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Big Boy Rules, Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love "Special Factors", John Auchter

Seventh Circuit Review

For more than two decades, the American way of war has been changing. The American military is relying more and more on independent contractors to complete its missions both domestically and abroad. The most dramatic, and public, use of contractors has been in the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In Vance v. Rumsfeld, the Seventh Circuit allowed a Bivens claim brought by two military contractors to proceed against Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Although the initial opinion was vacated and the case will be reheard en banc, it is unclear which of the opposing conclusions reached by the …