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The most controversial provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the individual mandate (requiring non-exempt individuals to purchase health insurance or otherwise pay a penalty when they file their federal taxes), has…

This is quite the monumental step. Bravo to President Obama, a constitutional scholar, for taking this action. Not only will DOMA not be defended (and called unconstitutional) by this administration, but they are also stating…

President Obama proposed a freeze on federal civilian employee salaries this week and it didn’t take long for the criticisms to roll in.  The announcement seems largely symbolic because the Read more

This is rather shocking. According to the Financial Times, former President Bush would have endorsed then candidate Obama over McCain if he had been asked to do so.

Naturally the election came up in

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President Obama and General McChrystalThe topic of war is not one lawyers are generally qualified to address. To be sure, there are rules of engagement and principles of national relations that can properly be considered by lawyers. And once in a while, the Supreme Court hands down an opinion addressing the the president’s war-making power. But the topic of war is more of a political question than a legal debate.  

When it comes to punishment, though, lawyers may claim their rightful province.  Deterrence, retribution, perhaps even justice — these are things we learn to consider from the start.  And “contempt” and “rehabilitation,” well, those too are something we lawyers know more than a little about.

In the current debate over General Stanley A. McChrystal, it is worth asking what, if anything, McChrystal is guilty of and how, if at all, he should be punished for his conduct. On the first issue,