#staffordact — Public Fediverse posts

RE: https://c.im/@cdarwin/115901426247196926

Although the Insurrection Act appears to confer wide-ranging authority,
the Department of Justice has long taken the position that the law is
“limited . . . by the Constitution and by tradition.”

In a 1964 memorandum,
the deputy attorney General wrote that the law may be invoked in three circumstances:

when a state requests help in putting down an insurrection,

when deployment is needed to enforce a federal court order,

or when “state and local law enforcement have completely broken down.”

Moreover, even on its face,
the Insurrection Act only permits the use of troops to enforce either federal laws or a narrow category of state laws
(essentially, civil rights protections).

Troops could not be used, for instance, to combat street crime, as that type of criminal activity is governed by state and local laws.

Most important,
no statute can override the Constitution.

Accordingly, troops deployed under the Insurrection Act may not violate individuals’ constitutional rights.

They may not, for example,
search a person’s home without a warrant.

And while the Insurrection Act is an exception to the Posse Comitatus Act,
it is not an exception to other federal laws that might apply to their conduct

(for instance, the law criminalizing the presence of federal troops at polling places).

#InsurrectionAct #rebellion #violence #PosseComitatusAct #StaffordAct

RE: https://c.im/@cdarwin/115901426247196926

Although the Insurrection Act appears to confer wide-ranging authority,
the Department of Justice has long taken the position that the law is
“limited . . . by the Constitution and by tradition.”

In a 1964 memorandum,
the deputy attorney General wrote that the law may be invoked in three circumstances:

when a state requests help in putting down an insurrection,

when deployment is needed to enforce a federal court order,

or when “state and local law enforcement have completely broken down.”

Moreover, even on its face,
the Insurrection Act only permits the use of troops to enforce either federal laws or a narrow category of state laws
(essentially, civil rights protections).

Troops could not be used, for instance, to combat street crime, as that type of criminal activity is governed by state and local laws.

Most important,
no statute can override the Constitution.

Accordingly, troops deployed under the Insurrection Act may not violate individuals’ constitutional rights.

They may not, for example,
search a person’s home without a warrant.

And while the Insurrection Act is an exception to the Posse Comitatus Act,
it is not an exception to other federal laws that might apply to their conduct

(for instance, the law criminalizing the presence of federal troops at polling places).

#InsurrectionAct #rebellion #violence #PosseComitatusAct #StaffordAct

I really enjoyed reading the blog that was put together by the undergrads that @samlmontano took to #NewOrleans. Great to see future #EmergencyManager leaders getting real world experience and a backstage pass to #EmergencyManagement in #Louisiana.

https://medium.com/@smontano_27901

#EM #smem #EMGMastodin #EMastodon #StaffordAct