Alabama attorney general says he has right to prosecute people who facilitate travel for out-of-state abortions

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

They are required to enforce the law, and it's illegal to mail something to someone where said thing is illegal.

Not, if the feds consider such state laws as unconstitutional.

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

The question is can the State enforce the law on someone OUTSIDE the State, and in that case it's the feds who have to enforce the law saying you can't mail something to someone where said thing is illegal.

That would depend on the state law to the jurisdiction where the mail is sent and whether the feds have an inkling to do it.

 

[postman]

That doesn't have anything to do with States being able to outlaw and control what actually is mailed to residents in the State.

The state can enforce their laws once the mail is delivered. They can't reach across state lines to prevent actions by someone in another state.
But they can sue the other state to get them to enact regulations controlling mailing of certain items to certain states. Which would then be locally enforced.

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

One of the fundamental principles of the U.S. Constitution is the doctrine of federalism, which means that the powers of the federal government and the states are divided and shared. The Constitution also establishes the supremacy of federal law over state law, which means that when there is a conflict between the two, federal law prevails. However, this does not mean that states cannot sue each other in some cases. The Constitution grants the U.S. Supreme Court original jurisdiction over controversies between two or more states, which means that the Court can hear and decide such cases directly, without any lower courts involved. States can sue each other for various reasons, such as boundary disputes, water rights, environmental issues, or enforcement of contracts.

However, states cannot sue each other to impose or enforce their own laws on another state. This would violate the sovereignty and autonomy of each state, as well as the principle of comity, which means that states should respect and defer to each other's laws and policies. Therefore, if one state wants to sue another state to get it to enforce the laws of the first state, the Court would likely dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction or merit.

 

[postman]

The question is can the State enforce the law on someone OUTSIDE the State, and in that case it's the feds who have to enforce the law saying you can't mail something to someone where said thing is illegal.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/01/04/abortion-pills-mailed-legal/

The Justice Department has issued a legal opinion that the U.S. Postal Service may deliver abortion pills to people in states that have banned or sharply restricted the procedure, saying that federal law allows the mailing of the pills because the sender cannot know for sure whether the recipient would use them illegally.

The U.S. Postal Service had asked the Justice Department to say whether it would be legally allowed to deliver pills that could be used for abortion in a state where the procedure is outlawed. The response was a resounding yes.

 

[postman]

The U.S. Postal Service said in a statement that it does not take a stance on abortion medication but has an obligation to deliver any mail that is permissible under federal law. Typically, the postal agency is prohibited from inspecting packages that may contain prescription drugs, which means workers wouldn’t generally know if a package contains abortion pills.

The Justice Department’s “analysis confirms that the Comstock Act does not require the Postal Service to change our current practice, which has been to consider packages containing mifepristone and misoprostol to be mailable under federal law in the same manner as other prescription drugs,” the statement reads..

 

[martybegan]

Not, if the feds consider such state laws as unconstitutional.

The civil servants don't get to make that call until the Courts do.

 

[martybegan]

That would depend on the state law to the jurisdiction where the mail is sent and whether the feds have an inkling to do it.

More attempts at pretending the laws don't exist, and outright denial of the government's responsibility to enforce said laws.

 

[CarsomyrPlusSix]

Welp, time to destroy the postal service.

 

[martybegan]

The state can enforce their laws once the mail is delivered. They can't reach across state lines to prevent actions by someone in another state.
But they can sue the other state to get them to enact regulations controlling mailing of certain items to certain states. Which would then be locally enforced.

A person is in violation of federal law if they knowingly send something illegal in a given State to someone in that State.

Now the issue of the Post office doing anything about it is a valid point, but the person sending is still violating the law.

 

[Zincwarrior]

What's in the federal mail delivered to States cannot violate State law.

So a gun seller in Texas can mail me gun parts that violate NY law?

State can't intercept that mail though. Typically even the federal government requires a warrant to open your mail.

https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/USPIS-FAQs.pdf

 

[martybegan]

State can't intercept that mail though. Typically even the federal government requires a warrant to open your mail.

https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/USPIS-FAQs.pdf

Noted. But they can get a search warrant for a banned substance, and then figuring it out where it came from is based on the people in question keeping or throwing out the package and any shipping documentation.

 

[John Edgar Slow Horses]

Marty does understand federalism or the role of the US Mail.

 

[Zincwarrior]

Noted. But they can get a search warrant for a banned substance, and then figuring it out where it came from is based on the people in question keeping or throwing out the package and any shipping documentation.

Yes they can look at your trash. How would they know who's trash to look at and when?

 

[martybegan]

Yes they can look at your trash. How would they know who's trash to look at and when?

Like any other law enforcement process, informers, and blind luck.

 

[Zincwarrior]

informers

Interesting, that.

 

[martybegan]

Interesting, that.

Well that's how a lot of criminal prosecutions work.

\

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

What's in the federal mail delivered to States cannot violate State law.

So a gun seller in Texas can mail me gun parts that violate NY law?

It’s truly sad that the fascist right spends all this mental effort and energy contriving ways to violate citizens’ protected liberties rather than addressing actual problems and issues.

 

[BlueGin]

I'd be really worried if I was a Democrat .. but did they really think they were the only ones that could start invasive/frivolous legal charges against their political opponents.

Exactly. They started the ball rolling. Now whine and cry when the shoe is on the other foot.

 

[martybegan]

It’s truly sad that the fascist right spends all this mental effort and energy contriving ways to violate citizens’ protected liberties rather than addressing actual problems and issues.

Says the side that wants to make sure everyone believes women can have pensies.