Uncategorized

John Walker Lindh, Treason, and Citizenship

Published December 2001

In the U.S., espionage crime is easy to understand but difficult to prove

CHIEF JUSTICE John Marshall once said that treason is the crime that most can “excite and agitate the passions of men.” The public outcry after the capture of John Walker Lindh, an American who fought with the Taliban, shows that Marshall was right. Treason remains our ultimate form of betrayal, an offense that is felt personally and intimately by every other citizen. Continue reading “John Walker Lindh, Treason, and Citizenship” →

Congress, Constitutional Law

Terrorist Attacks and an Incapacitated Congress

Published October 2001
THERE was a time when the idea of an incapacitated Congress would have been greeted with considerable relief by most citizens. In what may be the ultimate sign of our times, a constitutional amendment has been proposed to address what was once the unthinkable: the death or incapacitation of one-fourth or more of the members of the House of Representatives. This amendment, introduced by Rep. Brian Baird (D, Wash.), cannot be easily dismissed. The Constitution does in fact have a blind spot that makes the system vulnerable to terrorism. Continue reading “Terrorist Attacks and an Incapacitated Congress” →

Academia, Justice, Politics

Intellectual Relativism and the Al Qaida

Published October 2001

THERE is an interesting by-product of the bombings on September 11, 2001 that seems to be sweeping the country. In universities and the media, people are learning about Al-Qaida and their religious philosophy. There is a tendency in our country, particularly among academics, to treat all beliefs as worthy of equal merit. It is a type of intellectual relativism that ignores the obvious in favor of the inquiry. Continue reading “Intellectual Relativism and the Al Qaida” →

Justice

The Boxer Rebellion and the War on Terror

Published September 2001

PERHAPS one of the most frightening aspects of our current crisis is the uncertainty of how to fight an enemy, which is largely unseen and incomprehensible. Americans have been shocked by the raw hatred that would sustain such attacks on innocent persons and the support of such terrorists by other nations. What is most frightening is the idea that we have never had to face such fanatical individuals and that we are facing the prospect of perpetual war. It is here that history can offer a degree of knowledge and perhaps a bit of comfort. While we often forget our past, we would be wise to consider an anniversary this month and a prior war against religious-based terrorists. Continue reading “The Boxer Rebellion and the War on Terror” →

Congress, Justice

Condit and the Chandra Levy Scandal

Published August 2001

A FEW years ago, the public was caught up in the debate over which stamp they preferred: the fat Elvis or the thin Elvis. This great public debate came to mind after Rep. Gary Condit finally came forward and spoke for the first time about his involvement with missing intern Chandra Levy. We can now decide which we prefer: the silent Condit or the speaking Condit. I, for one, preferred the former. Continue reading “Condit and the Chandra Levy Scandal” →

Congress

Congressional Perks and Working Out the Body Politic

Published August 2001

MEMBERS of Congress have rallied around a cause that has united outraged representatives from both parties. The passion was evident in a recent hearing before the House Appropriations Committee, where Rep. Anne Northup (R-Ky.) informed a shocked committee of members that ”the fact is we have a very inferior gym.”

Northup was referring to the facility for members and their spouses that is something more than a ”gym.” The House members enjoy a public-financed athletic club with a gymnasium, Olympic-size pool, work-out rooms and other amenities. Continue reading “Congressional Perks and Working Out the Body Politic” →

Congress

Nepotism and Congress: Don’t Let Jobs Grow on Family Trees

Published 7/30/03 – USA Today

When he became governor of Alaska, Frank Murkowski had to decide who should finish the two years remaining on his U.S. Senate term. After a supposedly exhaustive search, Murkowski appointed his daughter, Lisa Murkowski.

Although the first U.S. senator appointed by a father, Lisa Murkowski is hardly unique among the children and spouses of politicians. For example, Vice President Cheney’s daughter, Elizabeth Cheney, and his son-in-law, Philip Perry, were appointed by President Bush to high-level positions: deputy assistant secretary of State and chief counsel for the Office of Management and Budget, respectively. Continue reading “Nepotism and Congress: Don’t Let Jobs Grow on Family Trees” →

Justice

Lee Malvo and the Jury Decision

With the start of the trial of accused Washington, D.C., sniper Lee Malvo, the public is being introduced to America’s most troubled teen. Unlike his father figure, John Muhammad, who was found guilty Monday of murder in one of 10 sniper killings, Malvo is not denying his role in the murders. Instead, his attorneys are developing an insanity defense that bears striking resemblance to other cases involving infamous criminal duos. Indeed, his insanity plea may be more of a tactical device than a legal defense: The lawyers for Malvo, now 18, may be using the claim to convert the guilt phase into a trial over the proper punishment of a boy-killer. Continue reading “Lee Malvo and the Jury Decision” →

Justice, Lawyering

Michael Vick and State Charges

I have received a fair number of emails on Michael Vick’s plea, which should come as a surprise to no one. This is the type of crime that puts a defendant instantly on the bad side of any jury. The most that a defense attorney could hope for is a hung jury in most such cases.

I have no sympathy for Vick who not only engaged in a cruel and medieval form of entertainment, but he threw away a career that millions of kids can only dream of. Continue reading “Michael Vick and State Charges” →

Congress, Military, Politics

Body Armor: U.S. Soldiers Lack Best Protective Gear

Published 12/17/2003

I recently received a note from one of the few husbands who knows just what his wife wants as a holiday gift. The Army sergeant (who asked to remain anonymous) e-mailed me from Iraq asking my help in finding him a store to buy body armor for his wife.

Both the sergeant and his wife are serving in Iraq, and both have seen action. But, like thousands of U.S. soldiers, his wife was not given the vital ceramic plates for her Kevlar Interceptor vest to protect her from bullet wounds. Instead, he said, she had to scavenge to find plates left behind by Iraqi soldiers — plates of inferior quality that do not properly fit her vest. Continue reading “Body Armor: U.S. Soldiers Lack Best Protective Gear” →

Academia, Columns

Non-profits’ Executives Avoid Scrutiny, Valid Reforms

Published 2/11/2004

At a time when efforts to reform the corporate world are getting all of the attention, there is another group of chief executives who remain insulated from the effects of scandals at Tyco, WorldCom and the like. They are America’s not-for-profit profiteers: the executives who cash in at universities, foundations and other tax-exempt organizations. Continue reading “Non-profits’ Executives Avoid Scrutiny, Valid Reforms” →

Justice, Lawyering

Attorney-Client Confidentiality: Valued Bond Between Client, Lawyer Eroding

Published 3/16/2004

While lawyers often are valued for such canine-like attributes as aggression, persistence and even viciousness, loyalty is their most essential attribute. With confidentiality, it represents a type of legal Hippocratic oath: that we will do no harm to our clients.
Two disturbing trends that reduce confidentiality guarantees have surfaced recently: a rise in the number of exceptions to attorney-client confidentiality and an increase in lawyers discussing cases at the expense of their former clients. Continue reading “Attorney-Client Confidentiality: Valued Bond Between Client, Lawyer Eroding” →

Columns, Politics

Bush’s Stem-cell Politics Leaves Dad to Wither

Published 5/17/2004

My father is dying from an American political disease. In a nation divided evenly between red and blue states, governmental policies have long been distorted by the gravitational pull of the extremes of the two parties.

For President Bush, policies often have been shaped by his fundamentalist and conservative religious base. While controversial, many of these policies are largely symbolic, such as his unheeded call for an amendment to ban gay marriage. The president’s policy opposing stem-cell research, however, presents a far more deadly concession — one that might secure votes, but at a prohibitive cost of human life. Continue reading “Bush’s Stem-cell Politics Leaves Dad to Wither” →

Justice, Military, Politics

372nd Unit Deserves Better Homecoming

Published 8/8/2004

The soldiers of the 372nd Military Police Company recently came home from Iraq — and some are pretty angry. Made infamous by the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison, they have been caricatured as a bunch of thuggish yahoos from the hills of West Virginia and Maryland. Now their entire unit may be deactivated.
They seem, however, unwilling to go quietly, taking their infamy into self-imposed exile. Continue reading “372nd Unit Deserves Better Homecoming” →

Constitutional Law, Justice

Polygamy Laws Expose Our Own Hypocrisy

Published 10/3/2004

Tom Green is an American polygamist. This month, he will appeal his conviction in Utah for that offense to the United States Supreme Court, in a case that could redefine the limits of marriage, privacy and religious freedom.
If the court agrees to take the case, it would be forced to confront a 126-year-old decision allowing states to criminalize polygamy that few would find credible today, even as they reject the practice. And it could be forced to address glaring contradictions created in recent decisions of constitutional law.

For polygamists, it is simply a matter of unequal treatment under the law. Continue reading “Polygamy Laws Expose Our Own Hypocrisy” →