Commentary
Constitution Kerfuffle
Politics makes strange bedfellows. Last week saw an almost unheard of scrambling of allegiances after the FBI searched the congressional office of Rep. William Jefferson, D-La. While the Constitution’s Separation of Powers figured prominently in news of the executive branch decisions to bypass laws against torture and domestic spying, this seemed a wholly unexpected front for the White House’s push for executive power.
Authored by: Aziz Huq
– 05/31/06
Stop the Abuse of Campaign Contributions
Here in New York, we are used to seeing politicians spend campaign contributions on everything from pool covers to trips to Europe. It’s as familiar a part of the state landscape as the change in seasons.
Authored by: Suzanne Novak
– 05/22/06
Derelict on Domestic Spying
There is no “drift-net.” There is only a “very specific and very targeted” collection of data. So said General Michael V. Hayden, former chief of the National Security Agency on Feb. 5 this year about the NSA’s domestic activities. Without doubt, senators of both stripes stand ready to grill Gen. Hayden about these statements in light of USA Today’s startling revelation that the NSA has been assembling a mammoth database detailing the source, destination and timing information on almost every telephone call made in the United States.
Authored by: Aziz Huq
– 05/16/06
Bench Unfair Judge Picking Process Now
Authored by: James Johnson and Cristina Rodriguez
– 05/03/06
Distracted by Moussaoui
In an Alexandria, Virginia, courtroom, Zacarias Moussaoui and the federal government are acting out for the nation and the world a small drama about revenge. It is hardly clear who will savor revenge more: the defendant who seems likely to be strapped to the executioner’s gurney soon, or the state that injects the lethal combination of fluids.
Authored by: Aziz Huq
– 04/20/06
Padilla Can’t Wait
Can a U.S. citizen be locked up for three-plus years without access to a court or opportunity to challenge the government’s reasons for detention? Today, the answer in America is a provisional “yes.” And last week the government took one important step toward cementing this “yes” into a permanent power.
Authored by: Aziz Huq
– 04/11/06
In the Dark on Wiretaps
Almost four months after The New York Times reported that the National Security Agency is spying on Americans in the United States without obtaining judicial warrants, we still are in the dark about what exactly the president ordered the NSA to do.
Authored by: Aziz Huq
– 04/04/06
Reaching Through the Prison Walls: Social Work in an Appellate Defender Office
A report on the relationship between social workers and lawyers in criminal defense offices.
Authored by: Melissa Rothstein
– 04/01/06