If you are looking for a fun romantic getaway for Valentine’s Day, you might want to pass on Pakistan. The High Court in Islamabad has banned all public celebrations of Valentine’s Day despite the growing desire among students to have parties. Students in many countries in the Middle East and Asia have increasingly embraced the holiday to exchange cards, sweets, and have parties.
The sixth day was just about as exciting as it can get. Our hosts in Saipan knew of my love for military history and Chief Justice Alexandro Castro said that he would be happy to take my to Tinian on his fishing boat. With Ninth Circuit Judge Paul Watford and his wife joined us, it became quite an adventure after he hit unpredictably rough seas in the small boat. It only added to the exciting day, however, as we visited one of the truly most unique places on Earth.
By Mike Appleton, Weekend Contributor
“A scheme of government like ours no doubt at times feels the lack of power to act with complete, all-embracing, swiftly moving authority. No doubt a government with distributed authority, subject to be challenged in the courts of law, at least long enough to consider and adjudicate the challenge, labors under restrictions from which other governments are free. It has not been our tradition to envy such governments. In any event, our government was designed to have such restrictions.”
-Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 343 U.S. 579, 613 (1952)
The decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this week upholding the temporary restraining order against enforcement of Executive Order 13769 produced immediate outrage in the Trump Administration. The President himself characterized the ruling as “disgraceful” and claimed that any subsequent act of terror on our shores would be laid squarely at the feet of the judiciary. Mr. Trump has been variously advised to take the matter to the Supreme Court or ignore the lower court orders entirely. In my view, the wisest option is to return to the drawing board, an idea that is apparently also under consideration.
The anger over the Ninth Circuit’s ruling is misplaced. It is neither warranted by the decision itself nor by the perceived threat to presidential power. The court did not rule on the merits of the plaintiffs’ claims and its continuation of the TRO until completion of an evidentiary hearing in the trial court is not fairly predictive of the final outcome. Moreover, the Administration has not advanced any substantive argument, either in court filings or in public statements, to support the notion that temporarily maintaining current immigration policy creates serious security risks. Indeed, we are still waiting for an explanation of what the phrase “extreme vetting” even means.
Instead of railing against the decision and engaging in personal attacks against judges, the President would be well-advised to read the opinion carefully. It contains several useful lessons for the future of his presidency.
Continue reading “Lessons from State of Washington v. Trump”
It takes a lot to get me to support Tom Brady and the Patriots as a lifelong Bears fan. However, there is a bizarre controversy after Brady posted a picture of his Super Bowl winning team with a quotation from Rudyard Kipling’s 1898 poem If on Instagram and Twitter. That unleashed an outcry from some who denounced the poem as written by a racist. Other said that, given Brady’s support of Donald Trump, the use of the poem was alarming. Perhaps the critics should also consider another quote from Kipling: “I always prefer to believe the best of everybody, it saves so much trouble.”
Continue reading “Brady Takes Heat For Using Kipling Poem In Tribute Tweet to Teammates”
My fifth day was spent giving three lectures to the bar of Saipan. It was a fascinating day with the judges and lawyers of this beautiful island. Tomorrow Judge Watford and I will be going to Tinian Island where the B-29s took off to drop the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These islands are steeped in the military history of World War II. Having read about the battles for years, it is amazing to be here and walk along the beaches of the invasions. Saipan was also the scene of one of the most horrific moments of the Pacific war when 1,000 Japanese civilians committed suicide by jumping off the cliffs on the Northern part of the island. They believed the propaganda about the Americans and took their lives rather than be captured. It is hard to imagine such horror on an island that is indescribably beautiful and peaceful.
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
Yesterday I discovered a touching and effective video bringing light to the many struggles and hauntings those afflicted with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder struggle with daily. It is not often the personal toils of these challenges are presented to the public in a manner other than academic or disaffected medical analyses but I found this video to be very engaging and while certainly difficult at times for most to watch, due to some very graphic imagery inherent with combat, I believe these depictions of violence and hardship are necessary to provide you with a sense of how gripping this injury can be on those so encumbered.
While the video presents PTSD as experienced through the thoughts and trepidation of an Iraq war veteran, it can in most ways be insightful to the same traumas causal to other manifests of the injury.
SSG Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, the video’s author, is due much credit for a presentation into the manner and effect of a PTSD injury. I invite you to share in his experiences…
We have been discussing lawyers and professors nailed as drug dealers. Now close to my home, the former mayor of Fairfax City will enter a plea in a meth-for-sex prosecution. R. Scott Silverthorne, 51, is reportedly ready to plead guilty after allegedly offering an undercover officer methamphetamine in exchange for an orgy at a Tysons Corner hotel. Silverthorne told The Washington Post that 2015 was a “terrible year” due to political challenges. 2017 has the makings of a much much worse year.
Continue reading “Fairfax Mayor Reportedly Close To Pleading Guilty In Meth-for-Sex Case”
My fourth day in the Northern Mariana Islands was spent on Saipan. As a military history buff, Saipan has been a dream of mine to visit for many years. The battle for Saipan remains one of the most important and brutal battles in U.S. history. The island itself is a jewel of crystal blue waters and lush jungle. Like Guam, the Saipanese are incredibly generous and warm with visitors. While I was distressed to see a massive, gaudy casino being built for Chinese tourist (a monstrosity that dominates part of the island), the rest of the island remains wonderfully understated and tranquil.
I arrived on an early flight from Guam (which is only 40 minutes away). I then went on a wonderful hike through the jungle with Chief Judge Ramona Villagomez Manglona, Magistrate Judge Heather L. Kennedy and Jim Benedetto, Assistant U.S. Attorney. Behind Jim’s house in Saipan is jungle that he routinely explored with machete in hand. Years ago he discovered the remains of a B-29 that crashed after a return from a bombing raid on Japan in World War II. It took three weeks for Jim and his friend to cut a path into the jungle but he took us to see the wreckage in the dense jungle. It was an amazing hike and Jim could easily find a calling in the outback should he abandon the whole legal gig.
Continue reading “Day 4: Saipan”
We have yet another example of the brutality of Islamic Sharia law from Indonesia where a woman was savagely flogged publicly for spending time with a man who was not her husband, including an allegation of sex outside of marriage. The flogging occurred in Banda Aceh on the Island of Sumatra.
Continue reading “Woman Flogged In Indonesia For Being Present”
My third day in Guam was spent giving three speeches to lawyers and judges on the island. It was an extremely interesting exchange with the bar here. I am speaking at the conference with Judge Paul Jeffrey Watford of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Watford was on the short list for the Supreme Court for President Obama and was viewed as a leading contender for the Court for Hillary Clinton if she were elected. This is a fascinating bar with some of the truly nicest people I have ever met in my life. This is a vibrant bar with unique elements for lawyers in dealing with cases on the various islands. There is a deep civility and mutual respect that permeates the place. Indeed, what really comes through for visitors is the sheer sense of joy that everyone seems to have in working and living in this paradise.
Today was a conference day so I am sharing some of the pictures taken on the hikes by Karen Quitlong, Law Clerk to Chief Judge Frances Marie Tydingco-Gatewood. This is a picture of all of us cooling off on one of the amazing waterfalls in the jungle. With us in this picture is Senator and attorney Therese Terlaje and our extraordinary guide. What is amazing is that after one of our more grueling hikes, Therese went straight to a hearing for veterans. It is not uncommon for lawyers and legislators to pop off for some scuba or hiking in the midst of their days. There remains a profound connection of everyone here to the island and a continual level of delight in everything that the island offers.
Another tweet by Donald Trump has caused a ruckus back in Washington (I am in Guam for a speech). Trump took after Nordstrom for dropping the Ivanka brand. While the store cited poor sales, Trump tweeted “My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person — always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!” Shares for the store chain dropped in value following the tweet and media began calling to ask for the legality of such criticism by the president. The answer is that it is perfectly legal . . . just ask Harry Truman. While the scope of executive privilege is broad, it is not nearly as broad and plenary as that of inherent parental authority. When it comes to a president and his daughter, history has shown that this is one power exercised by all fathers that is accorded sweeping deference and little judicial review.
Continue reading “Trump Tweet On Nordstrom Dumping Ivanka Line Falls Under Inherent Parental Powers”
I previously discussed my surprise over the clumsy performance of the Justice Department in defending the Trump executive order on immigration. Those concerns were magnified after the oral argument before the Ninth Circuit that was made available on YouTube. The performance by August Flentje, special counsel to the assistant U.S. attorney general, was surprisingly lackluster and seemingly ill-prepared. The shaky start that I described earlier seems now to be seismic as the Justice Department stumbles toward a ruling that can come as early as today. As Flentje observed during his uninspired argument “I’m not sure I’m convincing the court.”
Continue reading “Ninth Circuit Deliberates Appeal Over Trump Executive Order”
For someone who loves military history and hiking, Guam is a paradise found. My second full day on the island highlighted those famous draws of Guam. I began with a bucket list item: I went scuba diving for the first time. We then went on a tour of the military history and World War II battlefields. It was an another awesome day spent again with Karen Quitlong, Law Clerk to Chief Judge Frances Marie Tydingco-Gatewood, and Senator and attorney Therese Terlaje.
Continue reading “Day 2: Guam”
The government filed its reply on February 6th and followed earlier arguments in favor of an appellate stay of the lower court order of Senior District Court Judge James Robart. As discussed earlier, a temporary restraining order is very difficult to reverse on an interlocutory appeal. Normally, appellate courts will wait for a final decision and opinion from the lower court before agreeing to review the controversy. Of course, nothing is “normal” about this controversy in terms of procedure or policy.
Continue reading “Ninth Circuit Schedules Oral Argument On The Trump Immigration Order”
I arrived in Guam around midnight to begin my visit to the islands. I was met at the airport by some of the judges and lawyers who invited me and was bestowed with a beautiful lei. It was the first demonstration of the super friendly environment of Guam. My first day involved a challenging hike arranged by Karen Quitlong, Law Clerk to Chief Judge Frances Marie Tydingco-Gatewood, United States District Court for the District of Guam. Karen knew I was an avid hiker and arranged to have two friends accompany us on a hike through island to see waterfalls and breathtaking views of the South of the island.