Santa Clara v. Trump and the Perils of the Gestural Presidency

4/26/17  //  Quick Reactions

If we had a president less concerned with posing as a man of action and more as the fiduciary taking care that the laws be faithfully executed, he would probably do better in court. I don't foresee him changing course.

Peter M. Shane

Ohio State, Moritz College of Law

The Rule of Law Means Little If The President’s Word Means Nothing

4/26/17  //  Quick Reactions

In a new op-ed, I emphasize the importance of taking President Trump at his word–even as efforts to save his executive orders from his tweets inevitably push Trump's defenders to come up with new and creative reasons for ignoring Trump's public statements.

With Sanctuary Cities, the Apprentice is Now the Biggest Loser

4/26/17  //  Quick Reactions

If Trump keeps tweeting his lawyers will have their work cut out for them

Nikolas Bowie

Harvard Law School

Standing Up For Standing in CREW v. Trump

4/26/17  //  Quick Reactions

Everyone should give a tip of the hat to the new plaintiffs in the CREW v. Trump lawsuit.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Facts Matter—Even if the Sessions Department of Justice Doesn’t Realize It

4/26/17  //  Commentary

Just 100 days into the Trump Administration—the Administration that gave rise to the concept of #AlternativeFacts—there is reason to worry that facts don’t matter to the Justice Department now led by Trump’s Attorney General, Jeff Sessions.

Brianne J. Gorod

Constitutional Accountability Center

AG Sessions Just Might Give Up On Consent Decrees

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.

Jason Harrow

Gerstein Harrow LLP

Sanctionable

4/25/17  //  Quick Reactions

In a civil suit against Trump for inciting violence at a campaign rally, Trump's lawyer argues that Trump is immune from suit as President of the United States (citing Clinton v. Jones). His argument is not simply wrong. It is sanctionable.

Neil J. Kinkopf

George State University College of Law

Hate Speech Is Free Speech, But Maybe It Shouldn't Be

4/25/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Given enough time, a movement to treat hate speech as beyond the pale, perhaps as part of a backlash against Trumpism, could result in political changes and transformative judicial appointments that redefine the protections of the First Amendment.

Michael C. Dorf

Cornell Law School

Calculating Costs and Defining Our Future

4/25/17  //  Commentary

The March for Science reminded us that cutting funding to science today harms generations to come. Yet there is also another, subtler way the Trump Administration threatens to impose future costs on young people: the way in which it calculates costs themselves in cost-benefit analyses essential to our administrative state.

Eli Savit

University of Michigan Law School

CREW’s New and Improved Legal Complaint Against Trump

4/24/17  //  Commentary

Matthew Stephenson (Harvard Law School) analyzes CREW's emoluments clause lawsuit against President Trump, discussing the recent addition of two plaintiffs and the likely course ahead.

Take Care

Trump Is Weakening His Only Defense of the Sanctuary Cities Order . . . by Enforcing It

4/24/17  //  Commentary

DOJ argues that Trump's orders threatening sanctuary cities can't be challenged because they remain speculative. But a recent volley of menacing letters from DOJ to sanctuary cities and counties, and to the State of California, has blasted a hole in DOJ's own defense.

Nikolas Bowie

Harvard Law School

A Rough Guide to Amicus Briefs In the Travel Ban Cases

4/24/17  //  Latest Developments

Take Care offers a quick, rough breakdown of the amicus briefs filed last week concerning President Trump's revised executive order.

Take Care

The Muslim Ban: Answering Tough Questions About Motive

4/21/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

The opinion by then-Justice Rehnquist in Hunter v. Underwood (1985), a case about denying the right to vote for racist reasons, offers thoughtful answers to many of the hardest questions that you might ask about motive and the Muslim Ban.

Richard Primus

University of Michigan Law School

The Attorney General, Hawaii Statehood, and National Injunctions

4/21/17  //  Quick Reactions

The AG's comments denigrating Hawaii statehood are objectionable for many reasons. But don't overlook his underlying complaint about national injunctions—which conservatives spent years developing and have suddenly, painfully discovered can be used against them.

Echoes of History in Objections to Federal Enforcement of Voting Rights

4/21/17  //  Commentary

A letter about how to fix DOJ’s Civil Rights Division has some interesting parallels to a recent voting rights dissent.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School