Showing 1 - 6 of 6
Clean power plan done and dusted
News, Noah Feldman, Published on 12/10/2017
» Several state attorneys general have announced they will sue to block the Environmental Protection Agency's rollback of former president Barack Obama's signature Clean Power Plan. Can they win? And should they? The answer to both questions is no, but not because of anything inherently wrong with the plan to cut greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants. Although administrative decisions must be rational, they are permitted to reflect the president's political priorities and beliefs. Donald Trump won the election, and now he gets to impose his pro-coal environmental vision. That may be terrible for the earth, but it's good for democracy.
The fit deserve the right to serve
News, Noah Feldman, Published on 28/07/2017
» A ban on transgender people serving in the US military would probably be unconstitutional under any circumstances. But President Donald Trump has pretty much guaranteed that courts would strike down such a ban by announcing it on Wednesday on Twitter, without any real justification.
Detention of Muslims is a horror we cannot forget
News, Noah Feldman, Published on 20/01/2017
» Innocent men detained for months or years after the Sept 11 attacks on suspicion of being Muslim will get their day in the US Supreme Court on Wednesday. The odds don't look good. The court will probably dismiss their constitutional suit against the government officials who implemented the policies that arrested immigrants who had overstayed their visas and held them in abusive conditions until after they had been affirmatively proved innocent, and sometimes beyond.
Supreme Court forces nationalism into movie theatres
News, Noah Feldman, Published on 05/12/2016
» Amid rising Hindu nationalism, the Supreme Court of India has ordered theatres to play the national anthem before films and directed moviegoers to stand at attention -- no excuses. The Indian constitution is a wonder of the world, but this decision undercuts free-speech and individual rights at a moment when the country can ill-afford it. The court, which has the final word in interpreting the constitution, can still reverse itself. And it should, because the court's job is to protect rights, not to impose duties and obligations when the legislature has not done so.
Constitutional crisis a risk in the UK
News, Noah Feldman, Published on 30/06/2016
» The phrase "constitutional crisis" looms large over the aftermath of Britain's vote to leave the EU. The possibility of such a crisis has been invoked in connection with what would happen if the Scottish parliament refuses to approve Britain's withdrawal; what might happen if Britain's main parliament should ignore the results of the Brexit referendum; and the possible consequences of taking seriously the popular petition calling for a second vote on the basis of a new "rule" requiring a 60% approval and 75% turnout on EU-related matters.
Sex offenders shouldn't have a right to use Facebook
News, Noah Feldman, Published on 14/05/2016
» North Carolina bans registered sex offenders from Facebook. Unsurprisingly, a sex offender wants the Supreme Court to strike down the law. Perhaps more surprisingly, he has support from 16 notable professors of constitutional law -- from left, right and centre.