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Latest Posts
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On April 16, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Kennedy v. Louisiana , a case challenging a Louisiana law making child rapists eligible for the death penalty, even when the crime did not also involve a homicide. Only five other states have similar laws. Patrick Kennedy, the defendant in Kennedy v. Louisiana , was sentenced to death for raping his eight-year old step daughter. Child rapists deserve... [Read More]
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Over forty years ago the Supreme Court in Loving v. Virginia struck down a law that banned marriage if the bride and groom were not of the same race. The death last week of Mildred Loving, the aptly named wanna-be wife in that case, reminds us of how far we’ve come, and how far we have to go. Prejudice remains imbedded in marriage laws that ban same sex marriage in every state except Massachusetts.... [Read More]
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Men working in Baghdad. Photo courtesy of the Ayub Nuri. This week on War News Radio , the next of our series focusing in on some of the big unresolved questions about the war in Iraq. We consider Iraq’s unemployment crisis. First, we hear about the difficulties Iraqis face as they look for work. Listen now to Emily Hager’s report. Then, we hear form the owner of one garment factory that closed. Listen... [Read More]
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The credit card industry has really been running wild lately. After a frenzy of acquisitions and consolidation in the last several decades, only a few major banks issue the vast majority of credit cards in the United States, and the industry has been able to get more and more Americans to take out heavier and heavier debt loads. Today, America’s credit card debt load is approaching one trillion dollars... [Read More]
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In our town, Pride—commencing with Dykes on Bikes and sporting floats and people waving from pick-up truck beds—acts much like other towns’ Fourth of July celebrations do, the rainbow banner our flag of choice, friendly, cheering crowds lining Main Street, wafting street fair scents (grilled meat, fried food).... [Read More]
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News came over the weekend of a state district court being overruled by a higher court. Ho hum, no news there, one would think, a routine occurrence…except this concerned stem cell research, and that is always newsworthy. The state was Missouri, and what was at issue was whether the description by the secretary of state of a ballot initiative (a description that would appear on the ballot, and hence,... [Read More]
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Even before it ends, this 2008 presidential campaign will transform our democracy – in fact, it already has. Hundreds of thousands of new voters have registered and cast ballots, Sen. Barack Obama has drawn huge crowds previously reserved for the likes of Bruce Springsteen, and a surge in small donations has given the campaigns more money from more individuals than ever before at this stage – with... [Read More]
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What if I said that I would not vote for Senator Barack Obama for president of the United States because he is black (or multiracial); or Senator Hillary Clinton because she is a woman; or that I would not have voted for former Mayor Rudy Giuliani because he is Italian; or former governor Mitt Romney because he is a Mormon? Any of those statements would most assuredly result in revocation of invitations... [Read More]
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In the wake of the September 11 bombings, Congress established a Victims Compensation Fund and limited liability for a number of deep-pockets who were also victimized by the attacks . A number of academics questioned that it was even conceivable that innocent third parties could be held liable for a terrorist attack. Anthony J. Sebok, What's Law Got to Do With It? Designing Compensation Schemes in... [Read More]
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This week on War News Radio , we take a look at how war has affected the youth of Iraq and Afghanistan. We hear about the new lives of two Afghan students studying in America. Listen now to Jess Engebretson’s report. Then, we find out about an Iraqi couple who use the Internet to sustain their relationship. Listen now to Wren Elhai’s report. And we take a look at No More Victims, an organization that’s... [Read More]
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Global trade and commerce is far ahead of our government's ability and willingness to ensure consumer safety. Is it a campaign issue? No. China has once again made headlines with its bold approach to cutting corners on exports. Already China leads in providing tainted pet food , hazardous toothpaste , and poisonous toys . Last week, we learned that contaminated heparin, a blood thinner, is suspected... [Read More]
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I have been somewhat chagrined to emerge in recent months as one of the more prominent defenders of Indiana's photo voter ID law, upheld this week by the Supreme Court in Crawford v. Marion County Board of Elections. I say that because, were I an Indiana legislator, I probably would not have voted in favor of the law. And I agree with those who argue that there is not much voter fraud that can prevented,... [Read More]
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ONCE UPON A TIME in a happy place called The Netherlands, there was a little Dutch cherry-picker named Geert Wilders. After growing up in the land of Rembrandt and tulips, Geert one day decided that he wanted to become a politician and help the people of Holland by becoming one of their elected leaders. While his friends became doctors and lawyers, our cherry-picker Geert one day found himself a member... [Read More]
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Iraqi soldiers on nighttime patrol in Mousel. Photo by Ayub Nuri. This week on War News Radio , we hear about an ongoing initiative to re-integrate former soldiers into Iraq’s new military. Listen now to Jon Erwin-Frank’s report. Then we hear from soldiers on active duty who are also actively against the war. Listen now to Max Parke’s report. Also, we learn how U.S. service members in Iraq are using... [Read More]
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The Religion Clauses of the First Amendment provide: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” These two Clauses, the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause, are frequently in tension. Striking a proper balance between free exercise and establishment has been a difficult endeavor for the U.S. Supreme Court, like walking... [Read More]
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The primaries have been endless and they are revealing less and less. Worse, they reviving the old politics of division. Should we shorten the general election campaign to get on with the business of governing? It's more possible than you may think.... [Read More]
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The little known efforts of the Representative of the UN Secretary General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons are a case study in the effective development and implementation of human rights norms. For more than a decade, the first representative, Francis Deng, and his successor, Walter Kalin, have worked to improve the status of “internally displaced persons,” or “IDPs”. Those forced... [Read More]
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I’ve been talking back to my television and radio a lot these days. Truth be told, I’ve been yelling at my television and radio a lot these days. My frustration level has risen and my tolerance level is spiraling downward. As the primaries drag on, much of the information provided about the candidates is so inane, I am forced to respond vituperatively to an inanimate object. In examining my visceral... [Read More]
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In the wake of credit crises in both the mortgage and broader financial markets, Congress is busy conducting hearings and negotiating various proposals for regulatory reform with the executive branch. Following corporate accounting scandals at Enron, WorldCom and elsewhere several years ago, Congress quickly went to work tightening the regulation of corporate governance. “Regulation follows crisis... [Read More]
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It is ironic that with the market doing a crackerjack job of punishing the excesses of the mortgage markets, cries for bailouts, handouts, and major new regulations. A recent USA Today article did a great job pointing out many of the ironies that abound. In Vermont lender tend to be more cautious and mortgage delinquency rates are below 3%, in contrast to Nevada, where 30% of Las Vegas homebuyers used... [Read More]
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It has been a year since I testified in front of the House Committee on Education and Labor - which can be viewed on YouTube - and urged Congress to fix the Supreme Court’s decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber , a decision that severely limited the ability of victims of pay discrimination to successfully sue under Title VII and other anti-discrimination laws -- laws which protect Americans... [Read More]
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Iraqi refugees in Syria in front of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Photo courtesy of the AP. This week on War News Radio , in the third of our series looking at the big unresolved questions in Iraq, we focus in depth on the Iraqi refugee crisis. We explore the problems facing the displaced and the countries that accommodate them. First, we hear about Iraqi refugees in Philadelphia.... [Read More]
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Can a red pillow and a lava lamp make a nursing home more like home?... [Read More]
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When you're fighting a case that seeks to break new legal and social ground, it helps to have friends. But in court the word friend has a very specific meaning. Friends of the court, or amici in legal speak, file briefs in a case to explain research or to add another dimension to the legal arguments being made. These briefs can illustrate the breadth of support for a case or position and help erase... [Read More]
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In the United States, Internet Service Providers and web sites aren’t held legally responsible for the content that flows through their pipes or hosted on their servers; it’s a protection granted to them by Congress under Sec. 230 of the Communications Decency Act. That immunity is the framework that allows the Internet to thrive as a haven for innovative services and free expression. Without this... [Read More]
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Sixteen months ago, I announced why my candidacy for the presidency of the United States was impossible. I explained I could not afford it personally; I was doubtful I could get my party’s nomination; that an outsider could not win; the national government is broken and cannot be fixed by itself or the President; I am considered unpatriotic because I criticize the government; and my message would not... [Read More]
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We’re talking about sex. Sex in New York and sex in DC. Sex captures the headlines and dominates the news scrolls. But we’re not teaching about sex. And that’s harmful to the health of young women and girls. While we squirm about Former Governor Eliot Spitzer’s sexual crimes and titter about other politicians’ sexual dalliances, a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”)... [Read More]
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This month, we asked Anita Cameron, the resident blogger of ADAPT , a vital organization to the disability community that relies upon direct action and civil disobedience to create a tense context by which others are forced to confront issues that threaten our literal lives, to share her thoughts on ADAPT's 25th anniversary. ********************************************************* 25 Years of Direct... [Read More]
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On March 24, the war in Iraq entered its sixth year. The anniversary prompted many Americans to reflect on our involvement in that particular conflict, but it should also remind us that we must constantly reexamine not only when or where we go to war, but how we go to war. The past half century has seen Congress willingly yield its constitutional duty to declare war to the Executive. In conflict after... [Read More]
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by Fatima Goss Graves , Senior Counsel at the National Women’s Law Center April is now here — the Cherry Blossoms are blooming in D.C., warmer weather has returned, and many are at least thinking about spring cleaning. April is also a time for commemorating Equal Pay Day . Equal Pay Day is observed in April to mark the point in each year at which an average woman’s wages finally catch up to the wages... [Read More]
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To people who’ve been paying attention (which is not, unfortunately, most of the American public), it’s not exactly news that Corporate America has been exempting itself from most of the United States civil legal system. Most consumer business-to-contracts and a growing number of employment contracts contain terms that provide that if the individual has a dispute against a corporation, they cannot... [Read More]
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In many respects, it has been a quiet term on the Supreme Court. However, on March 25, the Supreme Court announced its decision in Medellin v. Texas . It is a complicated case, but an intriguing one, for lawyers at least, and one with significant ramifications. The facts of the case concerned whether 51 Mexican nationals arrested, tried and convicted in the were denied their rights because they were... [Read More]
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Turning off lights or driving a hybrid car, recycling, composting, building a “green” house or any individual action cannot actually stem climate change’s momentum. No tipping point can come about solely from rote actions, new routines or greener technologies.... [Read More]
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This week, War News Radio presents the second of a series of shows that will explore the big questions still unanswered about the situation in Iraq. This week, we focus on oil. First, we hear about the violence in the oil rich city of Basra from the people who live there. Listen now to Wren Elhai’s report. Even in Iraq’s biggest centers of oil production, ordinary people can have a hard time getting... [Read More]
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I was taught that there are three branches of government – executive, legislative and judicial. That is an erroneous view. There is a fourth: the criminal justice system. It is accountable to no one; no one can influence what goes on within it; and it is wasting a lot of lives due to insufficient oversight, public inattention and a concept of “punishment” that belongs in the age of the dinosaur. Clearly,... [Read More]
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By Glenn Sugameli, Senior Legislative Counsel with Earthjustice and head of Judging the Environment In 2005, when the Senate GOP leadership planned to violate the Senate rules to ban filibusters of judicial nominations, then-Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) dubbed it the “ nuclear option ” because it would shut down the Senate. Editorial boards from 47 states and D.C. (including more than 70 that endorsed... [Read More]
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My latest Liability Outlook examines the problems of retroactive lawmaking and litigation, especially reviver statutes: The controversy over whether and how to seat the Michigan and Florida delegations at the Democratic National Convention shows the danger of changing rules midstream and upsetting settled expectations. Reviver statutes not only obviate statutes of limitations, which are a critical... [Read More]
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It was fitting that the US House approved late on the night of March 11 the creation of an independent, outside panel to enforce ethics rules, as you would have thought from listening to the debate that that lawmakers were talking about a nightmare. Here is Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS): "If you have a single ounce of self-preservation, you'll vote no." Or, Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI): "Any referral to... [Read More]
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JURIST Guest Columnist Allen Rostron of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law says that by approaching the District of Columbia v. Heller case in a spirit of conciliation and compromise rather than extremism, the Court can make its ruling Read More...... [Read More]
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Ex-Governor Eliot Spitzer was living a dirty lie. The moral of his story is this:... [Read More]
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JURIST Guest Columnist Christina Wells of the University of Missouri School of Law says that while the House version of a bill amending the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act forces the Bush administration to actually prove that disclosing surveillance Read More...... [Read More]
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By Randy Barnett, the Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Legal Theory at Georgetown University Law Center. Professor Barnett is counsel on an amicus brief in Heller v. District of Columbia filed by the Academics for the Second Amendment. A condensed version of this piece was published in the Wall Street Journal on March 18 th as “Gun Rights Show Down”. A LAYMAN’S GUIDE TO HELLER Today, the Supreme Court... [Read More]
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This week on War News Radio , we find out about the Iraqi government’s efforts to keep doctors from fleeing the country. Listen now to Elizabeth Threlkeld’s report. Then, we look into the impact of military blogs on soldiers and their families. Listen now to Reuben Heyman-Kantor’s report. Next, We hear the story of an injured veteran, piecing his life - and his marriage - back together. Listen now... [Read More]
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I was not surprised when Michelle Obama said that she was “really proud of” her country for the first time in her adult life. I am surprised, however, that her comments astonished so many white Americans. I am an African American woman with a law degree, and even though I share these things in common with Michelle Obama, I will not attempt to explain what I think she meant by her statement. I mention... [Read More]
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JURIST Guest Columnist Seema Saifee , a litigator at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP in New York representing several Uighurs detained at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, says the US government continues to damage its own image by holding Read More...... [Read More]
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My colleague Sam Staley wrote this interesting commentary on Eliot Spitzer's fall. It is stunning how hypocritical politicians manipulate system to serve their own agendas. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Few politicians will have fallen as hard and fast from the summit of political ambition as New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, allegedly caught meeting with a prostitute. Indeed, Spitzer's fall may reveal some... [Read More]
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Anyone wanting to answer the question of “how we began” in Iraq has to confront the monumental fact that the United States, the most powerful country in the world, invaded Iraq with no particular and specific idea of what it was going to do there, and then must try to explain how this could have happened . One possible explanation for the George W. Bush administration’s Iraq policy is the president’s... [Read More]
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JURIST Special Guest Columnist Sharon Bradford Franklin, senior counsel at the Constitution Project , amicus in the US Supreme Court in support of habeas petitioners Mohammed Munaf and Shawqi Omar in Munaf v. Geren and Geren v. Omar , says that American Read More...... [Read More]
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