There has been lots of speculation in the legal blogosphere about what Jan Crawford Greenburg knows regarding Justice Stevens' retirement plans. See How Appealing here and Volokh here. Particularly intriguing was Greenburg's comment to Howard that she knows the precise date Stevens plans to retire. Well if she does know, she indicated yesterday that it would not be anytime...
The World Economic Forum drew to a close this week in Davos, Switzerland. Here is my summary of the events: Panel 1: Can't we all get along? Panel 2: We, the masters of the universe, are at the epicentre of the world. Panel 3: Brazilian waxes on about solitary talks of approaching landing strip. Panel 4: Never in the...
Justice Ginsburg gave a speech at Suffolk Law School last week and briefly addressed the interesting topic of the proliferation of law professor briefs. Here is what she said: As a judge now for some 26 years, I appreciate the importance of academic commentary. Our legal system gives judges considerable authority to shape the law through litigated cases. We entrust...
The American Branch of the International Law Association is having its biennial International Law Weekend West at Santa Clara Law School. Neal Katyal is the keynote speaker and the panels will address the usual topics: war in Iraq, enemy combatants, climate change, intellectual property abroad, etc. If you are in the Bay Area this weekend, it is...
If you are in southern California, Jan Crawford Greenburg will be in Malibu at my home institution on Thursday, February 1 at 3:30 p.m. to present her new book, Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Control of the United States Supreme Court. She will discuss her book with Jesse Choper of Boalt Hall, Jonathan Varat...
I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank John Bellinger and our guest respondents for engaging our readers in such a serious way. While there has been much disagreement the past two weeks, there has been virtually unanimous expressions of sincere appreciation to Bellinger for his willingness to participate in this discussion. The blogosphere certainly took notice...
The Wall Street Journal has a provocative editorial today about the role of Congress in the war in Iraq. They argue that Congress is acting unconstitutionally in the manner in which it is attempting to micromanage the war effort. Here is a flavor: To understand why the Founders put war powers in the hands of the Presidency, look no...
The D.C. Circuit last week rendered an important ruling in an ATS case regarding appellate jurisdiction over political questions. In Doe v. Exxon, the Court ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal. The case sounds similar to the Unocal-Burma case with allegations that Exxon retained government soldiers as guards for their natural gas facility and these security...
There is little doubt that but for a constitutional impediment one of the top Republican contenders for President in 2008 would be Arnold Schwarzenegger. In a country that embraces immigrants like no other, it is anachronistic and even anti-American that our Constitution does not allow naturalized citizens to become President. That was the message of a great LA...
Opinio Juris is very pleased to announce that John Bellinger will be guest blogging with us for the week of January 15. As our readers well know, Bellinger is the State Department Legal Adviser, the top lawyer at the Department of State. In that capacity he is the principal adviser on all domestic and international law matters to the Department...
If you are in southern California next weekend there will be a conference at Pepperdine on Friday, January 19 on the subject of "The War on Terrorism: Examining the Roles of Congress, The President, and the Courts." Panelists include Akhil Amar (Yale), Neal Katyal (Georgetown), Eric Posner (Chicago), John Yoo (Boalt Hall), Janet Alexander (Stanford), and Michael Paulsen...
There was a fascinating case coming out of Indiana last month concerning the issue of profiling a person who is a serious risk for international child abduction. In Shady v. Shady, much of the case reads like a typical divorce and custody proceeding. But the interesting twist is that the custodial parent, Sheanin Shady, requested an order from...
