Cornell University law professor Sherry Colb considers whether it is morally consistent for a person to be an ethical vegan and also to be pro-choice with respect to abortion.
Hofstra University law professor Joanna Grossman discusses New York’s enactment of the Women’s Equality Agenda, which nearly coincides with the 200th birthday of women’s rights champion Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Grossman describes the history behind the Women’s Equality Act as well as the provisions it codifies.
Chapman University law professor Ronald Rotunda argues for the use of cameras in the U.S. Supreme Court to improve transparency and access for greater numbers people.
Vikram David Amar, law professor and dean at Illinois Law, and Michael Schaps, a California civil litigation attorney, discuss Spokeo v. Robins, in which the U.S. Supreme Court will consider the nature of injury required for a plaintiff to avail herself of the federal court system. Specifically, Amar and Schaps describe the justices’ various perspectives on the issue and the possible origins and significance of these perspectives.
George Washington law professor and economist Neil H. Buchanan considers the importance of a president himself (or herself) actually having deep knowledge of issues. Buchanan draws upon the presidencies of Reagan, both Bushes, Clinton, Obama, and others, in concluding that the president’s advisors are crucial in determining the tone of a president’s impact.
Cornell University law professor Michael Dorf comments on the memoranda that supported the legality of the 2011 Navy SEAL raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan. Dorf argues that these “bin Laden” memos are, in at least one respect, as bad as the infamous “torture memos” that authorized the Bush Administration to use “enhanced interrogation” techniques on prisoners suspected of terrorism.
George Washington law professor and economist Neil Buchanan explains why budget deal that temporarily addresses the debt ceiling issue is really a time bomb that will go off on the next president, if he or she is a Democrat.
Cornell University law professor Joseph Margulies describes one of the bedrock principles of a legitimate criminal justice system: the obligation of government to be fair and even handed. Margulies describes several examples of how governments have fallen short in this respect and argues that without even-handed justice, there cannot be a truly legitimate criminal justice system.
Former counsel to the president John W. Dean strongly critiques the House Select Committee on Benghazi for conducting itself without decency or civility. Dean compares the committee’s hearings to the so-called Army-McCarthy hearing of June 9, 1954, in which Republican Senator Joe McCarthy charged that the Army had been infiltrated by communists.
Cardozo law professor Marci Hamilton celebrates the ten-year anniversary of the groundbreaking 2005 Grand Jury Report on Child Sex Abuse in the Philadelphia Archdiocese. She argues that while that document pales in comparison to the Australian Commission’s report on abuse in that country, it is still hugely significant and should serve as the benchmark for responsible prosecutorial initiative on clergy sex abuse in the United States.
Sherry Colb, a law professor at Cornell Law School, discusses the moral status of perpetrating violence to express opposition to abortion and to animal killing and cruelty. Colb argues there are nonviolent means of furthering pro-life and pro-animal rights movements, violence for these purposes is an unnecessary and thus immoral option.
Hofstra University law professors Joanna Grossman and Barbara Stark discuss a new law in New York that will reform alimony law and reverse a longstanding rule of marital property in that state. Grossman and Stark describe New York’s unusual family law history and explain how it arrived at this new law, which goes into effect in part this week.
Chapman University law professor Ronald Rotunda the lead-up and history of the U.S. Supreme Court’s infamous Dred Scott decision—in which the Court in 1857 held that African Americans could not be American citizens and therefore could not sue in federal court. Rotunda explains how the case progressed through the state and subsequently federal courts, and discusses how the decision affected some of the justices sitting on the Court at the time.
Vikram David Amar, dean and law professor at the University of Illinois College of Law, and Alan Brownstein, professor at UC Davis School of Law, examine a court challenge brought against a recently enacted California law regulating family planning clinics. Amar and Brownstein argue that the law should survive these constitutional challenges.
George Washington law professor and economist Neil H. Buchanan describes the easiest solution to the debt ceiling crisis: for House Republicans to repeal or increase the debt ceiling rather than using it for opportunistic purposes. Buchanan then goes on to explain what the president should do to avoid financial crisis even if House Republicans do not provide this solution.
Cornell University law professor Joseph Margulies continues his discussion of the role of dignity as a condition of a legitimate criminal justice system. Margulies argues that it is dignity that saves us from the conceit that we may decide who gets to be human, but he laments that many people are not yet ready to give up that conceit.
Cornell University law professor Michael Dorf discusses a baseball play during Game 2 of the National League Division Series to illustrate the legal concept of legal rules as written as distinguished from legal rules enforced.
Former counsel to the president John W. Dean gives a preview of Bob Woodward’s new book, The Last of the President’s Men, which recounts the experiences of Alex Butterfield in the Nixon White House. Dean explains the origin and significance of the title with respect to the subject matter and provides his insight into the book’s telling of Butterfield’s story.
Cardozo law professor Marci Hamilton praises the women who are stepping forward publicly to accuse Bill Cosby of rape and sexual assault. Hamilton points out that despite the presence of restrictive statutes of limitations in most states, many survivors are stepping forward to seek justice and raising awareness.
Cornell University law professor Sherry Colb considers why pro-life advocates often do not champion contraception. Colb looks at two philosophical approaches to morality—deontology and consequentialism—to better understand this observed phenomenon.
