It turns out that New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. City of New York was not a watershed Second Amendment decision. That much-discussed case concerned a New York City prohibition on the transportation of firearms outside the city. After the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case and before oral argument, state and… Continue reading The Supreme Court, the Second Amendment and Consumer Protection
Pandemic Priorities: Public Health, Not Immigrant Detention
The United States is now fully subject to the rampaging effects of Covid-19. Whether the Trump Administration admits it or not is no longer relevant. The virus is unmoved by pleas to focus on the economy or on Trump’s re-election ambitions. In the midst of this void of leadership, a public health hot spot is… Continue reading Pandemic Priorities: Public Health, Not Immigrant Detention
Even Under McConnell’s Rules, the House Can Make Its Case Against Trump
Not surprisingly, Senator Mitch McConnell has announced that President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial will, at least initially, be bare-bones. McConnell has proposed opening statements from the House impeachment managers and lawyers representing the president, with questions from senators through the Chief Justice. At least at the start, there will be no witness testimony—though a majority… Continue reading Even Under McConnell’s Rules, the House Can Make Its Case Against Trump
The Two-Word Clause that Could Prevent Jeffrey Epstein’s Alleged Victims from Receiving Financial Justice
The will and trust of Jeffrey Epstein, financier and accused sex trafficker, have been making headlines this week. These documents seem to have been a last-ditch – and probably, in the long run, futile – attempt to protect Epstein’s assets from the claims of his accusers. It’s unlikely that he managed to transfer his assets… Continue reading The Two-Word Clause that Could Prevent Jeffrey Epstein’s Alleged Victims from Receiving Financial Justice
A Trial Date Set for September 11 Planners But No Justice in Sight
As reported in the New York Times, the judge overseeing the military tribunal of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and the four other suspects believed to have designed and organized the September 11 attacks has set a trial date of January 2021. Although there have been numerous court hearings for these five suspects since they arrived at… Continue reading A Trial Date Set for September 11 Planners But No Justice in Sight
Against the Commodification of Information Privacy
Back in May, the New York Times published a piece by the technology entrepreneur, Heidi Messer, in which she argued that the time has come to “stop fetishizing privacy,” understood as control over one’s personal information. Her basic contention is that the modern narrative about information privacy – that is, control over information about ourselves… Continue reading Against the Commodification of Information Privacy
Kisor v. Wilkie — More Rumbles of Discord on the Supreme Court
On June 26, 2019 the Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision in Kisor v. Wilkie. In it, the Court preserved the Auer doctrine, which requires judges to give deference to federal agencies in interpreting their regulations. The Court's elaborate reexamination of this doctrine -- named for Auer v. Robbins, a 1997 case in which Justice… Continue reading Kisor v. Wilkie — More Rumbles of Discord on the Supreme Court
Executive Privilege and the Census
The truth may be out there, but President Donald Trump is doing his level best to prevent its discovery. His latest effort is the assertion of executive privilege in the face of congressional inquiries into the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census. The move is not likely to go unchallenged—and, in this… Continue reading Executive Privilege and the Census
Is the Supreme Court Rethinking the Federal Courts’ Mission?
For some time, the Supreme Court and Congress have jointly viewed the federal court system as a special, nearly exclusive forum for resolving disputes. Congress has permitted federal courts to hear only those cases that directly invoke a federal law, or in which the parties are citizens of entirely different states. And the Supreme Court… Continue reading Is the Supreme Court Rethinking the Federal Courts’ Mission?
Big Brother Is, In Fact, Watching
The US government is tracking people who oppose its unlawful and inhuman practices. In February of 2019, I filed Communiques with UN Special Rapporteurs, asking for their intervention with the US government. UN human rights mechanisms are a last resort, utilized when a person’s own government is harming them, and refuses requests for transparency about… Continue reading Big Brother Is, In Fact, Watching
