Law Commons^™

Of Exigent Circumstances And Constitutional Authority: Congress, The President, And Domestic Electronic Surveillance, Lawrence Friedman, Victor Hansen

Lawrence Friedman

In this article, we argue that the constitutional structures and doctrines that functioned well before September 11 have not become liabilities since then. In particular, the relative powers the Constitution allocates between the Congress and the President in matters of national security have, in the light of experience, served the nation well and are likely to continue to do so, for the careful balance the framers struck between legislative and executive authority has the virtue of adaptability to a changing—and dangerous—world. Further, experience has demonstrated that the Constitution’s default lawmaking scheme, which centers on bicameral legislative enactment, presentment, and all …

Congressional Immunity Grants And Separation Of Powers: Legislative Vetoes Of Federal Prosecutions, Hanah M. Volokh

Hanah M. Volokh

Congressional investigations can derail criminal prosecutions. The most famous example is the failure of the prosecution of Oliver North for his role in the Iran-Contra scandal after he testified at a congressional committee hearing about his conduct. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals held that much of the evidence being used in the prosecution was tainted by association with North's compelled congressional testimony and could not be used at trial.

The knowledge that congressional investigations and grants of immunity can create problems for prosecutors has not stopped either the investigations or the immunity grants. Recently, Congress granted immunity to a …

The Foreign Affairs Power: Does The Constitution Matter?, D. A. Jeremy Telman

D. A. Jeremy Telman

Peter Irons’ WAR POWERS favors congressional initiative in questions of war and peace but makes a historical argument that our government has strayed from the constitutional design in the service of an imperialist foreign policy. John Yoo’s THE POWERS OF WAR AND PEACE seeks to overthrow the traditional perspective on war powers espoused by Irons in favor of executive initiative in war. Yoo also pursues a revisionist perspective on the treaty power, which favors executive initiative in treaty negotiation and interpretation but insists on congressional implementation so as to minimize the impact of international obligations on domestic law. This Essay …