President/Executive Department Commons^™

The Solicitor General, Consistency, And Credibility, Margaret H. Lemos, Deborah A. Widiss

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This Article offers the first comprehensive look at cases in which the Solicitor General (SG) rejects a legal argument offered on behalf of the United States in prior litigation. Such reversals have received considerable attention in recent years, as shifts in presidential administrations have produced multiple high-profile “flip-flops”—as the Justices sometimes call them—by the SG. Even those observers who defend the SG, including veterans of the office, caution that inconsistency in legal argument poses a threat to the SG’s credibility with the Court. Our goal is to better understand the circumstances that lead the SG to change its position on …

What Fischer V. United States Gets Wrong About Prosecutorial Discretion, Cindy J. Cho

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Conservative Supreme Court Justices have recently expressed heightened concerns about prosecutorial power in cases involving former President Donald Trump and the Capitol siege on January 6, 2021.  Making good on those worries, the conservative majority in Fischer v. United States, rested its decision in part on theoretical concerns about government overreach. The Department of Justice has pushed back on those concerns, but to this point, the debate has been mostly rhetorical and hypothetical.

This article attempts to fill that rhetorical void—and concretely answer the concerns animating Fischer—with evidence from actual cases.  A survey of ten January 6 cases …

Understanding & Tracking Presidential Transitions, Ashley A. Ahlbrand

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Toward Restoring Rule-Of-Law Norms, Dawn E. Johnsen

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Cultural Politics Of Dan Quayle And Mike Pence, Steve Sanders

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This essay was part of an Indiana Law Review symposium on the five U.S. vice presidents who have hailed from Indiana.

The Gallup polling organization classifies Indiana as a “pink” state, rather than a “red” state, meaning it leans Republican but is not solidly in the GOP column. Yet, if an image of Indiana persists in many people’s minds as a bastion of social conservatism and tradition, that image likely has been shaped in part by the two most recent vice presidents the Hoosier state has sent to Washington: Dan Quayle and Mike Pence.

In selecting their running mates, major …

The Lawyers' War: Counterterrorism From Bush To Obama To Trump, Dawn E. Johnsen

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

"The Essence Of A Free Society": The Executive Powers Legacy Of Justice Stevens And The Future Of Foreign Affairs Deference, Dawn E. Johnsen

Articles by Maurer Faculty

After 9/11, Justice John Paul Stevens insisted the United States maintain its foundational commitment to the rule of law—the very “essence of a free society.” Justice Stevens led the Court’s scrutiny and rejection of early Bush Administration policies regarding the detention and prosecution of suspected terrorists. Since it lost Justice Stevens’s passionate and principled voice in 2008, the Court has not addressed the scope of the President’s military detention authority. This Article considers Justice Stevens’s role in the Court’s altered stance, and also a complementary explanation: the Obama Administration’s improved interpretation and exercise of executive authority. Informed and inspired by …

Foreward: President Barack Obama Law & Policy Symposium, Kevin D. Brown

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

What's A President To Do? Interpreting The Constitution In The Wake Of Bush Administration Abuses, Dawn E. Johnsen

Articles by Maurer Faculty

President George W. Bush and his executive branch lawyers have earned widespread criticism for extreme positions and practices regarding the scope of presidential authority. The war on terror that followed the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks provided the context for their most controversial claims of unilateral authority: to override legal prohibitions on the use of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment; to hold "enemy combatants" indefinitely without access to counsel or any opportunity to challenge their detention; and to engage in domestic electronic surveillance without a court order. Our nation's welfare and integrity depend upon continued evaluation, response, and, …

All The President's Lawyers: How To Avoid Another "Torture Opinion" Debacle, Dawn E. Johnsen

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Faithfully Executing The Laws: Internal Legal Constraints On Executive Power, Dawn E. Johnsen

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Since September 11, 2001 the Bush Administration has engaged in a host of controversial counterterrorism actions that threaten civil liberties and even the physical safety of those targeted: enemy combatant designations, extreme interrogation techniques, extraordinary renditions, secret overseas prisons, and warrantless domestic surveillance. To justify otherwise-unlawful policies, President Bush and his lawyers have espoused an extreme view of expansive presidential power during times of war and national emergency. Debate has raged about the details of desirable external checks on presidential excesses, with emphasis appropriately on the U.S. Congress and the courts. Yet an essential internal source of constraint is often …

Presidential Non-Enforcement Of Constitutionally Objectionable Statutes, Dawn E. Johnsen

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This article, published in Law & Contemporary Problems, was presented at a Duke Law School conference, The Constitution Under Clinton: A Critical Assessment. It examines a recurring, unsettled issue of executive power: how the President best fulfills his constitutional responsibilities when confronted with the enforcement of a statute that he believes is unconstitutional. What should the President do if he believes enforcing a statutory provision would violate the Constitution? Should, for example, a President comply with a congressional command that he believes would violate the constitutional rights of individuals or compromise presidential power? The article examines the two prevailing approaches …

Executive Privilege Since United States V. Nixon: Issues Of Motivation And Accommodation, Dawn E. Johnsen

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Administrative Law In A Global Era: Progress, Deregulatory Change, And The Rise Of The Administrative Presidency, Alfred C. Aman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Symposium: Bowsher V. Synar: Introduction, Alfred C. Aman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The papers in this symposium examine constitutionally significant separation-of-powers themes that were particularly controversial in Franklin Roosevelt's administrations and once again command our attention. The Supreme Court's decision in cases such as Immigration & Naturalization Services v. Chadha I and Bowsher v. Synar2 have helped to resurrect questions that have been ignored, if not resolved, since the 1930s. This symposium focuses on the contemporary debate that these issues have generated, and it provides us with an array of approaches to and perspectives on that debate. As this Introduction emphasizes, that these issues have arisen before is significant, both legally and …

Presidential Immunity From Civil Liability, Aviva A. Orenstein

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Catholic University Study Of Federal Legislative Drafting In The Executive Branch: A Foreword, Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Passports, Thomas Ehrlich

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Political Questions: The Judicial Check On The Executive, Paul D. Carrington

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Hearing Commissioners, Ralph F. Fuchs

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Book Review. The March Of The Bureaus, Ralph F. Fuchs

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.