Law Commons^™

A War Of Words (In The Hype Of The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, The Line Between Reality And Propaganda Can Easily Confuse Even The Most Objective Foreign Correspondent), Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

Most journalists look at their work and see professional pride, not personal prejudice. Even many of those who do the biased bidding of their employers could be characterized as decent, fair-minded, hard-working. In the Middle East today, however, where the conflict is still largely a war of words, reporters may often miss the forest for the trees. While such a result could be caused by the inherent limitations of their craft - constant deadlines, sometimes severe space restrictions, the pressure to produce dramatic stories - when their inherent political bias are combined with ignorance of broad historical perspectives, the result …

It's Time To Be Fair To Jonathan Pollard, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Ub Viewpoint – The Silence Of The Muslims, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

This article, written in the wake of the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, questions the failure of Muslims strongly to condemn acts of violence and murder committed by Islamic extremists, and argues that such silence encourages neutral parties to wonder if moderate Muslims may indeed sympathize with "the killers of 'infidels'" - which in turn can lead to fear, bias, and group defamation.

American Courts-Martial For Enemy War Crimes, Tara Lee

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

The War On Terrorism And The Constitution, Michael I. Meyerson

All Faculty Scholarship

Discussion of civil liberties during wartime often omit the fact that there can be no meaningful liberty at all if our homes and offices are bombed or our loved ones are killed or injured by acts of terror. The Government must be given the tools necessary to accomplish its vital mission. The first priority must be to win the war against terrorism. There are, however, other priorities. The United States, in its just battle for freedom, must ensure that freedom is preserved during that battle as well. Moreover, care must be taken so that an exaggerated cry of “emergency” is …

Losses Of Equal Value, Michael I. Meyerson

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Defining The Right Of Self-Defense: Working Toward The Use Of A Deadly Force Appendix To The Standing Rules Of Engagement For The Department Of Defense, Major David Bolgiano, Captain Mark Leach, Major Stephanie Smith, Lieutenant Colonel John Taylor

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

Israel's Voice Muffled Amid Hail Of Stones: Distortion: Confronted With A Campaign Of Violence And Propaganda, Israel Goes Unheard In The Court Of World Opinion, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

"I am in the U.S. until February. A few weeks ago, I went to our embassy in Washington and offered to speak on Israel's behalf, to present the true story of what's going on, to counter the very effective job being done by the Palestinians of making it appear as if they are Davids fighting Goliath, and we are not getting the truth out. But the people at the embassy just shrugged."

He knows that in 1948 some 630,000 Arab refugees were encouraged to leave Israel by their leaders, who promised to purge the land of Jews. Instead, they became …

Holocaust Deniers Can't Be Ignored: History: As Victims And Witnesses Of World War Ii Die Off, Revisionist Views Of The Nazi Horrors Could Gain Broader Acceptance, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

On trial in an English courtroom, where British historian David Irving has sued American professor Deborah Lipstadt for defamation, is not only the scholars' reputations but history itself. Irving claims that he was libeled by Lipstadt's 1993 book, "Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory," in which she called him "one of the most dangerous of the `revisionists'" because, "familiar with historical evidence, he bends it until it conforms with his ideological leanings and political agenda." But under British law, the burden of proof in defamation is squarely on the defendant, thus making it necessary for Lipstadt …

The Demonization Of Jonathan Pollard, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

This article discusses the case of Jonathan Pollard, and the issues surrounding his conviction of spying for Israel while acting as a U.S. naval intelligence analyst. Cited are the writer's view of the inequities of his conviction, and possible political motivations for his sentence.

Pollard Treated Unfairly, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Justice And Jonathan Pollard, Angelo Codevilla, Irwin Cotler, Alan Dershowitz, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Why Clinton Should Pardon Pollard – Now, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Pollard Case Is One For The Legal Books, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

Jonathan Pollard, the former Navy intelligence analyst who was convicted of passing classified information to Israel, has been behind bars for more than 12 years now. His life sentence - by far the harshest ever meted out for a similar offense - continues to make "equal justice under law" seem like little more than a palsied proverb.

Pollard's actions were clearly misguided and rightly punishable, but should he languish for life in prison while others obviously more perfidious have been set free? Americans who expect fairness in their judicial system should be sorely disillusioned at how grossly disproportionate Pollard's treatment …

Ax-Grinding Politics Leads To Unequal Justice, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Pollard And Priorities, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Long Overdue, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Jonathan Pollard: A More Genuine Notion Of Justice, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

Perhaps the president, visibly moved by the film, would sympathize with the moral impulse that drove [Jonathan Pollard] to give vital defense information to Israel. Perhaps he'd likewise equate Nazi Germany with demonic Iraq. Perhaps Mr. [Clinton], currently compiling his own list of presidential pardons, would see to it that the horrendous life sentence handed Pollard in 1985 be commuted to time served.

Particularly galling, though, are the potshots from two former Justice Department prosecutors - the politically ambitious Joseph DiGenova and his former assistant David Geneson - who effectively bargained Pollard out of a trial by promising not to …

Care For Those Who Wore The Uniform, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

Considerations were granted to American war veterans as far back as 1636, when the pilgrims, in the midst of an Indian insurrection, devised a special law providing rights and assistance to those who fought. Various of the early American colonies passed similar laws for disabled veterans, and by the time of the Revolution the benefits concept had been firmly established.

Said Calvin Coolidge in 1920: "The nation which forgets its defenders will itself be forgotten." But such platitudes did little to solve the fragmented administration of veterans' affairs, which inevitably was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of cases. Thus was …

Religious Liberty In The Military: The First Amendment Under "Friendly Fire", Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

This article examines specific restrictions promulgated and practiced during the Persian Gulf War, provides a brief historical analysis of how the United States and other nations have traditionally accommodated the religious activities of their military personnel, and addresses the question of how far we can constitutionally limit the free-exercise rights of the people in the military in light of current Supreme Court jurisprudence.

Religious Liberty In The Military: The First Amendment Under "Friendly Fire", Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

Though freedom of religion remains one of our most cherished values, it is still among the most controversial of constitutional rights. This is especially true in the context of military service. Even those who purposefully enlist in the armed forces, implicitly giving up certain liberties they freely enjoyed as civilians, would not relinquish their freedom of conscience. Yet the right to practice their religious beliefs, unfettered by arbitrary governmental restrictions, is regularly challenged.

Fortunately, however, most western cultures regard religious liberty as so fundamental that their military establishments routinely develop regulations to accommodate specific religious practices.

This principle was of …

Our First Televised Genocide, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

It is absolutely appalling that we have come so casually to observe the carnage, so passively to view the starvation over breakfast papers or dinnertime newscasts, so helplessly to watch these totally bereft human beings trudging barefoot over treacherous terrain toward the middle of nowhere.

There are other questions as well, of course, not as easily answered. Where are all their voices now, those demonstrators who so vociferously opposed war, ostensibly out of an overweening reverence for life? Is the latter-day holocaust being systematically perpetrated in northern Iraq any less horrifying than a direct hit on a camouflaged bomb shelter …