In this two-part series of columns, Illinois Law professors Lesley M. Wexler and Anthony Ghiotto examine the growing and troubling practice of assigning military lawyers as prosecutors in federal courts and judges in immigration proceedings, viewing it within the broader pattern of militarization in civilian life under the Trump administration. Professors Wexler and Ghiotto argue that this practice erodes crucial norms of civilian control over the military, threatens the legitimacy of the civilian justice system, and places military attorneys in ethically precarious roles for which they are often untrained—all of which risk long-term damage to democratic institutions and civil-military boundaries.
In this two-part series of columns, Illinois Law professors Lesley M. Wexler and Anthony Ghiotto examine the Trump administration’s increasing domestic use of military personnel—particularly military attorneys (JAGs)—to enforce civilian law, highlighting legal concerns surrounding the Posse Comitatus Act. Professors Wexler and Ghiotto argue in Part I that while the use of JAGs as prosecutors and immigration judges may technically be lawful under limited congressional exceptions, it undermines civil-military boundaries and raises serious constitutional and due process concerns.
