JONATHAN TURLEY

Below is today’s column on a growing national trend of parents taking bullying cases to court after receiving no action from school officials. This may be a case where litigation is needed to concentrate the minds of some school officials (and parents of bullies) on the costs of such violence in schools.

Continue reading ‘Bullies in the Dock: Some Parents Take Their Complaints from the Schoolhouse to the Courthouse’

Below is today’s column on the end of the Supreme Court term. It looks at the implications of the current Court for either a President Obama or a President McCain. An interesting analogy can be drawn to the Four Horsemen and Three Musketeers of the Hughes Court during the first term of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Continue reading ‘The Roberts Court and The Return of the Four Horsemen’

In light of this week’s settlement in the NBC Dateline case, this past column on talk show liability may be of some interest. From cop shows to talk shows, reality television can suddenly throw average citizens into highly stressful or embarrassing situations. In the recent Dateline case, such actions were alleged as the cause of the suicide of a prosecutor who was accused of sexually explicit communications with an adult posing as a child in a chat room.

Continue reading ‘Talk Show Torts’

Last week, the Senate took an unprecedented step asking the Justice Department to investigate the possible criminal conduct of a House member. The subject of this ignoble moment is Rep. Don Young. For many, it was a well-earned distinction for Young, who is often cited as the face of earmark corruption. However, this is different. Young is accused of effectively stealing millions of dollars for a campaign contributor by changing the words of an appropriations bill after it was passed by his colleagues. Continue reading ‘Fraud by Write-Out? Don Young’s Extra Ordinary Earmark’

In light of today’s story on the debate over the Virginia damage caps on tort lawsuits against the state, this prior column may be of some interest. Continue reading ‘Tort Reform and Legal Mythologies: Re-Examining Limits on Tort Actions and Damage Awards’

In light of today’s Disney case, this past column exploring the question of the possible biblical role of Disney may be of interest. Continue reading ‘Revelations 13: Is Disney the Kingdom of the Biblical Beast?’

Hillary Clinton’s superdelegate strategy has highlighted the flaws in our electoral college system — and the need to finally embrace democracy in its truest form in the selection of the President of the United States. The column below explores the controversy.

Continue reading ‘De-Accrediting the Electoral College: The Real Costs of a Constitutional Relic’

Today, the Supreme Court will hear the case of Indiana v. Edwards and explore the question of the limits as self-representation — the subject of the column below. Continue reading ‘A Fool and His Lawyer: Can You Be Competent to Stand Trial But Unfit to Represent Yourself?’

Insanity cases continue trouble the courts and counsel from Andrea Yates to Colin Fergusan to the on-going controversy over John Wayne Hinckley Jr. This prior column explores the issue. Continue reading ‘The Insanity Defense and the Limits of Legal Reason’

Imagine this. The country is fresh from a close presidential election when the Supreme Court is asked to decide who will be president. If you are thinking about the 2000 election, think again. The expected nomination of John McCain for president could trigger a fight over a relatively obscure provision in the Constitution: the requirement that president and vice president be “natural born” citizens. McCain is certainly a citizen, but there is a legitimate question of whether he is a “natural born citizen” given his birth in the Panama Canal. Continue reading ‘The Supreme Redux: Is John McCain Ineligible to Be President?’

A Tortured Defense;
The guessing game is over. We know the U.S. government OK’d and utilized waterboarding. So what — if anything — are we going to do about it?  Continue reading ‘The Tortura De Bush and the Administration’s Taste for Khmer-Style Waterboarding’

Given the most recent public controversy involving statements made by Justice Scalia on torture, this prior column may be of some interest: Continue reading ‘Scalia and the Advent of the Celebrity Justice’

With the Bush Administration seeking to execute six detainees at Cuba including one identified as the “20th hijacker,” this prior column on the line of previously identified “20th hijackers” might be helpful. Continue reading ‘Bush Administration Seeks to Execute the Latest “20th Hijacker”’

In light of today’s debate over Congress and its shaky federalism principles, this prior column on the marriage amendment may be of interest. Continue reading ‘The American Gothic Amendment: Federalism and the Same-Sex Marriage Debate’

In light of the DeMint bill to strip Berkeley of its federal funding, this earlier column on the hypocrisy in Congress over federalism may be of interest: Continue reading ‘Medical Marijuana, Federalism and the Forbidden Fruit of the Constitution’

Today, I have the honor of being the commencement speaker for the John Marshall Law School graduation. Continue reading ‘Commencement Address for the John Marshall Law School Graduating Class of 2008′

In light of the $5 million given to a witness in the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui, this column may be of interest. Continue reading ‘Zacarias Moussaoui and the Mad Pursuit of a Trophy Terrorist’

For those interested in why Wolfowitz could possibly secure gainful employment in government after his disasters in Iraq and the World Bank, this prior column may be of interest on how to succeed in the Bush Administration: Continue reading ‘Earning Your Bones in the Bush Bada Bing! Club’

Nothing becomes politics quite like death. With a presidential election approaching and three important cases before the Supreme Court, the country is once again grappling with the death penalty. Politicians and citizens alike are debating how — and whether — we should kill those who kill others.

It is a debate with particular importance to Ralph Baze and Thomas Clyde Bowling Jr., death-row inmates who are challenging the constitutionality of lethal injection as a method of execution in Kentucky. The court is set to issue its first ruling in more than 100 years on the method of executions. Continue reading ‘From The Brazen Bull to Lethal Injection: The Punishment Fits the Times’

Given the controversy over the new national identification card and government sharing of files on citizens, this prior column on the work of DARPA to achieve “total transparency” in society may be of interest. Continue reading ‘DARPA and the Administration’s Plan for “Total Transparency” in a Fishbowl Society’

Given the recent controversy over horse slaughter houses in Mexico, this prior column on the intervention of Congress into the world of horse meat may be of interest. Continue reading ‘Horsing Around in Congress: The Senate Seeks a Ban on the Slaughter of American Horses for Human Consumption’

2008: The year of principles? 

With Iowans going today to their caucuses, the beginning of a new year and the presidential primary season dangerously collide for voters. Distraught voters can now couple their prior unrealized weight-loss resolutions with their unrealized political resolutions like finding a new party or moving to Canada. Yet, every four years, we end up fatter and madder by the year’s end. Continue reading ‘The 2008 Presidential Primaries Begin: Will Candidates Be Forced to Try Principle in the Desperate Search for Popularity?’

Below is today’s column in Roll Call on the potential basis for criminal prosecution in the destruction of CIA interrogation tapes. Continue reading ‘CIA Interrogation Tapes: “Bad” is Hardly the Word — Call it Criminal’

Given my testimony today in the House Judiciary Committee on prison reform and older prisoners, I thought this previous column may be of interest.  Continue reading ‘Older Prisoners and Overcrowding’

Over thirty years ago, I walked on to the floor of the House Representatives on my first day as a congressional page – fidgeting in a new blue suit and trying desperately to hide the fact that I was terrified. I was immediately pushed into a scrum of members and pages running about in a close vote. Nobody really noticed the teenager being shoved around like flotsam and jetsam until I felt a huge hand grab me by the arm and pull me into a member’s seat. I looked up at a tall man in an outrageously bright canary yellow suit and a smile to match. It was Henry Hyde. Continue reading ‘The Death (and Life) of Henry Hyde’

Given the recent ruling in the case, this prior column on the scandal and saga of Kenneth Trentadue may be of interest. Continue reading ‘The Kenneth Trentadue Scandal’

When Megan Meier logged on to MySpace a little over a year ago, she was seeking a new start with new friends. She’d had some hard times: She considered herself overweight, had been bullied in school and had low self-esteem. Continue reading ‘How To Punish A Cyber Bully’

The use of dormant memories in the Blackmon case has prompted links to Elizabeth Morgan controversy, below is a prior column on the issue. There are some significant differences however, particularly given the intervention of Congress into the family dispute. Continue reading ‘Elizabeth Morgan Act and Legislating Family Values’

For a prior column on the boy scouts and the Court’s prior decision in Dale, see below Continue reading ‘Boy Scouts, Discrimination, and Association’

When religion becomes fair game; If candidates can court the faithful, they should be willing to answer questions of faith as well.       Continue reading ‘When Religion Becomes Fair Game: If Presidential Candidates Court the Faithful They Should Also Answer Questions of Faith’

Given the controversy over the use of carbon monoxide in beef, this prior column on the hold of the meat industry over government policy may be of interest: Continue reading ‘The Beef People: The Creekstone Controversy and the Bush Administration’s Effort to Prevent Private Testing of Meat Products’

Given the recent shock expressed by members of Congress over the very notion of Executive Branch officials accepting free trips, this past column may be enlightening. Continue reading ‘Congressional Free Trips: Educating Members at the Hands of Lobbyists’

Given the Crist controversy, the prior column below on the separation of church and state may be of interest. Continue reading ‘Suing Over the Separation of Church and State’

Given the recent crack down on reporters in Arizona, the prior column from the Washington below on the grand jury secrecy may be of interest. Continue reading ‘Grand Jury Secrecy and the Rocky Flats Scandal’

Rights on the Rack: Alleged torture in terror war imperils U.S. standards of humanity Continue reading ‘U.S. Torture and the Loss of American Identity’

With the start of the Detroit trial, the following column from the L.A. Times October 2003 may be of interest. Continue reading ‘Nuns, Sailor-Mongers and Terorrism’

HEADLINE: A liberal’s lament: The NRA might be right after all

This term, the Supreme Court may finally take up the Voldemort Amendment, the part of the Bill of Rights that shall not be named by liberals. For more than 200 years, progressives and polite people have avoided acknowledging that following the rights of free speech, free exercise of religion and free assembly, there is “the right of the people to keep and bear arms.” Continue reading ‘A Liberal’s Lament: The NRA Might Be Right After All’

Given the controversy over the apartment building barring individuals with tattoos, the prior column below may be of interest since it dealt with a case that almost received Supreme Court review on the constitutional aspects of state limitations. Continue reading ‘Tattoos and the Constitution’

Published in January 2006

Following oral argument on Dec. 6, the U.S. Supreme Court is now pondering the wisdom of Solomon.

The Solomon Amendment withholds federal funds from any school that does not provide the same access to military recruiters as it does to other potential employers. Law schools have rallied against the rule for violating their nondiscrimination policies as well as their constitutional rights of speech and association. In the balance are the right of Congress to condition the receipt of federal funds, the right of free speech-and literally billions of dollars that could be lost by schools unable to reconcile anti-discrimination policies with their receipt of federal money. Continue reading ‘The Solomon Amendment and Hypocrisy’

The videotaped incident involving Andrew Meyer and Senator John Kerry has caused an uproar among students and faculty. Meyer’s begging security staff not to “tase me, bro” struck a nerve among students who feel that security and police often over-react. Continue reading ‘Meyer Case Raises Significant Questions of Campus Speech and Student Responsibilities’

Published in Roll Call September 13, 2007

Cases Offer Insight On Congressional Investigations

For most of their careers, there were two men in Congress who could not be more different geographically, culturally or politically than Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) and Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.). Yet, both men are now making arguments to their respective houses that are virtually identical: Congress has no right to investigate or to punish them for their alleged misconduct outside of Congress. Putting aside the vitriol following their arrests, both men have actually raised some compelling arguments that have been largely ignored by the press. Continue reading ‘Craig and Jefferson: Congressional Investigations and The Need for Congressional Restraint’

September 11, 2007 Los Angeles Times

In his closing argument last week in the murder trial of pop music legend Phil Spector, prosecutor Alan Jackson encouraged jurors to ignore the experts who testified for the defense because, he said, “if you hire enough lawyers who hire enough experts who are paid enough money, you can get them to say anything.” He went on to inform the jury that “Phil Spector thinks if he throws enough money at a problem, he can solve the problem.”

It was a highly unprofessional argument that encouraged jurors to dismiss the opinions of any experts who appear on behalf of wealthy defendants as, in effect, purchased testimony. Yet the fact is that such witnesses are not only available to the rich; even a public defender is allowed to call such witnesses, at public expense, who would probably have made the same arguments. Continue reading ‘The Spector of Celebrity Trial’

The opening of the controversal arabic-centered public school in New York, once again, raises the issue of the reintroduction of separate but equal principles in America.

A prior column addressed this problem in a different context in Chicago: Continue reading ‘America’s Separate But Equal School System’

From Vitter to Craig, the public has been given a steady stream of apologies from public figures. This has become an art form in D.C. You first apologize and then go into seclusion or, better yet, a detox clinic. Here is a past column on the art of apology.

The lost art of the apology
Last week the public learned an important tip from Martha Stewart in her criminal case: Being contrite is fashionable but being sincerely contrite is strictly passe. Continue reading ‘Art of the Apology’

The health problems of Chief Justice Roberts raises a long-standing problem on the Court, addressed in this prior column.

Orignially published in August 2005

It came as something of a shock at the beginning of the summer when Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist announced that he would not be resigning from the Supreme Court. He is suffering from thyroid cancer, has had a tracheotomy to help him breathe and will be 81 years old at the start of the new court term. The smart money was on retirement.

But Supreme Court justices answer only to themselves and God when it comes to stepping down from the bench. Once Congress hath joined a nominee and his office, only death or retirement can separate them. Continue reading ‘Through Addictions to Dementia: Supreme Court Justices Have Refused to Step Down — The Need for Reforming the Supreme Court’

Washington is all atwitter over who will replace outgoing Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. The more relevant question, however, is who would want to step over the chalk outlines of his two predecessors on the office rug to sit in that seemingly cursed chair.

Indeed, of all of the famous curses from King Tut’s tomb to the Hope Diamond to the Monkey’s Paw, the Bush Curse of the Juris Doctors (or the J.D. Curse) appears the most lethal. With John Ashcroft or Gonzales as the most vivid examples, bad things happen to attorneys who go to work for this administration. Continue reading ‘Be Afraid, Very Afraid — The Bush Curse’

Atlanta appears ready to use the power of the law to combat the scourge of baggy pants. That’s right, baggy pants. It appears that crime, drug, and poverty are no longer pressing issues. They are not the first to tackle the issue of teen clothing, as this prior column notes, click here

For the latest article, click here

Published May 2002

This month, U.S. officials are still at wit’s end trying to figure out what to do with Citizen Hamdi. Yasser Esam Hamdi is the twenty-two-year-old who arrived at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba with the one item that no “battlefield detainee” should leave home without: a U.S. birth certificate. This has led to Hamdi’s transfer to Norfolk, Virginia, and what seems chronic indecision within the Bush Administration in how to handle his case. Despite the fact that Hamdi was only in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for a brief time, it was long enough to be born and to claim to be a “dual citizen.” Continue reading ‘Yasser Hamdi, Dual Citizenship, and the Future of National Identity’

Published May 2002

Constitutional scholars and weatherman share an unstated fascination with the worst conditions; the freak storms that join together to release fantastic energy and fireworks. A fight is brewing in Washington this week that may produce such a perfect constitutional storm. All three branches of government are now colliding over the question of who controls access to presidential papers. The outcome of this fight, however, may also redefine aspects of executive privilege as well as core principles of open government.
Continue reading ‘Bush, Presidential Records Act, and History’

Published pril 26, 2002 /

In a hearing this week, the public heard for the first time from Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called “20th hijacker” on trial in Virginia. If Moussaoui was indeed trained to seek suicidal expression, he was in rare form in Virginia where he is attempting the closest legal equivalent. Continue reading ‘Zacarias Moussaoui and the 20th Hyjacker’

Published April 12, 2002

One of the most interesting facts about George Orwell, author of 1984 and Animal Farm, is that he was not George Orwell. The man who created a society of total transparency and observation chose to conceal his own name, Eric Blair. Authors like Blair, Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot) and Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) adopted nom-de-plums for a variety of reasons ranging from persecution to prejudice to privacy. Continue reading ‘Anonymity and the Constitutional Right to be Nameless’

Published March 18, 2002

Like Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire, former President William Jefferson Clinton is someone that has “always depended on the kindness of strangers.” This certainly seems to be the case with Independent Counsel Robert Ray who, back in January 2001, cut Clinton a deal to avoid criminal charges in the Lewinsky matter. Now, with the release of his final report, it turns out that career prosecutors in the Ray’s office concluded that Clinton could not only be charged on the evidence but could have been convicted on the basis of that evidence. What is most troubling is that the report seems to confirm Clinton’s belief that his position, and not the evidence, would dictate the outcome of any criminal investigation. Continue reading ‘Bill Clinton and the Blanche DeBois Defense’

published 12/27/2004

Orientation week can be a daunting and confusing process for any freshman, particularly for the nine new senators and 38 new House members of the 109th Congress. During the recent orientation week on Capitol Hill, one freshman, Representative-elect Al Green, D-Texas, noted “as a neophyte trying to find his way, you need as many people to direct you as you can.”
Indeed, that education is about to begin in earnest, starting with the ethics book included in their orientation kits. On their face, the ethics rules would seem to bar any self-dealing or profit-taking by members. In reality, they actually legalize conduct that would be viewed as grossly unethical or corrupt in the other government branches. For Green and the other neophytes, therefore, the following are four easy lessons on how to earn millions on a government salary. Continue reading ‘It’s All Legal in the Bizarre World of Congressional Ethics’

Published 2/21/2005

For the past month, a detective has been trying to arrest me in New York. Most people in such a position would be highly distressed, but I am frankly delighted. Perhaps an arrest will bring an end to a criminal life that began for me in December, when I started buying luxury cars for friends in the Bronx.
Of course, when I first learned that I was on the lam, I was more than a little surprised because I was in Washington at the time, driving a beat-up green Volvo wagon. I had become the latest victim of identity theft, joining tens of millions of other victims across the country. Continue reading ‘The Other Jonathan Turley: How My Identity was Stolen and I Brought Two Luxury Cars’

Published 5/16/2006

This month, Congress is faced with a most inconvenient crime. With the recent disclosure of a massive secret database program run by the National Security Agency involving tens of millions of innocent Americans, members are confronted with a second intelligence operation that not only lacks congressional authorization but also appears patently unlawful. In December, the public learned that the NSA was engaging in warrantless domestic surveillance of overseas communications — an operation many experts believe is a clear federal crime ordered by the president more than 30 times.
What is most striking about these programs is that they were revealed not by members of Congress but by members of the Fourth Estate: Journalists who confronted Congress with evidence of potentially illegal conduct by this president that was known to various congressional leaders.

In response, President Bush has demanded to know who will rid him of these meddlesome whistle-blowers, and various devout members have rushed forth with cudgels and codes in hand.

Now, it appears Congress is finally acting — not to end alleged criminal acts by the administration, mind you, but to stop the public from learning about such alleged crimes in the future. Members are seeking to give the president the authority to continue to engage in warrantless domestic surveillance as they call for whistle-blowers to be routed out. They also want new penalties to deter both reporters and their sources. Continue reading ‘Down to the Fourth Estate: The Failure of the American System to Protect Liberty’

May 19, 2004 Wednesday

HEADLINE: Confirmation Process Needs a New Rule: Play Nice at Recess

BODY:
Recently, leading Democrats have accused President Bush of not playing nice. After Senate Democrats blocked confirmation of a number of judicial nominees, Bush sidestepped the Senate and gave them temporary “recess appointments.” Then, Democrats embargoed all judicial confirmations until the president agrees not to use his recess appointment authority. Yesterday the two sides reached an interim deal to break the deadlock (see story, p. 3). But more is needed.

The fight has its roots in a mistake that dates back to the drafting of the Constitution more than two centuries ago. Indeed, this mistake is one of the few oversights by framers, who were ordinarily smart about details. While the framers gave the Senate the sole authority to confirm judicial nominations, they also gave the president the authority to temporarily appoint officials without Senate confirmation when Congress was not in session. Continue reading ‘Reforming the Judicial Confirmation System’