Recent | Take Care

Why Not All Crimes by Immigrants Should Lead to Deportation

6/23/17 // Commentary

Thoughts on criminality, immigration, and justice from Professor Chelsey Kivland of Dartmouth College.

Take Care

UPDATE: The President’s Twitter Account & the First Amendment

6/22/17 // Commentary

Recent developments bolster claims that President Trump has violated the First Amendment by blocking people on Twitter.

Amanda Shanor

The Wharton School

Closing the Courthouse Doors: Justice Kennedy’s Very Bad Day

6/22/17 // Commentary

David Gans discusses Ziglar v. Abassi, a new SCOTUS ruling that makes it very hard for individuals to sue federal officials for trampling on federal constitutional rights

Take Care

Presents, Emoluments, and Corruption

6/21/17 // Commentary

Simon Stern explains why DOJ's interpretation of "emolument" doesn't make sense as a matter of text or purpose.

Take Care

Asymmetric Geographical State Standing

6/20/17 // Commentary

The recent DC/Maryland emoluments case reflects a truth known to the Framers: jurisdictions geographically closer to the national capital would have a different relationship with federal power.

David Fontana

George Washington University Law School

The President’s Clarifying Memorandum And The Amicus Brief About Animus

6/20/17 // Commentary

The President’s clarifying memorandum undercuts the legitimate rationale the executive order and DOJ had offered for the entry ban. An amicus brief filed in the Supreme Court explains why that matters.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

SCOTUS Severely Narrows Civil Rights Suits Against Federal Officers

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.

Michael C. Dorf

Cornell Law School

Congressional Standing Is Not an All-or-Nothing Proposition

6/19/17 // Commentary

It is perfectly consistent to think the House lacks standing in House v. Price, but that members of Congress have standing to sue for Foreign Emoluments Clause violations.

Brianne J. Gorod

Constitutional Accountability Center

Some Thoughts on the Government’s Latest Filing in the Entry Ban Cases

6/19/17 // Commentary

Here I offer three quick reactions to the government’s latest filing in the Ninth Circuit case—the first two on questions concerning what the Court should do now with the government’s applications, and the third with respect to the merits of the statutory ultra vires argument on which the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit relied.

Marty Lederman

Georgetown Law

The Fire Alarm Function of Office-Holding

6/19/17 // Commentary

Trumps can fire Mueller only by issuing a directive to Acting AG Rod Rosenstein. Here's why -- and why it really matters.

Zachary Price

U.C. Hastings College of the Law

Jeff Sessions’s Deceitful Arguments for Stiffer Drug Sentences

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.

David Sklansky

Stanford Law School

Against Type Briefs

6/16/17 // Commentary

Filing an amicus brief joined by Republicans critical of the Trump Administration and with some claim of expert knowledge made by these Republicans related to the constitutional issues can be a powerful tactic to use in courts.

David Fontana

George Washington University Law School

Trump Is Ushering In A Kleptocracy. That's Why He Is Being Sued

6/14/17 // Commentary

If recent events are any sign, the public will not stand idly by as Trump turns our nation into a banana republic.

Joshua Matz

Trump Emoluments Argument Mirrors His “Just a Hope” Comey Defense

6/14/17 // Commentary

The last week saw important developments with respect to Donald Trump's ongoing confrontation with the Constitution's Foreign Emoluments Clause.

Michael C. Dorf

Cornell Law School

Because President Trump Has Chosen Not To Go to Congress, Members of Congress Must Go to the Courts

6/14/17 // Commentary

Today, Senator Richard Blumenthal, Representative John Conyers, and 194 other members of Congress have gone to federal court seeking to put an end to the President’s willful violations of the Constitution.

Brianne J. Gorod

Constitutional Accountability Center