Law professor nixes Obama

Herb Titus1, former dean at TV evangelist Pat Robertson’s Regent University, has a YouTube video out that says, in 5 short minutes, why Barack Obama isn’t a natural born citizen. I think he did all right until 3:25 into the video and then he goes off the legal track and onto some natural law philosophy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esiZZ-1R7e8

Titus is probably best known for representing the Gun Owners of America.

TOTENBERG: Herb Titus of the Gun Owners of America sees things differently. The first priority of his group right now, he says, is to invalidate a federal law that bans the sale of guns to anyone convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor.

Mr. TITUS: I believe that the prohibition against people who’ve been convicted of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence will probably be the area of litigation down the road.

National Public Radio

For a more extensive commentary on Titus and his somewhat controversial views, I refer the reader to Religion Dispatches magazine.
[hr]
1I don’t call him “Dr. Titus” because as far as I know, he just has a J.D. degree and typically folks with this degree aren’t addressed as “Dr.” Feel free to correct me.

About Dr. Conspiracy

I'm not a real doctor, but I have a master's degree.
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23 Responses to Law professor nixes Obama

  1. mimi says:

    nbc has some Titus quotes on his blog. Why didn’t he bring up his “natural law” stuff back in 2008?

    http://nativeborncitizen.wordpress.com/2011/05/10/dr-herb-titus-then-and-now/

  2. Majority Will says:

    mimi:
    nbc has some Titus quotes on his blog.Why didn’t he bring up his “natural law” stuff back in 2008?

    http://nativeborncitizen.wordpress.com/2011/05/10/dr-herb-titus-then-and-now/

    Because he never imagined that Obama would win the election? That must have been very upsetting.

  3. Slartibartfast says:

    Does it seem to anyone else that he’s just dying to bust out Vattel at the end? All that talk about natural law and the law of nations had me expecting a V-bomb right up until the end…

  4. Dwight Sullivan says:

    A lawyer referring to himself or herself as “Dr.” is even sillier than a lawyer referring to himself or herself as “Esq.” The big difference is that when writing to another lawyer, I do add “Esq.” as an honorific after his or her name; I would NEVER put Dr. before his or her name based on a J.D. (Dr. Taitz, on the other hand . . . .)

  5. Slartibartfast says:

    Dwight Sullivan:
    A lawyer referring to himself or herself as “Dr.” is even sillier than a lawyer referring to himself or herself as “Esq.”The big difference is that when writing to another lawyer, I do add “Esq.” as an honorific after his or her name; I would NEVER put Dr. before his or her name based on a J.D.(Dr. Taitz, on the other hand . . . .)

    As much as I think that Dr. Orly is bat$hit insane, she is a (mal)practicing dentist and thus typically referred to as ‘Dr.’…

  6. mikeyes says:

    He sounds like he is a well educated lawyer (http://www.lawandfreedom.com/site/aboutus/hwt.html) with a good vita. I suspect he has a client with a poor case and has to do the best with what he has. Basically he is painted into a corner but even he probably knows that quoting a French/Swiss source for citizenship is not the best way to go since the Constitution is pretty clear as to how one must proceed. (Not to mention 70+ court cases.)

    BTW, he doesn’t refer to himself as Doctor although he could have in the 18th century in Switzerland or France.

  7. ooooooooooooooookay. at last we have someone who has something resembling an argument instead of “it just is!”

    Does any of that stuff about the 14th amendment track at all? Recent court cases would seem to put the lie to it, but I’m curious.

  8. Joey says:

    There are other countries where attorneys with Juris Doctor degrees do often use the title
    “Doctor.”
    The following is from the Wikipedia entry on the title “Doctor:”
    “Though lawyers in the United States do not customarily use such a title, the law degree in that country is the Juris Doctor, a professional doctorate degree, and some J.D. holders in the United States use the title of doctor in professional and academic situations.

    In countries where holders of the first law degree traditionally use the title of doctor (for example, Peru, Brazil, Macau, Portugal, Argentina, and Italy), J.D. holders who are attorneys may use the title of doctor in advertisements in Spanish.”

  9. J. Edward Tremlett: Does any of that stuff about the 14th amendment track at all?

    I’m not an expert, but I think the 14th amendment part is pretty much correct. The 14th Amendment was basically a way to overturn Dred Scott, because there was some doubt as to whether the Congress had the authority to do what it did in the Civil Rights Act of 1866.

  10. Dr Kenneth Noisewater (Bob Ross) says:

    Did you do something new doc? I see alternating grey and white between comments

  11. MichaelN says:

    ‘JD’ = Juris Doctor, hence ‘Dr’

  12. MichaelN says:

    Slartibartfast: As much as I think that Dr. Orly is bat$hit insane, she is a (mal)practicing dentist and thus typically referred to as ‘Dr.’…

    Who are YOU to say Orly Taitz is a ‘(mal)practicing dentist’?

  13. goodgravy says:

    A bit off topic, but that story about the ‘high school who found Obama’s BC a fraud’ over at the PostEmail, with Rondeau trying to explain away her poor fact checking ability and the monkeys praising god for these ‘children’……this comment made it through moderation(several days ago), and as of this post, is still there…priceless…..

    AntiObot says:
    Friday, May 13, 2011 at 8:58 AM

    The best part about this article is how it’s totally real, and definitely not satire. Because it would be sad if our eligibility arguments can’t be distinguished from parodies.

  14. Majority Will says:

    MichaelN: Who are YOU to say Orly Taitz is a (mal)practicing dentist’?

    Here’s a start.

    CASE# / DATE NAME / CASE TYPE

    718165 DEFENDANT ORLY TAITZ
    09/30/1993 MALPRACTICE – DENTAL

    S41640 RESPONDENT ORLY TAITZ
    02/27/1998 SMALL CLAIMS APPEAL

    00CC11017 DEFENDANT ORLY TAITZ
    09/14/2000 MALPRACTICE – DENTAL

    03CC04813 DEFENDANT ORLY TAITZ
    03/25/2003 MALPRACTICE-MEDICAL

    03CC12382 DEFENDANT ORLY TAITZ
    10/10/2003 BREACH OF CONTRACT/WARRANTY

    03CC12364 DEFENDANT ORLY TAITZ
    10/09/2003 MALPRACTICE – DENTAL

    04CC05196 DEFENDANT ORLY TAITZ
    04/23/2004 BREACH OF CONTRACT/WARRANTY

    04CC06308 DEFENDANT ORLY TAITZ
    05/28/2004 CONTRACT – SPEC PERFORMANCE

    AP14265 APPELLANT ORLY TAITZ
    12/16/2004 MISC COMPLAINTS – OTHER

    05CC12538 DEFENDANT ORLY TAITZ D.D.S 11/23/2005 MALPRACTICE-MEDICAL

    06CC12669 DEFENDANT ORLY TAITZ D.D.S. 12/06/2006 MEDICAL MALPRACTICE

    05CC12266 CROSS – DEFENDANT ORLY TAITZ 11/16/2005 OTHER REAL PROPERTY

    05CC12266 PLAINTIFF ORLY TAITZ 11/16/2005 OTHER REAL PROPERTY

    05CC12266 ATTORNEY ORLY TAITZ 11/16/2005 OTHER REAL PROPERTY

    05CL06304 PLAINTIFF ATTORNEY ORLY TAITZ 10/12/2005 BREACH OF CONTRACT/WARRANTY

    05CL06304 PLAINTIFF ATTORNEY ORLY TAITZ 10/12/2005 BREACH OF CONTRACT/WARRANTY

    05CL06304 PLAINTIFF ORLY TAITZ 10/12/2005 BREACH OF CONTRACT/WARRANTY

    06CC03941 PLAINTIFF ORLY TAITZ 03/09/2006 MISC COMPLAINTS – OTHER

    04SL01050 PLAINTIFF ORLY TAITZ DDS 03/04/2004 BREACH OF CONTRACT/WARRANTY

  15. obsolete says:

    Uh-oh, I think MichaelN has a new BFF…

    When you try to win him over to your view of Calvin’s Case, remember to not dishonestly edit quotes you send him…

  16. Slartibartfast says:

    MichaelN: Who are YOU to say Orly Taitz is a (mal)practicing dentist’?

    Apparently (according to the information Will provided – thanks Will!) I am someone who is speaking the truth. I understand that it is [Personal attack deleted. Doc.]

  17. misha says:

    “Regent University” is a fourth tier school, and academically is a laughingstock.

    “Notably, President Obama was born in the state of Hawaii, and so is clearly a natural born citizen. — US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor (retired)”

    I’ll take a Supreme Court justice over a third rate instructor at a fourth rate school.

    I never get over the unholy alliance of Aipac, settlers and evangelicals.

  18. John__C says:

    Ironically, Titus and Vattel appear to disagree on exactly what “nature” requires to be a natural born citizen. A close reading of section 212 of the Law of Nations suggests that a person is a citizen by birth only if his father is a citizen. (I don’t use NBC in connection with Vattel because his term “Indigenes” more closely parallels native born citizen.)

    Of course, Titus completely ignores Madison’s 1789 statement that allegiance is based on place of birth, not parentage, in the United States. If I had to choose between the two of them, I’m going to go with Madison as the greater constitutional expert.

  19. Dr Kenneth Noisewater (Bob Ross) says:

    misha: “Regent University” is a fourth tier school, and academically is a laughingstock.“Notably, President Obama was born in the state of Hawaii, and so is clearly a natural born citizen. — US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor (retired)”I’ll take a Supreme Court justice over a third rate instructor at a fourth rate school.I never get over the unholy alliance of Aipac, settlers and evangelicals.

    Misha he was fired from Regent. His views were a bit too extreme even for them.

  20. misha says:

    Dr Kenneth Noisewater (Bob Ross): Misha he was fired from Regent. His views were a bit too extreme even for them.

    I’m surprised. After all, Robertson baptized everyone on Mars:

    http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s2i9907

  21. Dr Kenneth Noisewater (Bob Ross):
    Did you do something new doc? I see alternating grey and white between comments

    Yes, I made the comments alternate blue-gray and white.

  22. Dr Kenneth Noisewater (Bob Ross) says:

    Dr. Conspiracy: Yes, I made the comments alternate blue-gray and white.

    It’s kinda nice makes it easier to distinguish comments.

  23. Mary Brown says:

    Some evangelicals Misha. Those of us who think this theory is idiocy are not few in number. Remember friend, that my experience is first-hand, and everyday. I am so frustrated when anyone groups people whether by race, sex or religious identity. We all have our way of putting others in boxes. Please remember that.

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