The Necessary and Proper Clause is often called the “Elastic Clause” because it is believed to give Congress “implied powers” that government is assumed to possess without being mentioned in the Constitution. There is a problem with this view: a government that is able to expand its power through an “Elastic Clause” is more likely to abuse its power.

It has been assumed that once the Supreme Court issues a decision, the other courts in this country are bound to follow the decision for all future cases that fall within the announced rule. However, it can be argued that in most circumstances, neither the Constitution nor federal law requires other courts to follow the Supreme Court. Indeed, it has been the Supreme Court itself that has demanded that their decision be binding on future cases. This seems to be the type of usurpation of power is the type our Founders detested and the Constitution was meant to prohibit.

Across our country youth are being introduced to the justice system, not because they have done anything that is normally illegal, but solely because of their age. These youth are charged with violating “status offenses,” which are offenses only because of the status of the individual, in this case the individual’s age. Some of the most common status offenses are: truancy, missing curfew and being a runaway.

Today you need hours of training and a license to do a countless number of jobs throughout the United States. These requirements cover jobs that are not only highly-skilled, potentially dangerous professions like medical surgeons, but also pet groomers, interior designers, florists and hair braiding.

Cory Maye, a loving father of an 18 month old daughter at the time, was sleeping in his living room the day after Christmas at 12:30 a.m. when he heard banging at the door. He had no prior record, but lived in a rough neighborhood, where break-ins had taken place before, so he grabbed his pistol and ran to the back bedroom to defend his daughter.

Is the government able to require that you hand over a portion of your production to be able to enter a regulated marketplace? That is the main question in Horne v. Department of Agriculture, a case that was argued before the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Law enforcement’s main duties are to keep the public safe and protect our persons and property. In many states, civil asset forfeiture creates a perverse incentive which can change the priorities that law enforcement pursues.

The federal government and many state governments have slowly been moving away from mandatory minimum sentence for nonviolent offenders. Many of these reforms have been tremendously helpful. But more reforms are necessary to keep big government out of the courtroom.

A group of states and energy companies have joined to sue the EPA over the agency’s Clean Power Plan. The two cases, State of West Virginia v. EPA and In re Murray Energy Company, were combined and oral arguments were heard before the DC Circuit this Thursday.

Russ Caswell was the owner of Motel Caswell for over two decades. His father built the motel in 1955, and it was family-owned and ran for over 50 years.