The coronavirus epidemic has upended every aspect of our lives. For weeks, people have been stuck at home, unable to go to their jobs, see their friends, run errands, or even go outside. Most businesses are closed or offer only very limited service. The same is true of public services, some of which are limited, [...]
I have never been prouder to be a member of the American Bar Association than today when the House of Delegates voted to stand with law students and recent law graduates to send an important message to state courts and bar examiners – it is simply not safe to give an in-person bar exam at [...]
Barely a few months after news broke about a novel virus with the potential for a global pandemic, COVID-19 brought the entire world to a grinding halt. Even though some countries have decided to gradually open up, the rate of new infected cases shows no sign of slowing down. By now, more than 13 million [...]
Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for President of the United States, will soon be announcing his choice for Vice President. Biden himself served two-terms as President Barack Obama’s Vice President. If elected, Biden will become the oldest President in American history. His choice of a Vice President is therefore particularly important. Perhaps surprisingly, the [...]
The draft report by Secretary of State Pompeo’s Commission on Unalienable Rights has the Kremlin dancing a collective Barynya of glee. The current US administration and President Putin already share the parochial view that rights are derived from and informed by God rather than a person’s inherent dignity. This fact alone should concern anyone committed [...]
This essay reflects on a Sunday spent in Montgomery, Alabama, when a city and a state honored Rep. John Lewis. Here also is a pdf version for anyone that might like to have a copy of this material for personal or educational use. In Montgomery last Sunday, many of those who attended the memorials for [...]
The three-year journey has ended. Clearing one more hurdle, you would join your chosen profession. But as you approached the hurdle, becoming a lawyer resembled joining a craft guild. Bar admission committees seemed intent on elevating custom over common sense. The infamous bar exam became a pandemic year proxy for antiquated legal industry rituals. What [...]
In Trump v. Mazars, the Supreme Court appeared to reject President Trump’s claim to an executive privilege protecting him from a subpoena seeking private financial information under United States v. Nixon, in keeping with its holding in Clinton v. Jones that no special privilege protects the President from private lawsuits. When executive privilege applies, the [...]
“The masses have followed the magicians again and again…Socrates and Plato were the first to take up the struggle against them in clear awareness of what was at stake.” – Karl Jaspers, Reason and Anti-Reason in our Time (1952) On absolutely all matters of existential survival, individual or collective, candor is indispensable. In connection with [...]
When President George H.W. Bush signed the historic Americans with Disabilities Act 30 years ago, he proudly declared, “Let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down.” In a recent decision, the Supreme Court tossed another brick on the wall. The ADA was enacted to level the playing field for people with disabilities and [...]
