Uncategorized

Written by SpearIt PASSING Initiative 502, which legalizes small amounts of marijuana for use by adults 21 years and older, should be a priority for supporters of racial justice in Washington. On the merits alone, this legislation would advance Washington state’s criminal-justice policy, which…

by Benjamin G. Davis, Associate Professor of Law, University of Toledo College of Law As I noted in http://www.blog.saltlaw.org/2012/08/28/bringing-light-in-ohio-2012-coon-davis-finds-his-place-at-true-the-vote-ohio-summit/, I am undecided on the top of the ticket because of what the candidates have said or done about torture. President Bush tortured.  In his first…

By Benjamin G. Davis, Associate Professor of Law, University of Toledo College of Law Over at lawfareblog.com there is a guest posting entitled above (http://www.lawfareblog.com/2012/09/jenks-on-italy-the-abu-omar-rendition-prosecution-and-violation-of-the-nato-sofa/) to which I sent a comment but which lawfareblog.com has declined to post.  So here it is here. I read Jencks…

By Marjorie Cohn The Obama administration has closed the books on prosecutions of those who violated our laws by authorizing and conducting the torture and abuse of prisoners in U.S. custody. Last year, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that his office would…

By Benjamin G. Davis, Associate Professor of Law, University of Toledo College of Law As I wrote on Friday (http://www.blog.saltlaw.org/2012/08/25/true-or-screw-the-vote-zenos-law-on-preisseless-voting-in-ohio/), I went with my son Dan down to Worthington, Ohio near the capital Columbus in Franklin County, in my rented car on Saturday, August 25, 2012 to the True…

Benjamin G. Davis, Associate Professor of Law, University of Toledo College of Law Many of you have heard about: “…. when Doug Preisse, the influential Republican Party chairman of Franklin County, which includes the state capital, Columbus,…

By Jeanne Mirer and Marjorie Cohn There are images from the U.S. War against Vietnam that have been indelibly imprinted on the minds of Americans who lived through it. One is the naked napalm-burned girl running from her village with flesh hanging off her…

by SpearIt America does not hide its fear and distrust of Islam. These attitudes inform politics and public opinion, particularly visible in anti-sharia movements and political clamor about the radicalization of Muslim inmates. These attitudes played out last month against the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro,…

By Benjamin G. Davis, Associate Professor of Law, University of Toledo, College of Law (The Mother of All Updates 7/22 – Holy Toledo! Thanks to intrepid readers I have been provided an Al-Jazeera op-ed story that says that Omar Suleiman died in Cleveland, Ohio on July 19, 2012…

Benjamin G. Davis, Associate Professor of Law, University of Toldo College of Law This week a Gitmo detainee – Mr. Al-Nashiri – has his military commission continuing with new motions being argued after all his prior  motions were argued and essentially rejected by the military judge (a review…

By Marjorie Cohn The issue of immigration has been tossed about like a political football for some time. Democrats argue that migrants who have spent many years in the United States should be permitted to apply for lawful status. Republicans criticize these proposals…

Benjamin G. Davis, Associate Professor of Law, University of Toledo, College of Law (Update 7/15:  Today on Up Ed Conard formerly of Bain Capital was on and his take on the 1999-2002 point was that after Romney left in February 1999 a negotiation began as to the compensation…

By Marjorie Cohn and Jeanne Mirer The Bush administration detained and tortured suspected militants; the Obama administration assassinates them. Both practices not only visit more hatred upon the United States; they are also illegal. Our laws and treaties prohibit torture. The Constitution…

Benjamin G. Davis, Associate Professor of Law, University of Toledo College of Law “It is fundamental that foreign countries concerned about the status, safety, and security of their nationals in the United States must be able to confer and communicate on this subject with one national…

The tragic case of Adnan Farhan Abdul Latif hit a dead end when the US Supreme Court issued an order refusing to hear his case last week. Latif, a Yemeni man, has been imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay since January 2002, after being detained while traveling to seek medical treatment.

Benjamin G. Davis, Associate Professor of Law, University of Toledo College of Law I am moved to write about several aspects of the current conflict in this space as part of what I perceive as my duty as a professor of international law and an American citizen living and working in Toledo, Ohio.  What I have to write may take some time and be over several posts, but I will endeavour to give the same name and give the different aspects of these posts.  I would be happy if people would feel free to link to these articles if they find them of interest. I. Military Commissions Generally With the arraignment this morning of KSM and the other alleged 9/11 plotters, the next act of the military commission endgame plays out with the whole world watching. We are asked to watch and see the quality of the system and judge for ourselves (Brig Gen Mark Martins Remarks May 4, 2012 http://www.lawfareblog.com/2012/05/live-blogging-tomorrows-arraignment-in-united-states-v-ksm-et-al/#more-7092).  There are those who have watched past proceedings who assure us they were fair (Benjamin Wittes, Will Military Commissions Survive KSM? The Washington Post, May 4, 2012, http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ksm-trial-will-put-military-commissions-to-the-test/2012/05/03/gIQAXeE0zT_story.html) and there are those who have worked in them who  challenge their fairness (Morris Davis, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Gets His Way, Salon, May 2, 2012, http://www.salon.com/writer/morris_davis/).  Is it true that  "Quietly and gradually, the commissions have become a real court?"

Americans are often said to have a love-hate relationship with rural America.  On the one hand, many wax nostalgic about the good old days, simpler times, the bond of "rural community" that many of our grandparents once lived, even if most of "us" grew up in the city.  Plus, most everyone enjoys a bit of time spent in "nature," and some even realize--the urban ag craze aside--that most of our food is grown "in the country."  On the other hand, urbanites often hold rural people in disdain, mocking them for their attachment to place, their regressive politics and culture and, yes, even for their nostalgia. One particular aspect of the "love" (more precisely, nostalgia) with which we may regard rural America is the tendency to think that bad things associated with cities--most notably crime--are largely absent in smaller towns, in nonmetropolitan areas.  That's hardly accurate, as I've discussed here and here.  I wonder, though, if these rural myths are the reason that even more shocking crimes--crimes involving, for example, racial or ethnic animus--don't get national attention.  For crimes like these, I would think that urban Americans might be anxious to publicize the crimes, to hold these acts up as justification for the "hate" (that is, disdain, contempt) part of the relationship.

By Benjamin G. Davis, Associate Professor of Law, University of Toledo College of Law http://youtu.be/S5puAN1PGQw Well, I went home with the waitress The way I always do How was I to know She was with the Russians, too I was gambling in…

Guest blog by Professor Craig L. Jackson, Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Texas Southern University Crosspost from Jurist  http://www.jurist.org/forum/2012/04/craig-jackson-judicial-review.php Did I miss something? Joe Scarborough begins my Tuesday morning with a rant and rave about President Obama's statement yesterday regarding judicial restraint and the Supreme Court litigation over the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. It was apparently egged on by an editorial in Tuesday's edition in the Wall Street Journal. What the president said was: "[f]or years what we've heard is the biggest problem on the bench was judicial activism or a lack of judicial restraint — that an unelected group of people would somehow overturn a duly constituted and passed law. Well, this is a good example. And I'm pretty confident that this court will recognize that and not take that step."

In January 2012, the United Methodist Church took a stand against private profits generated from imprisoning American citizens. The UMC board of trustees that oversee the investment of company employees in the churches' pension fund voted to discontinue any investment in companies that generate or derive profit from the management and operation of prison facilities. Recognizing the perverse incentives attendant in profiting from mass incarceration, the United Methodist Church decided to "vote with its feet (or $$)" by moving its money. According to the UMC website and author Heather Hahn: "Private prison companies are big business. But, is it moral for United Methodists to make a profit from the incarceration of people? The United Methodist Church’s pension agency has pondered that question since May [2011]. The Board of Pension and Health Benefits announced Jan. 3 [, 2012] its decision to prohibit investments in companies that derive more than 10 percent of their revenue from the management and operation of prison facilities.