The Georgia legislature is poised to pass a “fetal heartbeat” law similar to those recently passed in Kentucky and several other states. The bill, which narrowly cleared the House, would prohibit abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected—generally at 6 to 7 weeks into pregnancy. Because pregnancy is generally dated from the last menstrual [...]
On June 17, 2015, Dylan Roof burst into a prayer service at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, South Carolina with a .45 caliber Glock. He killed nine churchgoers and injured another. In the aftermath of the shooting, the FBI explained that Roof “should not have been allowed to purchase the gun he allegedly used that [...]
In 2010, District Attorney Doug Evans tried to convict Curtis Flowers of the same murder charges for the sixth—yes, the sixth—time. Before the trial began, Evans did the same thing he had done before each of Flowers’ previous trials: he used his peremptory challenges to remove as many Black jurors as possible. Evans managed to [...]
Contrary to conventional wisdom, both nuclear deterrence and associated forms of nuclear strategy, including preemption, can support the authoritative expectations of international law. The adequacy of international law in preventing a nuclear war in the Middle East will depend upon more than formal treaties, customs and “the general principles of law recognized by civilized nations.” [...]
“For there is nothing on earth more acceptable to that Supreme Deity who rules over this whole world than the councils and assemblages of men bound together by law, which are called States.” Cicero, Somnium Scipionis Recent news from the Middle East, though generally “beneath the surface,” deals with Sunni Arab state reactions to [...]
Much needed legislation, which reins-in use of algorithms to determine who stays in jail pending trial and who gets out, recently passed in the Idaho legislature. House Bill 118, sponsored by Representative Greg Chaney (R-Caldwell), is first-of-its-kind legislation that addresses inherent flaws in the criminal justice system. The bill calls for the algorithms to be [...]
Toledo, Ohio residents last month overwhelmingly voted in favor of the innovative Lake Erie Bill of Rights (LEBOR), an amendment to the city charter which declares Lake Erie has enforceable legal rights. What that vote signals may turn out to be more important to Lake Erie than the well-intentioned but legally flawed LEBOR itself. LEBOR [...]
Nicholas Acklin is on death row in Alabama, our home state where we both have practiced law for almost 50 years. As past presidents of the Alabama State Bar, and together with former members of Alabama’s appellate courts, we have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review Mr. Acklin’s case and ensure that he receives [...]
In the continuously unsettling matter of Otto Warmbier, Donald Trump and Kim Jung Un, a key legal point has been overlooked or obscured: Whether or not the North Korean leader actually knew of Mr. Warmbier’s brutal treatment, torture and death, he remains fully responsible for this crime under pertinent law. This is primarily because of [...]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is considering rolling back payday and title loan regulations designed to protect consumers from dangerous debt traps. Considered part of America’s democratization of credit, payday and title loans are offered by a multi-billion-dollar industry that is growing at a rate that far exceeds the rest of the financial services [...]
