Law Commons^™

Security And Freedom: Are The Government's Efforts To Deal With Terrorism Volatile Of Our Freedoms?, Michael P. Scharf

Faculty Publications

Introducation to the Proceedings of the Canada-United States Law Institute Conference on Canada-U.S. Security and the Economy in the North American Context, Cleveland, Ohio, 2003.

Stacking The Deck Against Suspected Terrorists: The Dwindling Procedural Limits On The Government's Power To Indefinitely Detain United States Citizens As Enemy Combatants, Nickolas A. Kacprowski

Seattle University Law Review

This Note examines Padilla v. Bush as an example of the contemporary application of enemy combatant law. This Note argues that in present and future applications of enemy combatant law, courts should treat Padilla as the preferred model of application because Padilla preserves more Constitutional protections, specifically the right to counsel in bringing a habeas petition, than do Hamdi or Quirin. The Padilla decision is preferable to Hamdi because Padilla restricts the movement of enemy combatant law away from the ex- press criminal protections of the Constitution. In contrast, Hamdi greatly accelerates such movement.

Their Liberties, Our Security: Democracy And Double Standards, David Cole

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Some maintain that a "double standard" for citizens and noncitizens is perfectly justified. The attacks of September 11 were perpetrated by nineteen Arab noncitizens, and we have reason to believe that other Arab noncitizens are associated with the attackers and will seek to attack again. Citizens, it is said, are presumptively loyal; noncitizens are not. Thus, it is not irrational to focus on Arab noncitizens. Moreover, on a normative level, if citizens and noncitizens were treated identically, citizenship itself might be rendered meaningless. The very essence of war involves the drawing of lines in the sand between citizens of our …

The National Security Presidency In Constitutional Context: Reflections On Terrorism And The Presidency From The Last Ten Years, James E. Baker

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In this time of terrorist threat, there is no more important institution to study than the national security presidency. That is because the president is singularly situated to command the instruments to counter terrorism. He is also singularly situated to ensure that such instruments are used effectively, lawfully, and in a manner consistent with constitutional values. I believe I have a duty, based on where I have been, to help others observe and understand the institution of the presidency. I do so because I want the national security presidency to succeed in providing for our physical security and in upholding …

Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Terrorists: An In-Depth Analysis Of The Government's Right To Classify United States Citizens Suspected Of Terrorism As Enemy Combatants And Try Those Enemy Combatants By Military Comission, Amanda Schaffer

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Comment explores the government's right to treat citizens as enemy combatants and whether their trials should be by military commissions or by the non-military criminal justice system. It gives background information and explains the source of the government's right to determine enemy combatant status and to use military commissions. This Comment also describes the distinctions between a military trial and a regular criminal trial and explains the status of two cases regarding American citizens declared to be enemy combatants. The Comment goes on to explain why the government wants to use military commissions to try terrorists and the advantages …

Forfeiting "Enduring Freedom" For "Homeland Security": A Constitutional Analysis Of The Usa Patriot Act And The Justice Department's Anti-Terrorism Initiatives , John W. Whitehead, Steven H. Aden

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Crisis And Constitutionalism, Michael J. Gerhardt

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Constitutional Duty Of A National Security Lawyer In A Time Of Terror, James E. Baker

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

National security lawyers are probably not in the forefront of the public’s mind when one refers to government lawyers, but they serve a vital mission within the public sector. This article explores the duties and responsibilities inherent in that mission, and discusses the continuing role of the national security lawyer after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001.

Terrorism And The Bill Of Rights, Rodney A. Smolla

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This year is the Tenth Anniversary of the William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal, and the Journal is very fortunate and honored to have Professor Rodney Smolla publish an article in this year's volume. Professor Smolla played an integral role in the founding and organizing of not only the Journal, but also the Institute of Bill of Rights Law at William & Mary Law School. The Journal extends its most appreciative thanks to Professor Smolla for all his help.

In this Article, Professor Smolla examines the right to free speech in the context of Black v. Commonwealth, a case …

Civil Liberties And The Grave Danger Of Terrorism: Speech Before The Cuyahoga County Bar Ass'n Bd Of Trustee, Arthur R. Landever

Law Faculty Presentations and Testimony

Supporters and Opponents endorse Lincoln's caution that the "dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. We must think anew." All sides also agree that "eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." But what do such words mean in the world following 9/11? Supporters and Opponents of the National Government's anti-terrorism policies have starkly different perceptions. This is so as to a) the crisis we face, b) the need for particular policies, and c) the impact on civil liberties and upon our Constitutional system. Clearly, lawyers have a special duty to understand those differing perceptions in order …

Sexualized Racism/Gendered Violence: Outraging The Body Politic In The Reconstruction South, Lisa Cardyn

Michigan Law Review

From its establishment in the months following the Civil War by a motley assortment of disgruntled former rebels, the first Ku Klux Klan, like its many vigilante counterparts, employed terror to realize its invidious social and political aspirations. This terror assumed disparate shapes - from the storied nightriding of disguised bands on horseback, to cryptic threats, horrific assaults, and, not infrequently, murder. While students of Reconstruction have considered many facets of klan violence, none to date has focused exclusively on sexual violence in its historical specificity. Yet, as the work of Catherine Clinton, Laura Edwards, and Martha Hodes persuasively demonstrates, …

A Qualified Defense Of Military Commissions And United States Policy On Detainees At Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Kenneth Anderson

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

This article, published in a special post 9-11 issue of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, offers a defense of the view that terrorists such as Osama Bin Laden should be tried, if captured, outside of regular US civilian courts and in some form of military commission. The article argues that terrorists should be seen as criminals as well as enemies of the United States. Criminals who are simply deviants from the domestic social order are properly dealt with within the constitutionally constituted civilian court structure. Enemies who are not also criminals - legal combatants - are properly …

What To Do With Bin Laden And Al Qaeda Terrorists?: A Qualified Defense Of Military Commissions And United States Policy On Detainees At Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Kenneth Anderson

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

This article, published in a special post 9-11 issue of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, offers a defense of the view that terrorists such as Osama Bin Laden should be tried, if captured, outside of regular US civilian courts and in some form of military commission.

The article argues that terrorists should be seen as criminals as well as enemies of the United States. Criminals who are simply deviants from the domestic social order are properly dealt with within the constitutionally constituted civilian court structure. Enemies who are not also criminals - legal combatants - are properly …

America’S Death Penalty: Just Another Form Of Violence, John Bessler

All Faculty Scholarship

The author in this piece reflects on the death penalty in the U.S. in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The writer goes on to argue that capital punishment is, in and of itself, a form of violence. Also discussed in the article are the gradual removal of executions from public view, issues of deterrence and violent crime, and the author's preference for life-without-possibility-of-parole sentences.

Ordered Liberty And The Homeland Security Mission, James E. Baker

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This paper will start with a brief discussion of the terrorism threat because the threat remains predicate for any serious discussion of where we draw our legal lines. I will then suggest a legal model for looking at questions of homeland security called ordered liberty. The model is simple. First, given the nature of the threat, the executive must have broad and flexible authority to detect and respond to terrorism-–to provide for our physical security. Second, the sine qua non for such authority is meaningful oversight. Oversight means the considered application of constitutional structure, executive process, legal substance, and relevant …

When Lawyers Advise Presidents In Wartime: Kosovo And The Law Of Armed Conflict, James E. Baker

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The events of September 11 changed how we perceive national security as a society, a government, and as individuals. This is as true of national security specialists, who have been aware that America has been at war with terrorism sine at least the 1990s, as it is for those whose sense of geographic security was shattered in New York and Washington. There is talk of “new war” and “new rules,” and concern that we not apply twentieth-century lessons to a twenty-first-century war.

Over time, September 11 and its aftermath will test our interpretation and application of domestic law. It may …

Youngstown Revisited, A. Christopher Bryant, Carl Tobias

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

In 1952, President Harry S. Truman promulgated an Executive Order that authorized federal government seizure of the nation's steel mills to support United States participation in the Korean conflict, but the Supreme Court held that Truman lacked any power to seize the property in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer. In 2001, President George W. Bush promulgated an Executive Order that authorized trial by military commissions of non-U.S. citizens whom the American government suspects of terrorism in domestic cases and concomitantly denied these persons access to the federal courts. This article undertakes an analysis of the Bush Executive …

Miranda's Final Frontier - The International Arena: A Critical Analysis Of U.S. V. Bin Laden, And A Proposal For A New Miranda Exception Abroad, Mark A. Godsey

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

In recent years, the FBI and other federal law agencies have greatly expanded their presence abroad, investigating everything from narcotics trade and internet fraud schemes to terrorism. This trend will undoubtedly continue in the aftermath of September 11th. A constitutional question that will be of increasing importance in this context is whether, or to what extent, U.S. law enforcement officials (hereinafter "FBI") must provide Miranda warnings to non-U.S. citizens interrogated abroad who will later be tried in the United States.

The article first addresses whether future modifications to the Miranda doctrine are permissible after Dickerson. The article concludes that despite …

September 11, 2001: The Constitution During Crisis: A New Perspective, Lori Sachs

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Comment examines how the United States should react to the threat of domestic terrorism while maintaining citizens' civil liberties in the wake of the events on September 11, 2001. The Comment first compares and contrasts three classic theories of democracy: constitutional democracy, representative democracy and deliberative democracy. It next describes how representative and constitutional democracy were applied during the Japanese internment during World War II. Part III compares the Japanese internment to the challenges after the September 11 attacks and analyzes the roles different branches should have in protecting civil liberties. Finally, the Comment recommends applying a theory of …

Protecting Constitutional Freedoms In The Face Of Terrorism: Hearing Before The S. Comm. On The Judiciary, 107th Cong., Oct. 3, 2001 (Statement Of David D. Cole, Prof. Of Law, Geo. U. L. Center), David Cole

Testimony Before Congress

No abstract provided.

Antiterrorism Military Commissions: Courting Illegality, Jordan J. Paust

Michigan Journal of International Law

On November 13, 2001, President Bush issued a sweeping and highly controversial Military Order for the purpose of creating military commissions with exclusive jurisdiction to try certain designated foreign nationals "for violations of the laws of war and other applicable laws" relevant to any prior or future "acts of international terrorism." The Order reaches far beyond the congressional authorization given the President "to use all necessary and appropriate force," including "use of the United States Armed Forces," against those involved in the September 11th attack "in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by …

The Legitimacy Of The Modern Militia, Jonathan Huber

Honors Theses

On May 16, 2001, barring any last minute court appeals, Timothy c Veigh will be executed for his role in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. He along with thousands of other Americans who have joined private armies, known as militia, to fight the American government share a common belief that the American government is corrupt at its core and actions such as this one are at the very least patriotic. To most Americans, however, acts such as the bombing of the Oklahoma City Federal Building are not only terroristic, but demonstrate the need …

Preventing A Reign Of Terror: Civil Liberties Implications Of Terrorism Legislation, David B. Kopel, Joseph Olson

David B Kopel

Domestic terrorism is not a reason to abrogate constitutional rights, argues this 101-page paper, which discusses the 1996 omnibus federal terrorism bill, and other terror proposals. Topics include: scope of the terrorism problem; Britain's mistaken response to terror; use of the military in law enforcement; the Internet; militias; wiretapping; the FBI; and federalizing local crime.

Terrorism, Law, And Our Constitutional Order, Christopher L. Blakesley

Scholarly Works

We have all suffered moments of vicarious terror over the past few years as we watched news accounts of terrorist incidents, such as the downing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. There, some institution, government, or group used innocent children, women, and men as fodder for their “war.” Some have claimed that the pusillanimous carnage was in retaliation for the slaughter of equivalent innocents aboard the Iranian Air Bus, similarly destroyed by American forces during the summer of 1988. Others suggested that it was committed by those interested in thwarting prospects of peace in the Middle East.

Combatting …

The Anti-Terrorism Act Of 1987 And American Freedoms: A Critical Review, Lance A. Harke

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.

Terrorism And The Constitution, Christopher L. Blakesley

Scholarly Works

How do terrorism and the Iran-Contra hearings relate to the Constitution? My thesis is that there is a tendency for the executive of this or any nation to eschew even constitutionally mandated avenues of problem solving considered to be cumbersome, inefficient, or inimical to the executive’s vision of the national interest in foreign affairs. There is also a tendency to consider one’s own conduct and the conduct of one’s allies and friends to be justified when it is directed at goals deemed by the executive branch to be good. Constitutional provisions based on the checks and balances and separation of …

Drugs And Small Arms: Can Law Stop The Traffic?, Christopher L. Blakesley

Scholarly Works

Professor Blakesley presides over this panel discussion on laws combating the illegal importation of drugs and small arms, and their implications for international and domestic law.

Constitutional Law-Saboteurs And The Jurisdiction Of Military Commissions, George T. Schilling

Michigan Law Review

The jurisdiction of military tribunals in the United States has troubled political and legal writers since the days of the Revolution. Decided cases are not numerous. The boundaries separating military and civil jurisdiction are not precise. Observations of the plight of oppressed peoples in other lands as well as the conception of total war and the course of action necessary for survival warrant a reexamination and reappraisal of our constitutional guarantees, which were in part based upon and reflect a fear of tyrannical military rule. A pronouncement of the Supreme Court of the United States in this field is, therefore, …