8/19/20  //  In-Depth Analysis

A theme of Chief Justice John Roberts’ opinions this past term is that courts should not employ open-ended balancing tests to protect fundamental constitutional rights. Yet there is one area of the Supreme Court’s constitutional jurisprudence that is rife with such amorphous balancing tests: policing. It is long past time for the Court to revisit this area of law.

6/22/20  //  In-Depth Analysis

A recent article evaluates President Obama's clemency initiative and its lessons for criminal justice reform.

6/21/20  //  Commentary

On this week’s Versus Trump, Easha Anand makes her triumphant return to talk qualified immunity and police reform. The trio talk about the proposal to reform qualified immunity and debate whether that will do much. They then break down other new legal innovations in the various proposals and ask: is it enough to create new grounds for people to sue? Or are other reforms more important? Listen now!

6/16/20  //  Commentary

Following the Supreme Court's decision in Bostock, it's worth asking: Why has the law been so successful at improving the lives of gay people but much less successful at improving the lives of people of color?

6/7/20  //  In-Depth Analysis

On this week’s Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie take on two topics. First, what can the president legally do to use the military on American soil? Second, is it legal for the House of Representatives to vote by proxy, without being physically present in D.C., as alleged in a new lawsuit by House Republicans? Listen now!

5/24/20  //  Commentary

On this week’s Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie discuss the extraordinary motion to dismiss Michael Flynn's criminal case. Does the DOJ's logic make sense? And what can Judge Sullivan do if he chooses not to dismiss the case? Listen now!

1/14/18  //  Daily Update

The White House conducts a "listening session" with criminal justice reform advocates focused on prisoner re-entry. The Justice Department is heightening efforts to increase the use of capital punishment.

1/14/18  //  Daily Update

In a series of tweets, President Trump wavers between opposition and support of FISA reauthorization. On the 16th anniversary of the prison’s founding, Guantanamo Bay prisoners file mass habeas petition.

1/14/18  //  Daily Update

President Trump refuses to certify that the Iranian nuclear disarmament deal is in America’s best interests, but is expected to allow the accord to continue. The Trump administration announces it will suspend most security assistance to Pakistan.

12/24/17  //  Daily Update

Attorney General Sessions rescinded 25 Justice Department guidance documents on how to interpret an array of federal laws.

12/24/17  //  Daily Update

The Trump Administration unveiled its new National Security Strategy. A majority of the United Nations General Assembly voted to rebuke America's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to relocate the U.S. Embassy.

12/24/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump said in a speech on national security that Russia and China “seek to challenge American influence, values and wealth,” but did not directly address Russian interference in the 2016 election. A majority of nations in the United Nations General Assembly voted in favor of a resolution rebuking America's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocate the US embassy to the city.

8/28/17  //  Commentary

Humanitarian concerns and international human rights law simply can’t be ignored or downplayed in any discussion of the North Korean nuclear problem—they are two sides of the same coin

3/16/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

President Trump favors federal legislation requiring states to recognize concealed carry licenses issued by other states. But that policy rests on shaky constitutional foundations.

3/16/17  //  Commentary

Key White House personnel might be violating important limits on their lawful authority.

5/31/18  //  Quick Reactions

The Supreme Court has been engaged in something of a shell game with respect to remedies in cases related to policing.

1/24/18  //  Commentary

By Nimra Azmi and Sirine Shebaya: Trump's position on Guantánamo perfectly aligns with his habitual rejection of the idea that Muslims accused of terrorism are entitled to any constitutional protections

5/2/17  //  Commentary

100 days in and 25 years after the unrest in Los Angeles, the Trump Administration is failing communities entitled to fair and just policing.

4/11/17  //  Quick Reactions

The video of the United flight reveals more than just what happened. It also shows why DOJ oversight is so important.

5/9/17  //  Quick Reactions

According to breaking news reports, President Trump has fired FBI director James Comey. It's within his power to do that.

4/10/17  //  Commentary

If Congress does nothing now to further delineate the scope of presidential authority to deploy military force, it will effectively be forfeiting, now and forever, its constitutional authority to check presidential moves short of all-out state-to-state war.

2/8/18  //  Commentary

On the latest episode of Versus Trump, Charlie and Easha talk all things Russia investigation (or tangentially Russia investigation)—the Nunes #meh-mo, the fallout therefrom, and whether Trump will be interviewed by the Special Counsel.

3/20/18  //  Quick Reactions

There's another reason the Court should take a close look at the cert petition in Williams v. Louisiana.

7/31/17  //  Commentary

By Saul Cornell: The opinion striking down D.C.'s gun law under the Second Amendment relies heavily on a selective culling of historical evidence—and a shocking ignorance of the most important facts about Anglo-American criminal law and its history.

4/20/17  //  Latest Developments

Take Care is pleased to announce the release of "Versus Trump," a new, affiliated podcast about the ways that the Trump Administration is breaking the law—and what people are doing about it.

4/12/17  //  Commentary

Criminal justice agencies have become part of our communities' mental health services systems. They need to abide by the disability rights laws that govern mental health services

3/20/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

A careful review of Judge Gorsuch's record reveals strong reason to believe that he would vote to uphold President Trump's revised Muslim Ban (and potentially many other executives abuses, too).

12/19/19  //  Commentary

On this week’s Versus Trump, Easha and Charlie discuss the Trump Administration’s efforts to resume federal executions after a decade-and-a-half hiatus. Listen now!

5/30/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

The president’s proposed budget reveals an intent to roll back protections for the most vulnerable members of society.

1/22/18  //  Commentary

The continuing resolution that was signed by President Trump contains a provision that permits his intelligence agencies to spend billions of dollars on anything they want, without having to inform Congress about what they are doing. This seems like a bad idea.

3/29/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

The Trump Administration’s actions thus far are not just an attack on human rights norms. And they’re not merely a rejection of international law. They’re also an assault on our national security and foreign policy.

11/2/17  //  Uncategorized

On this week’s episode of Versus Trump, Jason, Charlie, and special guest David Sklansky discuss the first shoe to drop from the Mueller investigation: the indictment of Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, and the guilty plea of George Papadopoulos. Listen now!

5/24/17  //  Commentary

President Trump’s visit to Israel comes at a fraught time for his Administration and a pivotal moment for the relationship between the two countries.

11/30/19  //  Commentary

When the Supreme Court considers an important Second Amendment case this week, it ought to consider a robust conception of the state's interest in regulating firearms. Properly understood, the state's interest in adopting gun laws includes much more than mere empirical studies about how effective gun laws are at preventing wrongful gun deaths.

3/29/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

On a new episode of Versus Trump, Jason talks to Rick Hasen, a leading election law scholar and purveyor of the Election Law Blog, about what's going on at the voting booth, possible campaign finance law violations by both Trump and Clinton in the 2016 cycle, and Justice Scalia, who is the subject of Rick's new book, The Justice of Contradictions: Antonin Scalia and the Politics of Disruption. Listen now!

11/15/18  //  Uncategorized

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Jason has a solo episode where he talks about a motion by Maryland contending that Matthew Whitaker was not legally appointed as Acting Attorney General. Listen now!

5/3/18  //  Commentary

On a new episode of Versus Trump, Easha, Charlie, and Jason continue their investigation of the relationship between federal and state law by debating the Trump Administration's reversal of Obama-era guidance about marijuana enforcement. Listen now!

4/20/20  //  Quick Reactions

Ten thoughts on Ramos v. LA

10/30/17  //  Quick Reactions

As a nation, we now find ourselves in uncharted territory.

4/15/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

Some recent cases suggest that, if anything, the Supreme Court should be harder on states in capital litigation proceedings. Instead, the Court has done the opposite.

2/21/19  //  Commentary

Trump has suggested that SCOTUS will save his national emergency gambit, just like it saved his Muslim Ban. But there are major problems with that analogy.

8/22/18  //  Commentary

In the coming weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether to grant Lacaze v. Louisiana, a case raising profound questions for the constitutional standards governing judicial recusal where a judge has --but does not even disclose--concrete connections to the case being tried before him.

3/23/18  //  Quick Reactions

Federal prosecutors who seek the death penalty in cases where no death results are inviting a constitutional challenge they’re likely to lose.

2/13/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

Last week’s Supreme Court stay orders say a lot about how the Court views the substance of the underlying constitutional claims in Dunn v. Ray and June Medical Services v. Gee.

7/31/17  //  Commentary

Despite consensus that criminalizing HIV has little public health effect, is not supported by scientific knowledge of transmission risks, and may violate the Americans with Disabilities, states are still enforcing laws against people living with HIV.

10/19/17  //  Commentary

On this week’s episode of Versus Trump, Easha, Jason, and Charlie discuss the President's pardon of Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the (so far unsuccessful) legal challenge to that pardon. Listen now!

9/6/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

The zone of interests test shouldn't apply to constitutional claims seeking injunctive relief. But even if it does apply, it doesn't prevent federal defenders from challenging arbitrary limits on attorney access under the Sixth Amendment.

6/5/18  //  Commentary

There are times when strategic ducking makes sense practically if not strictly legally

1/29/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

Prisoners sentenced under the mandatory Sentencing Guidelines are not faring well in the courts of appeals, and the Supreme Court won't have a ton of opportunities to correct those decisions, if it thinks they are wrong.

3/24/17  //  Commentary

In limited but vital ways, those who relied on Obama-era immigration and marijuana non-enforcement policies should be protected against sudden shifts in federal policy under President Trump.

3/17/17  //  Commentary

An emergency appeal on the Muslim Ban may be both rational and his worst outcome.

3/24/17  //  Commentary

The Supreme Court is considering a major constitutional challenge to federal immigration detention policies. Trump’s recent executive orders make that case even more significant.

5/4/17  //  Commentary

This week on Versus Trump, the Take Care podcast, we preview a major argument in the Muslim travel ban litigation, talk to Professor Zach Price about reliance interests with respect to selective enforcement of federal laws, and more.

4/19/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

The Trump Administration may already have the tools it would need to predict with high accuracy the religious identity of a significant percentage of U.S. citizens and visiting Muslims. And software engineers, not lawyers, may be our first line of alarm and defense.

4/8/17  //  Commentary

A document seeking to justify the use of force in Syria has begun circulating outside the government that is said to have been developed within the Administration. But there are significant flaws in this justification as a matter of domestic and international law.

7/18/18  //  Commentary

In the U.S. there are many “very unfair” situations involving prisons. But Trump’s policies are making prisons worse.

6/20/17  //  Commentary

Yesterday's SCOTUS ruling in Ziglar v. Abbasi makes it all but impossible for civil rights plaintiffs to sue federal officials for money damages.

3/16/17  //  Commentary

It is time for progressives to embrace federalism and to use Supreme Court precedents protecting states’ rights to fight against Trump administration policies

6/5/17  //  Commentary

President Donald Trump’s announcement that he will withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement may have dramatic consequences for his administration—but not in the ways he might imagine.

8/31/17  //  Commentary

On this week’s episode of Versus Trump, we talk about web-hosting company Dreamhost's refusal to cooperate fully with the Trump Administration's broad request for information about the visitors to DisruptJ20.org, a website allegedly used by those involved in an Inauguration Day riot. Listen now!

5/23/18  //  Quick Reactions

Prosecutors recently agreed to the release of a man wrongfully convicted as a child. But not without a cost.

7/11/18  //  Uncategorized

I want to begin exploring ways in which liberals might try to defend what we value in the coming era of Supreme Court extreme conservatism

8/20/17  //  Commentary

No, the First and Second Amendments do not add up to a right to publicly protest while carrying assault rifles.

8/13/17  //  Commentary

Guest poster Eric Segall argues that Congress must act now to ensure that the President does not unilaterally commit an act of war without Congressional consent.

7/27/17  //  Commentary

Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ charging memo undermines one of the premises of the Supreme Court’s recent cases

3/27/20  //  Commentary

On this week’s Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie discuss a lawsuit in Seattle, Dawson v. Asher, requesting that several vulnerable people in immigration detention be released. They discuss the legal standard for detention, why detention centers are particularly dangerous places, and what courts will be balancing when they consider these requests for release. Listen now!

3/1/18  //  Commentary

On a new episode of Versus Trump, Easha, Jason, and Charlie check back in with the most politically charged of all Versus Trump suits: the Russia investigation. Listen now!

4/4/17  //  Quick Reactions

AG Sessions’s eleventh-hour effort to avoid a consent decree in Baltimore is indefensible and unmistakably political. The court should not allow it.

4/6/17  //  Commentary

Trump's statements about the revised travel ban overwhelmingly evidence a purpose at odds with the Establishment Clause. And few, if any, of those statements evince actual, substantive national security or foreign affairs objectives that explain the bizarre scope of his order.

4/28/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

While President Trump has little direct control over how states administer the death penalty, his administration might seek to facilitate the acquisition of legal injection drugs and limit federal habeas review in capital cases. But these policies would raise major legal questions.

4/26/17  //  Commentary

Will Attorney General Sessions really get the federal government out of the police oversight business? Signs are increasingly pointing to yes.

4/14/17  //  Commentary

As part of the Trump administration's war on information, the administration has started to roll back federal investigations into police violence and criminal justice.

12/6/18  //  Uncategorized

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, the gang is re-united, and they discuss the Supreme Court motion contending that Matthew Whitaker was not legally appointed as Acting Attorney General. Listen now!

6/6/17  //  Commentary

By Allison Murphy: Given President Trump’s documented and acknowledged efforts to interfere with the independence of the FBI, the Senate should presume that could continue under a new FBI Director. It is therefore incumbent upon Senators to ensure that any Trump nominee for FBI Director commits to certain baseline aspects of independence and impartiality before any new nominee is confirmed. Here are 10 questions that require answers.

8/9/18  //  Commentary

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Jason, Charlie, and Easha—in her last episode for several months—discuss the fast-moving lawsuit by states against the Trump Administration and Cody Wilson seeking to block distribution of plans for 3D-printed guns. As usual, you can listen online below, and subscribe via this page with any podcast player or here in iTunes.

9/12/19  //  Commentary

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Charlie and guest-host Alexandra Brodsky discuss a recent opinion invalidating the FBI's terrorism watch-list. They discuss the implications of the opinion for the Trump administration (and beyond), the merits (and demerits) of the court's reasoning, and all sorts of other cool stuff, including how annoying it is when people think they're important enough to be spied on by the FBI. Listen now!

9/8/17  //  Commentary

Republicans may not be advancing their agenda through legislation, but they're getting it done in other ways.

3/14/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Charlie, Easha, and Jason discuss a new lawsuit by Huawei against various Trump Administration officials, plus they delve into international extradition law and look at the case of the company's detained CFO. Listen now!

11/16/17  //  Commentary

On this week’s episode of Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie discuss a new lawsuit that forces courts to answer the question of whether the federal government needs a warrant to search people's electronic devices at the U.S. border, and they also respond to a discussion on the Supreme Court podcast First Mondays regarding the government's recent filing in the Hargan v. Garza abortion case. Listen now!

3/23/17  //  Commentary

The transition to President Trump has massively shifted federal enforcement priorities. Does the Constitution protect people who relied on Obama's immigration, healthcare, or marijuana policies?

7/10/17  //  Commentary

As disenfranchisement and voter suppression efforts are on the rise, one partial response is reenfranchisement.

4/23/18  //  Commentary

Whatever side the Court takes in the travel ban litigation, it should renounce national security exceptionalism

10/26/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

DOJ now argues that people who are in prison based on mistaken understandings of criminal statutes must stay there. The Supreme Court should consider granting certiorari to correct its mistake (and the Eleventh and Tenth Circuits’).

4/6/17  //  Commentary

A federal judge has refused to dismiss a suit alleging that President Trump incited violence against protesters at one of his campaign rallies last year. The bitter irony to Trump's defense is that it seeks to expand free speech rules; usually, he prefers to trash them.

4/13/17  //  Commentary

The Trump administration has enacted several policies to conceal, subvert, or manipulate information. It has retracted a proposal to add LGBTQ identification to the U.S. census and eliminated LGBTQ identification from HHS surveys. These policies and others attempt to deny the existence of a problem by disappearing the (inconvenient) facts.

4/17/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

The Supreme Court has insisted on relitigating and reaffirming its decision in Dunn v. Ray. So let's do that.

8/7/17  //  Commentary

By Ian W. Holloway & Jody L. Herman: As the Pentagon decides how to respond to Trump’s mandate, we urge that they consider our rigorous research and the lived experiences of transgender service members and their allies.

2/22/19  //  Commentary

By Nabihah Maqbool and Sirine Shebaya: There are major problems with the Countering Violent Extremism program. Trump has only made the program worse. It should be winded down for good.

4/17/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

The government can't act based on animus toward particular religions. But that's exactly what Trump did.

5/16/17  //  Commentary

Trump suggested in a recent signing statement that he could disregard an appropriations restriction on federal marijuana enforcement. But Trump is mistaken.

3/23/17  //  Commentary

The Attorney General’s embrace of private prisons is a victory for the industry, but it threatens the safety of correctional officers and prisoners.

3/30/17  //  Commentary

President Trump's immigration enforcement policy has massively raised the stakes in Hernandez v. Mesa, where the Supreme Court is considering a cross-border shooting by a U.S. agent.

6/18/18  //  Quick Reactions

Today's federal sentencing opinions create even more tension between the Court's sentencing jurisprudence and Beckles v. United States.

3/9/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

Trump’s actions to quash the independence of federal law enforcement mirror the approach of autocratic leaders around the globe.

6/24/19  //  Quick Reactions

The reach of the Supreme Court’s opinion in United States v. Davis will be dictated by a host of procedural rules.

9/11/18  //  Commentary

By Daniel Levine-Spound: Rand Paul’s support for Kavanaugh constitutes a betrayal of his opposition to the United States’ ever-expanding and seemingly interminable 'War on Terror'

5/21/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Should former FBI Director Robert Mueller decide to bring criminal charges against President Trump for obstruction of justice, he would be acting well within the law, the norms of the profession, and the reasonable bounds of the discretion with which he has been entrusted.

3/22/18  //  Commentary

On a new episode of Versus Trump, Easha and Charlie take a quick gander at Donald Trump's proposal to seek the death penalty for drug dealers. Listen now!

4/27/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

President Trump and Attorney General Sessions hold exceptionally pro-death penalty views. Here's how they might seek to increase use of capital punishment at the federal level, and why any such effort likely would fail.

5/18/18  //  Commentary

Courts are beginning to address how the Sentencing Guidelines might be affected by Sessions v. Dimaya.

5/29/18  //  Commentary

A currently pending cert petition provides the Court a welcome opportunity to clarify how the voluntariness standard applies to juvenile confessions and juvenile interrogations.

7/26/17  //  Quick Reactions

Such a blanket prohibition, tweeted out in advance of the Pentagon completing a policy review, is so lacking in credibility that its only motivation seems to be animus towards transgender people.

4/11/19  //  Commentary

A recently filed amicus brief asks the Sixth Circuit to reconsider en banc whether prisoners challenged under the mandatory Guidelines can ever air the claim that their sentences are unconstitutional in light of Johnson v. United States.

5/24/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Recent Harvard Law graduate, and soon to be civil rights lawyer, Shakeer Rahman offers some second thoughts about celebrating federal law enforcement’s independence.

10/31/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

The stakes are high for defendants awaiting the Supreme Court's decision in Sessions v. Dimaya.

4/4/17  //  Commentary

Perceptions of presidential bad faith have given judges the fortitude to do what the law already demands of them, even though their actions might prompt the President to bash them by name on TV or Twitter.

4/12/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

On a new episode of Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie revisit two lawsuits in which the Plaintiffs have recently successfully fought off motions to dismiss and been allowed to proceed. And in a new installment of "Sanctions Corner with Uncle Charlie," Charlie answers questions about the FBI raid on the office of Trump lawyer Michael Cohen. Listen now!

4/10/17  //  Commentary

When the President unilaterally decides that America will start killing people in foreign countries, the least we can expect is a sound justification for that action under domestic and international law. Yet Trump has yet to offer one.

5/22/18  //  Commentary

A recent article shows why federal courts can and should revisit the convictions and sentences of many federal prisoners affected by Sessions v. Dimaya.

1/9/20  //  In-Depth Analysis

On this week’s Versus Trump, Jason, Easha, and Charlie consider a new lawsuit by Amazon, in which the company claims that it was illegally denied a $10 billion Pentagon contract because of President Trump's stated dislike of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. And the return briefly to the question of Bolton's potential testimony at the Senate impeachment trial. Listen now!

4/12/17  //  Commentary

On the first full day of Passover, the Trump Administration offered several lessons about institutionalized racism and ethnic cleansing.

4/13/17  //  Commentary

Given the nativist overtones of his campaign and his administration’s signature policies — from the Muslim ban to an immigration crackdown that equates being a foreign-born minority with criminality — Trump has exploded the fiction that we live in a post-racial society.

5/30/17  //  Commentary

President Trump's overseas trip has cast doubt on longstanding consensus features of U.S. foreign policy, particularly our commitment to NATO. Here are some ways Congress might respond.

3/20/17  //  Commentary

To the extent that Trump’s statements about the travel ban shed light on why the executive orders were issued—and they surely do—those statements are material to the constitutional analysis.

3/12/20  //  Quick Reactions

The President has been harshly criticized for his inadequate response to coronavirus. But state and local officials have the legal authority to do much more than they are doing to protect health and safety. They need to act now, with or without the President's support.

3/8/18  //  Commentary

On a new episode of Versus Trump, Easha, Jason, and Charlie discuss a recent district court opinion that rejected California's challenge to the Trump Administration's expedited border wall projects in California. Listen now!

2/22/18  //  Commentary

On a new episode of Versus Trump, Easha, Jason, and Charlie discuss what's going on in courts related to gun regulation. They focus on one set of Versus Trump lawsuits in this area: suits by the Gabby Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence requesting any Trump Administration records that would show the influence of the gun lobby on the Administration. Listen now!

3/16/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Last night, a federal judge in Hawaii blocked Trump's revised entry ban. Here is a detailed analysis of its decision and an assessment of what likely will happen next in that litigation.

3/20/17  //  Commentary

Judge Kozinski thinks that we cannot account for President Trump's campaign statements in the Muslim Ban cases. That is wrong. Courts can, and should, reckon with this history in assessing whether Trump's ban comports with religious neutrality.

6/8/17  //  Commentary

A new letter from a bipartisan group of senators shows that Attorney General Sessions’s approach to charging is out of the mainstream, contrary to our justice system’s values, and unsupported by existing crime research.

3/16/17  //  Commentary

The president has continued existing policies, but also signaled a misplaced (and dangerous) reliance on immigration enforcement and incarceration to protect the public.

3/16/17  //  Commentary

An analysis of Judge Bybee's dissent from denial of rehearing en banc in Washington v. Trump, and some predictions about the future of President Trump's revised entry ban.

3/17/17  //  Commentary

President Obama pushed the limits of enforcement discretion. Trump may be worse. Will anyone check him if he is?

6/19/17  //  Commentary

The AG's argument for harsher sentencing recommendations in federal drug cases is weak and shows little regard for the truth.

6/25/17  //  Daily Update

The President announced a new policy toward Cuba and U.S. involvement in the Middle East is increasing.

12/3/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump criticized North Korea after it tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile. Congress considered a significant expansion of the NSA's surveillance power.

12/4/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump’s waiver of the Jerusalem Embassy Act is set to expire, and how President Trump acts may signal his approach to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.

7/9/17  //  Daily Update

The U.S. is weighing options to respond to North Korea’s latest missile test.

5/14/17  //  Daily Update

Attorney General Jeff Sessions advocated returning to harsh punishments for low-level drug offenders.

3/26/17  //  Daily Update

Commentators discussed President Trump's multiple front onslaught on international law and institutions this week.

10/1/17  //  Daily Update

Tensions with North Korea escalated this week, prompting North Korea's foreign minister to claim that the U.S. had declared war and that a strike against the U.S. mainland was "inevitable." Foreign leaders warned President Trump of the consequences of violating the Iran nuclear agreement.

5/7/17  //  Daily Update

Capital punishment and tension between communities and law enforcement may escalate under President Trumps' Department of Justice.

2/11/18  //  Daily Update

The Nunes memo set off aftershocks; agencies scrambled to implement the Trump Administration's policies to mixed effect; and Congress passes a budget after a brief overnight shutdown.

1/28/18  //  Daily Update

President Trump's Guantánamo "policy" is best understood as an extension of his anti-Muslim bigotry, wrote Nimra Azmi and Sirine Shebaya at Take Care. The terrorist watchlist statistics from last week's DOJ and DHS exaggerate the threat of terrorism, argued Harsha Panduranga at Just Security. The Pentagon's new National Defense Strategy contains notable omissions related to climate change and the use of special operations forces.

8/20/17  //  Daily Update

Attorney General Sessions may be back in the President's good graces.

4/9/17  //  Daily Update

The White House violated traditional security protocol when announcing Jared Kushner's visit to Iraq. Further, President Trump's proposed budget cuts may worsen a famine in Africa.

11/5/17  //  Daily Update

Oral argument in Ayestas v. Davis indicates that the Supreme Court is likely to reverse the Fifth Circuit’s imposition of a “substantial need” requirement for indigent federal habeas petitioners to be eligible to receive funding for investigative or expert services.

4/23/17  //  Daily Update

The Administration continues to treat national security as "security theater" with a stunning "indifference to facts, accountability, and democratic oversight," argue critics.

9/24/17  //  Daily Update

Changes the Justice Department proposed to community policing initiatives drew widespread criticism. Commentators argue DOJ must better review police departments' actions.

6/18/17  //  Daily Update

Criminal justice reform advocates turn focus to Jared Kushner and to local efforts.

4/2/17  //  Daily Update

The Trump Administration has signalled a reduced commitment to human rights internationally, and President Trump's proposed cuts to the State Department may hamper U.S. foreign policy.

4/9/17  //  Daily Update

This week, the Department of Justice ordered a nationwide review of consent decrees implemented to curb civil rights abuses. State governors are poised to fight back against Attorney General Jeff Sessions's federal marijuana policy. And a decline in incarceration rates is threatened by the Trump Presidency.

9/17/17  //  Daily Update

Trump's decision to end DACA spurs a flurry of legal challenges; his election fraud commission gets into more trouble; and the Supreme Court stays the Ninth Circuit's latest trvel ban ruling.

11/26/17  //  Daily Update

The Trump administration has been vocal about "law and order" goals, but will leave most of the work to local law enforcement, as evidenced by a $100 million grant to local departments. The tough on crime stance is clear in DOJ's position in some upcoming Supreme Court casts.

4/23/17  //  Daily Update

Attorney General Sessions has started to make significant changes at the Department of Justice by doubling down on mass incarceration and weakening police accountability. Such efforts face significant criticism.

6/11/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump's national security team was "blindsided" by his failure to reaffirm NATO Article 5, and commentators argue that President Trump's reaction to the London attacks portend his reaction to future attacks.

4/16/17  //  Daily Update

This week, commentary focused on U.S. military action against Syria. Joshua Matz and Marty Lederman both considered the legal reasoning for the strikes on Take Care.

8/6/17  //  Daily Update

Secretary of State Tillerson indicated that the United States is not seeking regime change in North Korea. Commentary continued on the future of the Iran nuclear deal. The United States issued sanctions against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

8/20/17  //  Daily Update

The administration’s North Korea strategy is unclear. President Trump’s remarks on the Barcelona terror attacks showed a disregard for human rights and factual accuracy.

12/4/17  //  Daily Update

Congress is considering a significant expansion of the NSA's surveillance power. President Trump responded to North Korea's testing of a new intercontinental ballistic missile.

6/11/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump takes credit for siding with Saudi Arabia against Qatar; meanwhile, U.S. diplomats are pushing back against the President.

8/24/17  //  Daily Update

Commentators noted that the Trump administration may be attempting to undermine the Iran nuclear deal, and discussed the international law implications of the administration's new Afghanistan strategy.

4/30/17  //  Daily Update

Politicians ask the Administration to explain its legal justifications for the strike in Syria, pressure mounts with North Korea, and President Trump calls the United Nations an "underperformer."

1/28/18  //  Daily Update

President Trump threatened to take aid away from Palestine if Palestinian leadership remained unwilling to negotiate with Israel. Vice President Mike Pence announced that the new embassy in Jerusalem would open in 2019.

9/10/17  //  Daily Update

The President orders an end to DACA and has Attorney General Jeff Sessions announce the change; Trump Jr.'s June 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer undergoes more scrutiny; Trump's 16 nominations to the federal judiciary spur challenges and concern.

8/13/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump escalated his warnings to North Korea, and the UN Security Council passed harsh sanctions against the country. The Trump administration is reportedly considering whether to privatize large portions of the war in Afghanistan.

3/26/17  //  Daily Update

Private prisons have newfound influence in the White House and have benefitted from the Trump Administration's Justice Department policy reversal.

4/30/17  //  Daily Update

The Administration may remove oversight of local law enforcement agencies, and use the federal death penalty more often.

5/7/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump's harsh rhetoric may be a gift to terrorist organizations abroad. While some intelligence agencies seek to dial back surveillance, it will likely only grow if Congress authorizes more options for the use of military force.

10/1/17  //  Daily Update

The U.S. Sentencing Commission released a report on alternatives to incarceration in the federal criminal justice system.

10/21/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump's decision to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear deal has been widely condemned by Iranians and in Europe. Relations with North Korea continue to be tense. The Trump Administration is enabling Chinese efforts to undermine UN human rights work.

10/31/17  //  Daily Update

The DOJ will end the standard gag orders that prohibit technology companies from telling customers when the government has requested their data.

5/14/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump has pushed back against the ban on state medical marijuana interference. However, he might retreat from the federal drug war through major budget cuts to key offices.

6/4/17  //  Daily Update

The proposed budget for the Department of Justice signals the administration’s intent to forego enforcement of civil rights laws. Meanwhile, proposed congressional legislation to provide greater protections for police officers may further criminalize communities of color, advocates worry.

11/19/17  //  Daily Update

The House passes its version of a tax bill that would dramatically alter the tax code as President Trump faces trouble over the diversity of his federal judicial nominees and the fitness of his appointees to office, some of whom have alleged conflicts of interest.

8/24/17  //  Daily Update

While the Trump administration has revived policies associated with the "War on Drugs," it has not yet taken meaningful steps to respond to the opioid crisis.

7/16/17  //  Daily Update

A DOJ report criticized the use of solitary confinement for mentally ill inmates. Attorney General Jess Sessions spoke again about his drug enforcement policies.

4/9/17  //  Daily Update

Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s memorandum outlining task forces on various policies, including federal marijuana policy, has some state governors poised to fight back: governors of four Western states warned Attorney General Sessions and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin against interfering with state laws legalizing marijuana use

10/21/17  //  Daily Update

Prison guards at Guantanamo Bay seized court-approved, non-networked computers and hard drives issued to the accused 9/11 attack plotters to prepare for their death-penalty trials; coverage of military proceedings at Guantanamo has increased following the denial of cert in the case of Abd Al-Rahim Al-Nashiri. Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) threatened to subpoena Trump administration officials for information on the attack in Niger that killed four U.S. service members.

5/14/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump signed an executive order on cybersecurity. The Department of Homeland Security will ban laptops and other large electronic devices in the cabin on flights from Europe.

6/25/17  //  Daily Update

The President's understaffed national security team aims to change import policies in the name of safety. Local law enforcement communities should instead be a focus in the fight against ISIS.

1/21/18  //  Daily Update

The week began with Martin Luther King Jr. Day and ended with a government shutdown on the anniversary of President Trump's inauguration.

10/8/17  //  Daily Update

Secretary of State Tillerson denied reports of a conflict with the White House. The future of the Iran nuclear deal remains unclear.

8/20/17  //  Daily Update

While DOJ continues to wage a war on marijuana by blocking DEA research, Congress may curb federal enforcement in states that have legalized marijuana.

7/23/17  //  Daily Update

AG Sessions announced plans to expand civil asset forfeiture and encourage prosecutors to seek harsher criminal penalties. Sessions was heavily criticized both by Democrats and President Trump this week.

10/8/17  //  Daily Update

Commentary continued on the Trump administration's alterations to the U.S. drone-strike policy.

10/8/17  //  Daily Update

Attorney General Jeff Sessions released more details on his plan to reduce violent crime.

4/16/17  //  Daily Update

This week, legal analysis focused on military action in Syria and the effect that action had on the international stage.

10/21/17  //  Daily Update

Attorney General Sessions testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Former Attorney General Eric Holder criticized the Trump Administration’s criminal justice policies as “not smart on crime"; law enforcement leaders are pressuring the Trump Administration to join the “bipartisan movement for criminal justice reform."

3/26/17  //  Daily Update

This past week, America and Britain barred personal electronic devices on flights from several Muslim-majority countries. Ivanka Trump's proposed role within the White House may also pose a national security threat.

9/3/17  //  Daily Update

Trump's pardon of former sheriff Joe Arpaio sets off a firestorm; another battle over Trump's immigration ban is heard by the Ninth Circuit; and investigators and journalists turn up more evidence of Trump's business dealings with Russia.

6/18/17  //  Daily Update

Attorney General Jeff Sessions asks Congress to repeal a 2014 law prohibiting the DOJ from prosecuting medical marijuana use in states that have legalized it.

10/31/17  //  Daily Update

Reports continued to trickle out regarding the ambush of a Special Forces team in Niger. The ambush prompted commentary on the President's legal authority for military operations overseas.

4/2/17  //  Daily Update

Zachary Price argued at Take Care this week that individuals who relied on Obama-era immigration and marijuana non-enforcement policies should be protected against sudden enforcement by the Trump Administration.

12/4/17  //  Daily Update

The Attorney General announced stepped-efforts to address the opioid crisis.

4/16/17  //  Daily Update

This week, Attorney General Jeff Sessions ushered in the "Trump Era," heralding increased enforcement of immigration offenses. The Department of Homeland Security has resurrected programs deputizing state and local police to enforce immigration laws. And Nikolas Bowie, writing for Take Care, argues that the internal review of Civil Rights Division consent decrees threatens its value as an unbiased source.

6/25/17  //  Daily Update

The President plans to impose new sanctions on Iran. In light of major budget cuts, Secretary of State Tillerson will shutter many important offices within the State Department.

6/18/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump seeks to revert to stricter trade policies with Cuba, and the Senate allows the Administration to transfer weapons to Saudi Arabia.

6/18/17  //  Daily Update

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson defends proposed cuts to his department, arguing it should focus on a narrower conception of security.

6/4/17  //  Daily Update

The administration continued its hunt for a new FBI director, as it struggles to fill key posts across the executive branch. A certiorari petition at the Supreme Court asked it to resolve a long-running dispute over the jurisdictional scope of the Guantanamo military commissions. Meanwhile, the administration decided against a proposed ban on laptops on flights to the United States from Europe.

8/24/17  //  Daily Update

The Trump administration announced plans for the expansion of the US military presence in Afghanistan, and concerns about rising tensions between the US and North Korea continued.

2/25/18  //  Daily Update

Special Counsel Robert Mueller filed a new charge against Paul Manafort while Richard Gates pled guilty. Meanwhile, President Trump's proposal to arm teachers drew controversy in Washington.

7/23/17  //  Daily Update

Signs indicate a federal crackdown on marijuana is impending.

5/7/17  //  Daily Update

Human Rights advocates are concerned about the President's plans to cut international aid funding and growing relationships with despotic regimes.

7/16/17  //  Daily Update

The Trump Administration moved to restrict agencies from using products from a Russian cybersecurity firm due to hacking concerns. Commentary continued on President Trump's nominee for FBI Director, Christopher Wray.

8/13/17  //  Daily Update

Drug courts are not the perfect solution some make them out to be.

11/12/17  //  Daily Update

As the GOP attempts tax reform, the Mueller investigation keeps heating up, as does Trump's rhetoric on North Korea.

4/9/17  //  Daily Update

This week, President Trump ordered a military strike on a Syrian air base in response to a deadly chemical weapon attack attributed to Bashar al-Assad's government. President Trump also shook up the National Security Council, including removing Chief Strategist Stephen Bannon from the NSC principals committee.

4/2/17  //  Daily Update

Democrats in Congress have been stepping up claims that Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election constituted an act of war. Further, President Trump has proposed cuts to the State Department while stepping up airstrikes abroad.

5/14/17  //  Daily Update

Commentators warn about the effects of President Trump's withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

6/25/17  //  Daily Update

The DOJ ramps up the War on Drugs but has no plans to conduct federal investigations of officer-involved shootings.

4/30/17  //  Daily Update

Ashley Gorski, at the ACLU, analyzes Section 702's broad grant of power to the executive branch to examine Americans' emails.

11/26/17  //  Daily Update

State Department officials accused Secretary of State Tillerson of several rules violations regarding child soldiers. Multiple sources are contemplating ways to constrain the President's ability to use nuclear weapons.

9/24/17  //  Daily Update

Tension increased between the U.S. and North Korea this week as President Trump vowed to destroy North Korea if needed in an address to the U.N. and announced a new executive order increasing sanctions against North Korea. President Trump will likely decertify Iran's compliance with the nuclear deal, which is causing concern among commentators.

1/14/18  //  Daily Update

Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinds an Obama-era policy that had allowed legalized marijuana to flourish in many states, leaving it up to federal prosecutors to decide whether to crack down on marijuana in states where medical and recreational use is legal.

11/5/17  //  Daily Update

The Trump administration considered sending the suspect in a New York City terrorist attack to Guantanamo Bay. The Senate and administration officials discussed a new Authorization for Use of Military Force.

8/6/17  //  Daily Update

The White House issued a letter defending the legal basis for the airstrikes in Syria.

3/16/17  //  Daily Update

Trump has promised a foreign policy of America First. His conduct thus far suggests that he will follow through on that promise, but in ways that risk violating domestic and international law. Here are some useful analyses of the story thus far.

8/6/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump appeared to endorse police brutality in a speech to community college students and law enforcement officers.

3/16/17  //  Daily Update

From Guantanamo Bay to wiretapping to foreign intrigue, these have been a busy two months for the Trump Administration. Here are some useful analyses of the story thus far.

6/4/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump will not move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. A new tool allows you to see how the new administration is utilizing sanctions against foreign entities, and how its approach differs from past administrations. And the Iranian election victory of Hassan Rouhani presents challenges and opportunities for the U.S. administration.

8/20/17  //  Daily Update

The State Department continues to restructure cybersecurity policy. Post-Charlottesville, the Trump Administration must also take domestic terrorism seriously.

6/11/17  //  Daily Update

Questions asked about the Justice Department's mandatory minimums policy and the continued United States Attorney vacancies.

8/13/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump threatened "fire and fury" against North Korea in response to reports that the country has produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead. Transgender service members are challenging the administration's transgender service ban.

4/23/17  //  Daily Update

The Administration navigated foreign policy issues throughout the world, particularly with North Korea, Afghanistan, Syria, and Iran. In North Korea, the Administration spent the week explaining its falsehood that it had sent an aircraft carrier into the Sea of Japan.

9/24/17  //  Daily Update

The White House is preparing to loosen regulations on targets of drone strikes and commando raids outside of conventional battlefields. Robert Chesney outlines the detention and prosecution options available for enemy combatants who are U.S. citizens. A DOJ proposal would allow foreign governments to request data directly from U.S. communications providers.

11/26/17  //  Daily Update

The U.S. returned North Korea to the somewhat problematic list of state sponsors of terrorism. Recent military actions show signs of expanding air war in Afghanistan, and a shift away from foreign aid to military action.

5/14/17  //  Daily Update

A new suit seeks documents detailing the Trump Administration’s justifications for military action in Syria. The ACLU filed a Freedom of Information Act suit seeking documents related to President Trump’s unsuccessful Yemen raid.