Articles
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Criminal Justice
Prison Isn’t for Everyone
Writing in the Enid News & Eagle, OCPA's Trent England explains why four measures passed this legislative session are important steps in reforming Oklahoma’s criminal justice system.Trent England | June 14, 2016
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Education
Fairness for Union Members
Trent England | April 11, 2016
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Criminal Justice
Reform Asset Forfeiture to Protect Property Rights
The state and federal constitutions protect a person’s right to his or her property. On the other hand, a person has no right to the proceeds of illegal activities. Unfortunately, a legal innovation known as “civil asset forfeiture” can let the exception trump the constitutional rule.Trent England | February 1, 2016
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Education, Law & Principles
Teacher’s stand against union reaches high court
Trent England | December 17, 2015
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Law & Principles
Oklahoma City Council Takes Up Smoking
Oklahoma’s smoking rate recently dropped to an all-time low. The Oklahoma City Council should celebrate that fact and reconsider how best to continue that trend without causing harmful unintended consequences.Trent England | December 9, 2015
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Budget & Tax, Law & Principles
When dependence on federal funds violates spirit of Oklahoma Constitution
When Oklahoma policymakers rely on and accept federal funds knowing some of those funds are borrowed, they violate the spirit of our own state Constitution. They also act against the better judgment of the majority of Oklahomans.Trent England | November 12, 2015
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Law & Principles
Federalism is smarter
There’s a high cost to massive expansion of federal regulation; a cost that can’t be measured in dollars. Yes, we can measure dollars expended by government, extracted by taxpayers or forgone in lost economic growth. And yes, these costs are high and harmful. But the more difficult to measure cost of this centralization of regulation is the long-term dumbing-down of U.S. public policy.Trent England | November 5, 2015
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Law & Principles
Poll Shows Oklahomans Support Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform
A long-established principle of property law is that no person has a right to the proceeds of their criminal activity. Yet what if a government official merely suspects, rather than proves, the crime? Does government still get to seize personal property? In Oklahoma today, the answer is yes.Trent England | November 3, 2015
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Law & Principles
What the Electoral College Can Teach Us About the Constitution
The constitutional process for presidential elections is often misunderstood. That is unsurprising, since many of the Framers were at first unsure how it would work. Yet the history of the Electoral College—both its origin and its operation—offers lessons about the Constitution and how to defend it.Trent England | October 28, 2015
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Law & Principles
Blaine Amendment, Oklahoma Supreme Court threaten more than monuments
The Oklahoma Constitution does not ban religious ideas or symbols from public spaces. Neither does the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Supreme Court's Ten Commandment decision therefore threatens much more than a single monument.Trent England | October 7, 2015