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Full-Text Articles in Law
An Absolute Power, Or A Power Absolutely In Need Of Reform? Proposals To Reform The Presidential Pardon Power, Milana Bretgoltz, Albert Ford, Alicia Serrani
An Absolute Power, Or A Power Absolutely In Need Of Reform? Proposals To Reform The Presidential Pardon Power, Milana Bretgoltz, Albert Ford, Alicia Serrani
Faculty Scholarship
The presidential pardon power can serve valuable purposes, but the lack of checks on the power invites abuses. This report calls for laws and executive orders to curtail misuses of the pardon power. Congress should pass laws banning the president from pardoning himself or herself and issuing pardons for conduct that has not yet occurred. Executive orders should set detailed procedures for considering pardons and require reports to Congress if the president pardons a family member or close associate.
Selecting Representative And Qualified Candidates For President: Proposals To Reform Presidential Primaries, Daisy De Wolff, Ben Kremnitzer, Samara Perlman, Gabriella Weick
Selecting Representative And Qualified Candidates For President: Proposals To Reform Presidential Primaries, Daisy De Wolff, Ben Kremnitzer, Samara Perlman, Gabriella Weick
Faculty Scholarship
The presidential primary processes used by the two major parties misses opportunities to engage voters and incorporate their input in selecting nominees. This report advances several reforms to make the primaries more inclusive, including reordering the primary calendar to give voters in more states a meaningful voice, eliminating caucuses, and opening primaries to independent voters. Additionally, the political parties should make primary debates more informative and limit party leaders’ opportunities to have disproportionate input in selecting presidential candidates
Protecting The Supreme Court: Why Safeguarding The Judiciary’S Independence Is Crucial To Maintaining Its Legitimacy, Isabella Abelite, Evelyn Michalos, John Rogue
Protecting The Supreme Court: Why Safeguarding The Judiciary’S Independence Is Crucial To Maintaining Its Legitimacy, Isabella Abelite, Evelyn Michalos, John Rogue
Faculty Scholarship
The stability of the Supreme Court’s size and procedures is a critical source of legitimacy, but reforms might protect the Court’s independence from politics. Perceptions among members of the public that justices are political actors harms the rule of law. This report discusses reforms to ensure that each president receives the same number of appointments to the Supreme Court. The report also considers how to guarantee each nominee a Senate hearing and reforms to the retirement stage of justices’ tenures.
Improving Communication With Public Officials On Social Media: Proposals For Protecting Social Media Users’ First Amendment Rights, Kendra Kumor, Evelyn Li, Nicole Rubin
Improving Communication With Public Officials On Social Media: Proposals For Protecting Social Media Users’ First Amendment Rights, Kendra Kumor, Evelyn Li, Nicole Rubin
Faculty Scholarship
Government officials undermine a key platform for communication with the public when they block users or delete their comments on social media. Those actions also often run afoul of the First Amendment. To address a problem that exists at all levels of government, this report recommends legislation that bans public officials using social media for official purposes from blocking users or deleting their comments, except when comments are unprotected by the First Amendment.
Balancing Independence And Accountability: Proposals To Reform Special Counsel Investigations, Lawrence Keating, Steven Still, Brittany Thomas, Samuel Wechsler
Balancing Independence And Accountability: Proposals To Reform Special Counsel Investigations, Lawrence Keating, Steven Still, Brittany Thomas, Samuel Wechsler
Faculty Scholarship
Investigations of the president and other high-ranking officials must be free from political interference yet cannot devolve into “runaway” inquiries. This report recommends reforms to the rules for every stage of special counsel investigations. Among the proposals is a requirement that federal judges oversee the attorney general’s appointment and removal of special counsels. Additionally, a special counsel should be mandatory when the president is suspected of a crime and reports on investigations should go directly to Congress.