Law
How Obama Undermined the War on Terror
The President promised not to undercut the rule of law for expedience's sake. He did. Now we face the consequences.
In the conflict against Al Qaeda that began in 2001, American military forces have conducted operations in more countries than in any war except World War II. Most of these countries are probably in the Middle East and North Africa, and the number (based on press reports) is likely in the ten to thirty range. But the public doesn't know, because the government hasn't told it. READ MORE >>
More than a decade after 9/11, the “war on terrorism” continues to produce new legal questions. The Supreme Court has plenty of cases about “enemy combatants,” the Bush-era designation for detained Al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists, but it’s never had to consider Senator Lindsey Graham’s latest idea. READ MORE >>
Why do judges do what they do? It is easy to identify two different answers. The first emphasizes the law. The second emphasizes politics. READ MORE >>
The Obama administration may remove the CIA from armed drone operations, according to recent reports—a signal that it now believes the CIA should not be involved in what its new director, John Brennan, called "paramilitary" operations. If the administration does restrict the CIA, it will also be the first major limitation on the drone program—a program Obama has greatly expanded since taking office. READ MORE >>
Flip-Flopping Federalists
On Obamacare, conservative judges were glad to limit Congress' power. To uphold DOMA, they'll need to do the opposite.
At the Supreme Court yesterday, after the oral arguments in U.S. v. Windsor, the immediate reaction was that opponents of the Defense of Marriage Act had done an effective job in persuading the Court to strike it down. “Final update: #scotus 80% likely to strike down #doma. READ MORE >>
This week, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments related to two cases about gay rights. READ MORE >>
Is the Filibuster Unconstitutional?
The Founding Fathers might not approve of today's Senate
As political theatre, Senator Rand Paul's marathon, 13-hour filibuster to protest the Obama administration's dreadful drone policy was gripping. While filibusters have become commonplace these days, they usually only involve a simple notice that one intends to filibuster, which then puts the onus on the other side to round up the 60 votes for "cloture" to end the threat. READ MORE >>
The scene is familiar from a thousand novels and films. Lines of soldiers, clad in brightly colored uniforms, march toward each other across a flat green field. Fifes and drums, perhaps a bagpipe, accompany them. Nearby, on well-groomed warhorses, sit cavalrymen, resplendent in gold-braided pelisses and plumed shakos. In response to shouted commands, the soldiers lift heavy muskets to their shoulders. Explosions drown out the fifes, and the magnificent colors vanish under clouds of thick gray gunpowder smoke. READ MORE >>
Does the Government Deserve Your DNA?
The crucial privacy case before the Supreme Court
This is perhaps the most important criminal procedure case that this Court has heard in decades," Justice Samuel Alito said at yesterday's oral argument in Maryland v. King, which will determine whether the government can seize DNA samples from people at the time they're arrested. READ MORE >>
Remembering Ronald Dworkin
For those of us who have read and appreciated Ronnie Dworkin’s writing, who have heard him lecture, debate or teach a class, and most of all who have had the privilege and pleasure of being his friends, he has made our lives better, richer and more delightful. I say better because he was first of all a person of high seriousness and moral commitment. READ MORE >>
