Law Commons^™

Redistricting And Discriminatory Purpose , Michael J. Pitts

American University Law Review

State and local governments covered by the preclearance provision in Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act will soon be submitting their redistricting plans to the federal government (most often the United States Attorney General) for approval. The Attorney General can deny preclearance to a redistricting plan by finding that the plan violates Section 5’s discriminatory purpose standard. Currently, no detailed framework has been developed for determining when a redistricting plan fails to satisfy the discriminatory purpose standard. This Article fills that void by proposing such a framework - one built from judicial opinions, statutory language, legislative history, executive branch …

Torture, Impunity, And The Need For Independent Prosecutorial Oversight Of The Executive Branch, Fran Quigley

Fran Quigley

When executive branch misconduct is alleged, an inherent conflict of interest is presented by investing prosecutorial discretion in a U.S. Attorney General appointed by, and serving at the pleasure of, the President.

Various commentators, including Justice Antonin Scalia, Professor Stephen Carter, and the many critics of the former independent counsel statute, have posited that this conflict will be overcome by checks on executive power provided by the legislative branch, the judiciary, and political pressure.

That sanguine view of adequate executive branch oversight was put to the test when acts of torture were authorized by high-level members of the George W. …