Welcome to Sidebar

Welcome, to the premiere of “Sidebar,” a column dedicated to answering your questions about the law.

The idea behind this column is that I will be answering your questions about the law and the legal process – think Andrew Napolitano meets “Dear Abby.” This column is interactive and requires not only your reading, but also your participation.

You see, the name of this column is quite instructive. A sidebar is typically held to the “side” of the “bar” (or judge’s bench) during a trial when an attorney can ask a question, make an objection, or suggest procedure out of the hearing of the jury or any member of the public who may be sitting in back. It is, quite frankly, an opportunity for attorneys and judges to ask stupid questions, without appearing foolish in front of any but the necessary parties.

So it is with this column. You have had these times, haven’t you? You’re watching your favorite legal thriller when, suddenly, just when the perp is about to be sent packing to Sing-Sing, the defense counsel stands, pounds the table, and demands that the case be dismissed for some surprising technicality. As the judge dismisses the case, the prosecutors fume, and the credits roll, you lean to your couch-mate and say, “Can they really do that?!”

Well, dear reader, now’s your chance to find out. Ask me.

You see, we live in, as John Adams once said, “A government of laws and not of men.” As Americans, we proudly trumpet about our unique democracy within a republic, not always understanding exactly what that means. Find out; ask me.

We all know that if we were arrested we have the right to an attorney, the right to stay silent, etc., but do we get a phone call too? Ask me.

When we disagree with something that a politician has said, we critically assert our “freedom of speech,” and yet, we’re horrified when we discover that the freedom is sometimes a qualified one. Talk to me.

If you were paying attention in high school civics, you may remember that the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” To live in our country, you have a duty to understand and participate in the actions of government; yet sometimes you have no idea what is going on in government. That’s ok; let me help you.

I have a Doctor of Jurisprudence (that’s fancy-talk for “law degree”) and, now as a practicing attorney before the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, I make daily sojourns into our laws. It is my job to research the law and give someone my opinion about it in a way that makes sense.

This column comes with only one rule: while it will hopefully make you a better citizen, it is a not a legal advice column. I’m not going to give you legal advice. So don’t ask.

But, I am ready and willing to answer such questions as, “What does it mean that an attorney is admitted to ‘the Bar?’”, “Do our laws really come from the Judeo-Christian ethic”, “What is a SCOTUS?”, “What does jurisdiction mean?”, “What is hearsay?”, “What are ‘term limits?’”, “Can Congress actually overrule a decision by the Supreme Court?”, “What is meant by ‘separation of powers?’”, “Why do lawsuits take so long to resolve?”, “What is mediation and arbitration?”, or “What’s the weirdest law you have ever heard of?”

Got it? Then send your questions to me at: or put them in the mail addressed to me at: opinion@dominionpost.com.

It is my hope that you will find Sidebar informative and that, together, we can help ensure Lincoln’s prophecy: “that government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth.”


Copyright: Jeremiah G. Dys, Esq. May not be used absent express, written permission. Please contact the author for permission to reprint.