.