I often scratch my head by how little our state legislature and governor know about the US Constitution;

Governments in South Dakota, across the country and the world used mask mandates and business restrictions to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some lawmakers, though, say those mitigation efforts don’t jive with the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. And now a bill making its way through the legislature would narrow the scope of when cities, counties and townships can make people wear masks or force businesses to close in the name of public health.

It is NOT a 1st Amendment issue, it has to do with trespassing and property rights which is covered under the 4th Amendment;

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

The 5th and 14th could also apply. But I have often said that mask mandates in general are moot because the US Constitution already protects business owners from trespassers. If you have a sign on the front door of your business that says you must wear a mask and you refuse, that business can call the police and you can be prosecuted for trespassing. Those laws already exist.

I would argue that any municipal government can implement a mask mandate as long as that mandate is about private business and private property and within their 4th Amendment rights (in other words private businesses and even churches could ignore the mandate).

The 1st Amendment argument holds no water because as we saw with Trump’s Twitter ban, private business CAN limit your speech on their premises, platforms or property.

Where I would side on the 1st Amendment argument is that it would be unconstitutional for government to mandate mask wearing on their (your taxpayer funded) property.

Once again the statehouse is filling their short session with foolishness.

I have heard many stories from friends and including myself when I was arrested about how investigators/officers try to get around that pesky 5th Amendment;

Zell says Rasmussen did not have access to her lawyer, despite asking for one half-way through the interview.

It goes back to a lot of investigators NOT having criminal law or regular law degrees, just a piece of paper that says they went through the police academy or served in the military. While we are always focusing on the ‘number’ of officers in Sioux Falls, we should instead be focusing on the ‘quality’ of officers. Hire people that understand criminal justice, or at least the 5th Amendment.

It seems administrators have read the classic many times, and are using it for a policy handbook;

The local teachers union opposes a proposed policy that would allow Sioux Falls School District administrators to search employees’ private cell phones, purses and vehicles for suspected violations of district policy.

A school law expert from Ohio said the policy “certainly breaks new ground” and could open the district up to a lawsuit.

COULD?! This is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

But if challenged in court, a judge considering whether the search was appropriate would balance the employee’s Fourth Amendment rights against those of the district.

And don’t forget about the 1st and 5th amendments. I can’t believe the district is even considering this policy, oh, that’s right, administrators and board members allow lawyers to make all their decisions for them, very ignorant lawyers.

Hi. I’m Don. Besides using Just for Men hair color, I chase very slow ambulances in my free time.

I read and watched this story, and wondered what it had to do with the price of rice in China. NOT A FUCKING THING. It’s not like either one of these guys ran a stop sign and killed an out-of-state biker. I speed! Daily! We all probably do it w/o realizing it. Speed limits are silly. Speed limits should be determined on how safe of a driver you are, that’s it. If this is the best thing you can come up with on these two yahoos, this is going to be a long road to November.

UPDATE:

Oh, but it gets better, Noem is a little Jankolette. Like I said above, speeding is one of those silly crimes, it seems Noem thinks it is so silly, she doesn’t have to pay the fines;

Noem also has six court notices for failure to appear and two arrest warrants.

While I will stand by my original post, I will also say, if you are breaking the law you should at least show up in court to defend why you were breaking or NOT breaking the law, especially if you are running for office. This really is a no-brainer. Does Noem understand how the 5th amendment works? Those teabaggers really don’t get how the constitution works, do they?

Gotta hand it to Steffy, she grabbed this opportunity to make a point out of it;

“Elected officials need to have respect for the laws that are made for all of us as citizens. You need to be accountable and need to take responsibilities for your actions and set the highest standards,” Herseth Sandlin said.

So do we call Kristi ‘Little Janks’ Noem now?

UPDATE 2:

And it looks like spin doctors one & two are at it again. Like normal Republicans, blaming everyone else for their problems. Hey guys, this isn’t about speeding or even gay sex in a Minneapolis Airport bathroom, who cares, wide stances aside. It is about not understanding the 5th Amendment. If Kristi thinks she is innocent, why not show up to court and prove the innocence? Or is Lil’ Janks farm subsidy welfare queen to good for that? Or was she late for her hair and tanning appointment? Or her Rodeo queen belt buckle polishing appointment? Or her cowboy boot polishing appointment? Or her Castlewood millionaire club appointment?

Or even better yet pay the fines? Why don’t you get your crack legal team on this one? While chasing down politicians speeding ticket records is pretty fucking pathetic, not understanding the 5th amendment is even more pathetic. This is the real story, and hopefully someone from the 4th estate will figure that out.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d43U0OeWg3Q[/youtube]