[David Bernstein, April 17, 2009 at 8:52pm] Trackbacks
The World Without A Constitution:

Featuring a (funny) joke about the most obscure of the rights protected by the Bill of Rights.

Dave N (mail):
Yes, I agree it was a pretty good joke. But I was hoping it would be about the 7th Amendment.
4.17.2009 9:25pm
D Palmer (mail):
Pretty impressive getting Mr. Hanky for your skit. LOL
4.17.2009 9:55pm
D.O.:
Very funny indeed! But it does not mean there is a need for a constitution, just for a bill of rights :)
4.17.2009 10:03pm
keith_talent:
One of the quirks of Justice Breyer's jurisprudence is that, for him, the fact that the last student's gun was taken away has less constitutional significance than the fact that the student was prevented from committing suicide.
4.17.2009 10:26pm
Jim Anderson (mail) (www):
D Palmer, the gag's older than that. It's a take on Coily the Spring Sprite. No springs!
4.17.2009 11:09pm
David Welker (www):
That was amusing.

But really, if that Constitution really had a voice like that, I would strangle it.

=)
4.17.2009 11:42pm
Humble Law Student (mail):
Wow, I'm impressed. They did a nice job with that skit.
4.18.2009 12:51am
guest890:
Dave N:
I thought the 9th or 10th, myself. Those must be obscure, given that most people in all three branches of government don't seem to have heard of them!
4.18.2009 12:57am
Perseus (mail):
I thought the 9th or 10th, myself.

It claimed to be a living Constitution (upon first arriving) so I infer that the right to commit suicide would fall under the 9th.
4.18.2009 1:09am
Hedberg:
Very funny and all that, but even when there is no Constitution (as in UK) there is a constitution (as in the UK).
4.18.2009 1:48am
themighthypuck (mail):
As any Brit who lives today and enjoys relatively similar civil rights as an American and any Japanese American born in the first third of the 20th century knows, the piece of paper isn't all that.
4.18.2009 4:04am
josh bornstein (mail) (www):
Jim's right; it's definitely an homage to Coily (and thanks, MST3K, for including that short as one of its fillers, the 1940 "A Case of Spring Fever".).

share the tapes
4.18.2009 4:45am
Bill B (mail):
Go VIRGINIA!!
4.18.2009 7:42am
martinned (mail) (www):

It claimed to be a living Constitution (upon first arriving) so I infer that the right to commit suicide would fall under the 9th.

Not the 5th (&14th)?
4.18.2009 8:09am
Ed Nutter (mail):
If certain Justices continue to defer to the laws of other nations then we will indeed have "No Constitution!"
4.18.2009 11:24am
Virginia 3L:
Just a quick note: The "Martin" referred to as the professor in the insufferable Con Law class is David Martin, of Homeland Security fame.

I can assure you that after a semester with him, you too would seriously begin to question the value of the Constitution--so painful.
4.18.2009 11:42am
KG2V:
Tell the guy in the UK who had to take down his pig statue, and stopping calling his sty a sty (because a constable moved in next door) that they enjoy the same rights in (the formally) Great Britan
4.18.2009 3:18pm
Pedant:
What's the first joke about Guantanamo Bay? I can't make out what he says. "We're supposed to feel so bad about Guantanamo Bay, but we totally ... "
4.18.2009 5:14pm
mariner:
Hedberg:
Very funny and all that, but even when there is no Constitution (as in UK) there is a constitution (as in the UK).

Yes, and it's a LIVING Constitution!

See where that's getting the UK? I totally want that in the United States (NOT!).
4.18.2009 8:23pm
mariner:
Virginia 3L:
Just a quick note: The "Martin" referred to as the professor in the insufferable Con Law class is David Martin, of Homeland Security fame.

I can assure you that after a semester with him, you too would seriously begin to question the value of the Constitution--so painful.

Well, if he's now in Homeland Security we can surmise he doesn't think too much of the Constitution either.
4.18.2009 8:25pm
mariner:
Pedant:
What's the first joke about Guantanamo Bay? I can't make out what he says. "We're supposed to feel so bad about Guantanamo Bay, but we totally ... "

... "have it worse" (imprisoned in Martin's con law class).
4.18.2009 8:27pm
Pedant:
Thanks, Mariner!
4.18.2009 10:30pm

Post as: [Register] [Log In]

Account:
Password:
Link B I Strike Block Quote
Remember info?

If you have a comment about spelling, typos, or format errors, please e-mail the poster directly rather than posting a comment.

Comment Policy: We reserve the right to edit or delete comments, and in extreme cases to ban commenters, at our discretion. Comments must be relevant and civil (and, especially, free of name-calling). We think of comment threads like dinner parties at our homes. If you make the party unpleasant for us or for others, we'd rather you went elsewhere. We're happy to see a wide range of viewpoints, but we want all of them to be expressed as politely as possible.

We realize that such a comment policy can never be evenly enforced, because we can't possibly monitor every comment equally well. Hundreds of comments are posted every day here, and we don't read them all. Those we read, we read with different degrees of attention, and in different moods. We try to be fair, but we make no promises.

And remember, it's a big Internet. If you think we were mistaken in removing your post (or, in extreme cases, in removing you) -- or if you prefer a more free-for-all approach -- there are surely plenty of ways you can still get your views out.