DOJ white paper: President authorized to conduct warrantless wiretaps News
DOJ white paper: President authorized to conduct warrantless wiretaps

[JURIST] The US Justice Department [official website] Thursday released [letter to Senate Majority Leader, PDF] a 42-page white paper [text, PDF] laying out a legal basis for the domestic surveillance program [JURIST news archive] run by the National Security Agency [official website]. The paper argues that the NSA activities are supported by the president's position as Commander in Chief and congressional authorization for the war on al Qaeda under the 2001 Authorization to Use Military Force, and moreover "fall within a well-established exception to the warrant requirement and [satisfy] the Fourth Amendment's fundamental requirement of reasonableness." The white paper comes ahead of Congressional hearings into the legality of the program and follows the release earlier this month of a report [PDF] by the Congressional Research Service [official website] suggesting that the legal justification of the program "does not seem to be as well-grounded" [JURIST report] as the administration had asserted [JURIST document] in a prior analysis. The New York Times has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Laws of Burgos put into effect

The Spanish Crown put the Laws of Burgos into effect on December 27, 1512. These laws governed the relationship of Spanish settlers with the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean. The laws established the encomienda system of labor, promoted conversion to Catholicism, and safeguarded the indigenous peoples from physical abuse.  However, historians argue that the laws were ineffective at protecting the rights of the indigenous population. Learn more from the Library of Congress.

Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public bar smashing

On December 27, 1900, militant Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public smashing of a bar, at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, Kansas. Nation argued that destroying bars was an acceptable means of battling the liquor trade since the Kansas Constitution prohibited alcohol. Learn more about Carrie Nation.

World Bank created

On December 27, 1944, the World Bank was created during the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA. Learn more about the history of the World Bank.