Disaster Law Commons^™

An Insurrection Act For The 21st Century, Thaddeus A. Hoffmeister

School of Law Faculty Publications

As the Hurricane Katrina relief effort illustrates, both Governor Blanco and President Bush, like previous elected officials before them, struggled to properly and promptly deploy federal troops during a domestic emergency. This shortcoming was due to problems associated with: (1) interpreting the Insurrection Act; (2) federalism; and (3) public opinion. This article, divided into four parts, attempts to resolve those problems, or at least decrease the likelihood of their recurrence, by offering suggestive changes to the Insurrection Act. Part II provides a general overview of the Insurrection Act. It begins with a brief discussion of two early episodes of civil …