On April 20, 2021, a jury convicted former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for murdering George Floyd. Following the trial, Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw reflected that “until the very moment the verdict was read, it was an entirely open question whether, to paraphrase the Supreme Court’s decision in Dred Scott, Black people had rights that anyone [...]
Almost five years ago I contributed to a Commentary to JURIST entitled, “Guantanamo: An Unnecessary Presidential Legacy,” which focused on former President Barack Obama’s unsuccessful attempt to shut down the Guantanamo prison facility because of missed opportunities, faulty decision making, internal administration opposition and ultimately partisan political division that resulted in an unnecessary presidential legacy. [...]
The Biden Administration recently came to agreements with Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala to increase their border enforcement. These agreements aim to reduce the number of migrants who are able to make their way to the US-Mexico border by extending American border defense thousands of miles south of that border. And they do so in a [...]
“It is clear, absolutely clear,” said President Biden at his first presidential press conference, “that this is a battle between the utility of democracies in the 21st century and autocracies.” Biden’s rhetorical flourish echoed a more famous one from his political idol, John F. Kennedy, who declared in his first inaugural speech in 1961 that [...]
With the recent announcement that it shall be soon initiating a massive release of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean over a course of two years, Japan has stirred a global debate. The decision has been criticized for posing a direct threat to the human life and marine [...]
To a U.S. immigrant who grew up (1972-1992) under a de facto dictatorship where election fraud and accepted discrimination were a societal norm, the concepts of fair and transparent elections, “All men are created equal,” and “equal opportunity …” were unfamiliar. They became a substitute of justice for the customary sense of helplessness. I felt [...]
George Floyd: I Can’t Breathe Jury: Guilty, Guilty, Guilty Biden: We Can’t Stop Here Outside the Hennepin County courthouse, Minnesota, Floyd family attorney Justin Miller said: What is justice when you lose a loved one? When you don’t have your father or your brother or your uncle anymore? I don’t really think there is justice. [...]
The filibuster debate has focused on whether the rule facilitates or stifles negotiation and compromise. Of course, the rule – that 60 votes are required to end debate – doesn’t do either. It’s the norms that those subject to the rule adopt that matter. When I was younger, it seemed, Congress adhered to a norm [...]
Bosnia and Herzegovina (3.2 million citizens) is according to Worldometer in 5th place in the world by the number of deaths from COVID-19 per 1 million population. It tops the list in the region of South-East Europe with 212 deaths per 100.000 people. In the state that has struggled with a dysfunctional political system since [...]
The new documentary “RUTH: Justice Ginsburg in Her Own Words” recounts the highs and lows of the late, great Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s career—from her Columbia Law School graduation to her tenure as Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court. The film poses a compelling question: “How does a person with three strikes against her [...]
