Verdict

John W. Dean, former counsel to President Richard Nixon, comments on attempts by President Trump’s lawyers to defer civil lawsuits against him until after his presidency ends. Dean compares the lawsuit to similar ones filed against former Presidents Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon.

Marci A. Hamilton, a Fox Distinguished Scholar in the Fox Leadership Program at the University of Pennsylvania, and the CEO and Academic Director of CHILD USA, comments on the current progress of state statutes of limitations (SOL) for child sex abuse. Hamilton is optimistic that eventually the SOL for child sex abuse will be eliminated in every state, but she points out that the pace can be frustratingly slow.

In anticipation of President Trump and congressional Republicans trying to pass severely regressive tax cuts for the rich, George Washington law professor and economist Neil H. Buchanan preemptively critiques conservatives’ claims that supply-side economics works. Buchanan points out that the great weight of evidence demonstrates that it does not, and only blind belief could lead one to think otherwise.

Chapman University, Fowler School of Law, professor Ronald D. Rotunda critiques an English professor at Northern Arizona University for insisting that a student use the word “humankind” rather than “mankind.” Rotunda points out that the origin of the English word “man” encompasses both sexes and that for English professors (or any instructor) to force students to use certain words and shun others is an abuse of the power of words.

Illinois Law dean and professor Vikram David Amar comments on a motion by President Trump’s personal lawyers seeking temporary dismissal of a civil lawsuit against him for the duration of his time in office. Amar describes two key differences between this lawsuit and one filed against former president Bill Clinton while he was president.

Cornell University law professor Sherry F. Colb considers one recent instance in which the U.S. Supreme Court endorsed a standard because it was factually more accurate than a prior standard, and several other instances in which the Court has done the opposite. Colb points out that, unfortunately, the law often seeks facts that facilitate a desired outcome rather than facts a more just or correct outcome.

Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf explains the significance of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision regarding New York credit card surcharge laws as free speech. Dorf argues that the decision reflects an alarming trend of the Roberts Court to agree to recognize challenges to economic regulations on free speech grounds.

Guest columnist and former U.S. Congressman Brad Miller argues that the Trump administration’s plans to expand charter schools and provide vouchers for religious and other private schools may violate the Contract Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Miller points out that by paying for charters out of traditional public schools’ funds, states have de-prioritized their obligations to the purchasers of public school bonds in violation of the Contract Clause.

John W. Dean, former counsel to President Richard Nixon, argues that President Trump’s norm-breaking presidency goes beyond unorthodox to being outright un-American. Dean points out a few of the differences between the start of Trump’s presidency and that of previous presidents and concludes it is considerably far behind all others who preceded him.

Marci A. Hamilton, a Fox Distinguished Scholar in the Fox Leadership Program at the University of Pennsylvania, describes the numerous child-endangering bills that are being proposed in various states across the nation. Hamilton argues that we as a society need to create a culture that works for the best interest of all children.

Cornell University law professor Sherry F. Colb comments on a recent decision in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that a juror’s use of racial stereotypes to vote for conviction may be used to invalidate the verdict, despite evidentiary rules that otherwise prohibit the use of juror testimony to challenge a verdict. Colb argues that the Supreme Court should have either extended the Sixth Amendment exception to cover other types of juror misconduct, or repealed the rule that prohibits the use of post-verdict juror testimony to impeach a verdict.

Chapman University Fowler School of Law professor Ronald D. Rotunda calls for the executive branch to shine a light into some areas of government that have been obscured in the past eight years, including the conduct of former IRS officer Lois Lerner, Operation Fast and Furious, and investigations by the offices of the inspectors general. Rotunda argues that the release of documents related to these and other issues will help us know if we should be worried about our government.

Illinois Law dean and professor Vikram David Amar and UC Davis Law emeritus professor Alan E. Brownstein explain the complexities behind analyzing the motive underlying legislation and executive orders. Specifically, Amar and Brownstein highlight the difficulty in courts’ using perceived motive to strike down President Trump’s executive order regarding entry to the United States.

George Washington law professor and economist Neil H. Buchanan explains in plain English what Mick Mulvaney meant when he attempted to justify President Trump’s budget proposal that would cut programs that help America’s most vulnerable, such as Meals on Wheels and subsidized school lunches for poor children. As Buchanan explains, Mulvaney’s explanation is based on a false notion that better-off people gain as much utility from each dollar as worse-off people receive from the same amount.

University of Washington law professor Anita Ramasastry discusses “Greyball,” a private tool Uber reportedly used to identify government inspectors and prevent them from hailing a ride. Ramasastry explains the dangers inherent in allowing minimally regulated private companies such as Uber to have such great power over integral services like transportation, and she calls for greater scrutiny into businesses with such significant market power.

Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf explains the value of the confirmation hearing of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, despite the tradition in such hearings of the nominee evading answering questions about the most divisive legal issues of the day. Dorf argues that the Gorsuch hearing provides a unique opportunity for bipartisan repudiation of President Trump’s irresponsible attacks on the judiciary.

Marci Hamilton, a Fox Distinguished Scholar in the Fox Leadership Program at the University of Pennsylvania and the CEO of CHILD USA, calls attention to the patterns of child sex abuse that indicate it is a symptom of a larger society-wide problem. To address this problem at its root, Hamilton proposes a law that would mandate certain principles and practices for every organization involved in any way with children.

Charles E. Binkley, MD, FACS, co-chair of the Ethics Committee at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in San Francisco, and attorney David Kemp conduct an ethical analysis of the American Health Care Act (AHCA), the proposed replacement for the Affordable Care Act, using the principles of impartiality and justice. Within this framework, Binkley and Kemp identify three values around which health care coverage should be prioritized, and they conclude that the AHCA fails to meet the ethical standards for government-supported health care.

Cornell University law professor Joseph Margulies describes how implementation of “criminology of place” can improve communities without expanding the carceral state. Margulies draws upon a specific example out of Cincinnati illustrating the power of actions based on criminology of place.

John W. Dean, former counsel to President Richard Nixon, explains why President Trump’s strategy of pitting his advisors against each other is likely to result in more chaos than good policy. Building upon the thesis of Chris Whipple’s upcoming book, The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency, Dean discusses the importance of the role of chief of staff and describes what happens when this position is empty or filled with someone not up to the job.