Issue Brief posted June 3, 2013 by Charles "Cully" Stimson
JAG Corps and Reforming the Military Justice System
Tomorrow, the Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on the issue of sexual assaults in the military. Sexual assaults, including rape, are some of the most despicable crimes imaginable. It is indeed welcome news that Congress is paying attention to the military justice system and trying to make it work better, especially for victims. But the current…
Backgrounder posted April 11, 2013 by Bruce Klingner
The U.S. Should Support New South Korean President’s Approach to North Korea
In late February 2013, Park Geun-hye was inaugurated as the 11th President of South Korea. Park’s ascent comes at a critical juncture in the Republic’s history: Facing several formidable challenges—rising regional security threats, economic uncertainty, and growing pressure to address domestic income disparities—South Korea needs strong and decisive political leadership.…
Legal Memorandum posted April 11, 2013 by Paul Larkin
The Need for a Mistake of Law Defense as a Response to Overcriminalization
By heavily regulating criminal procedure alone but leaving the definition of crimes and offenses almost entirely in the hands of the political process, the Supreme Court has left open only one option to legislators seeking to address the problem of crime: Make more and more conduct criminal. The result in recent decades has been the “overcriminalization” of the law, with…
Backgrounder posted March 27, 2013 by Andrew Kloster
Why Congress and the Courts Must Respect Citizens’ Rights to Arbitration
In 1925, Congress passed the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA),[1] establishing a strong federal policy in favor of arbitration. A form of alternative dispute resolution, arbitration reduces litigation costs, a savings that is passed on to consumers. Despite its advantages, however, arbitration has recently come under attack in Congress, executive agencies, and the courts.…
Backgrounder posted March 25, 2013 by Paul Rosenzweig, Daniel J. Dew
Guilty Until Proven Innocent: Undermining the Criminal Intent Requirement
Developed over the course of hundreds of years, the Anglo–American legal system contains several key provisions that, when used properly, guard against wrongful criminal convictions. These protections are critical: Not only do they defend Americans from false accusations and Kafka-esque legal proceedings, but they also demand that police and prosecutors proceed with…
Issue Brief posted December 27, 2012 by Daniel J. Dew
Senator Rand Paul: Overcriminalization Champion
Since he was sworn into the Senate in 2011, Senator Rand Paul (R–KY) has consistently fought against overcriminalization, a term used to describe the use of criminal penalties to punish morally blameless conduct. Conduct that was not a crime in the past—and perhaps not a violation of any law—is now punished with time in prison.
Senator Paul has spent his time in the…
Issue Brief posted December 5, 2012 by John Malcolm
Indian Tribal Lands and the Carcieri Fix
Retiring Senator Daniel Akaka (D–HI) has indicated, with the support of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D–NV) and the Obama Administration, that he intends to push his “Carcieri Fix” (S. 676) during the lame-duck session of Congress. The bill would give the Secretary of the Interior largely unbridled discretion to turn over tens of thousands of acres of private land to…
Legal Memorandum posted December 4, 2012 by Paul Rosenzweig
A Federalist Conception of the Pardon Power
Abstract:
The growth in criminal law today reflects a divergence from its treatment early in our republic and under traditional common law rules of Anglo–American culture. This is most evident in such areas as overfederalization of criminal law and the dilution of the "guilty mind" requirement. Yet there is one area in which this divergence is particularly acute…
Issue Brief posted October 24, 2012 by Hans A. von Spakovsky
Urging Federal Contractors to Violate the WARN Act
Refusing to follow federal law has become the hallmark of this Administration, but the White House’s latest arrogant, unlawful ploy goes even further and may end up costing the American taxpayer a great deal of money.
On September 28, the Office of Management and Budget issued a “guidance” letter that assures defense contractors that the federal government will pay…
Legal Memorandum posted October 1, 2012 by Jay Alan Sekulow
Religious Liberty and Expression Under Attack: Restoring America’s First Freedoms
Abstract: Religious freedom is one of the core principles upon which the American system of government is based. And yet religious freedom in America is under assault: Politicians mock the faithful’s claims of religious conscience, while government entities and actors treat religious freedom and expression as obstacles to be overcome rather than as important values to…
Legal Memorandum posted September 21, 2012 by Paul Larkin, Elizabeth Slattery
Overview of the Supreme Court’s October Term, 2012
Abstract: Given the excitement and importance of the recently concluded Supreme Court term, it is possible that the upcoming term will lack the same dazzling array of issues; just as not every baseball lineup is loaded with players like the 1927 Yankees Murderers Row, not every Supreme Court term is chock-full of Hall of Fame cases. Still, the next few years promise their…