July 6, 2009 by Hamilton Fish
We told you in April that GW scored a big coup in hiring Alan Morrison as the new Lerner Family Associate Dean for Public Interest/Public Service. He has had an incredible legal career – far too much for me to describe in a short blog post – but I’ll give you the following points from his resume: Along with Ralph Nader, he founded Public Citizen in 1971; and he has argued 16 cases in front of the Supreme Court, including everyone’s Con Law favorite, INS v. Chadha.
Well, Dean A. Morrison finally arrived at GW on July 1, and as the BLT described it, “a sense of new beginnings [is] in the air.”
Dean A. Morrison has graciously offered to answer student questions about his new position at the law school abd the future of public interest at GW. We here at Sua Sponte are very excited about being able to host this question-and-answer session.
Here’s how it will work: Just like with the SBA Candidate’s Debates we had in the Spring, please submit your questions to Dean Morrison via email to suasponteblog (at) gmail (dot) com. We’ll select the best of the bunch and give them to Dean Morrison and then post his responses next week. Please submit your questions by this Friday, July 10, to be considered.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Alan Morrison, GW Law, Public Citizen, public interest, public service | Leave a Comment »
June 10, 2009 by Hamilton Fish
I am nearing the end of the third week at my summer job, so I thought it was a good time for an update of sorts. I am working at a law firm in DC for the summer, doing mostly litigation-type work. I’ve found the work to be interesting and engaging, and the people, on the whole, to be fun and welcoming. But I think that a lot of people, no matter what job they have for the summer, can describe it positively in such generic terms. So I’ll spare you the bland pleasantries and talk about some things that I have had to adjust to at the office so far. Continue Reading »
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 2L summer, law firm, summer job | 2 Comments »
May 26, 2009 by Hamilton Fish
I think all of us were working when the two biggest stories of the day were announced, so we couldn’t post earlier.
As you all know by now, Judge Sonia Sotomayor has been nominated by President Obama to replace Justice Souter on the Supreme Court.
Additionally, the California Supreme Court, in a 6-1 opinion, ruled that Proposition 8, which was passed last year and made gay marriage in California illegal, was constitutional.
Thoughts? Reactions? Comments?
Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »
In the last month or so there has been a big debate in the blogosphere over what Obama should do with memos and photos that tend to show that the Bush administration tortured some of the detainees it held. In the media, this discussion has been painted as a partisan battle, where the liberal left is seeking the ultimate revenge against the Republicans who were doing their best shortly after 9/11. I don’t see it that way. To me this is an issue about the rule of law and about whether members of the Office of Legal Counsel (Judge Bybee, Professor Yoo and Steven Bradbury), other members of the Executive Branch (including Vice President Cheney or even President Bush), and members of Congress (Nancy Pelosi, perhaps) should be exempted from national and international law. I think they should not be.
But that also doesn’t mean that I think they should necessarily sit in jail for the rest of their lives. There is a difference between torture being legal and torture being justifiable. What I mean by that is similar to what Justice Jackson said in his dissent in Korematsu v U.S. Korematsu challenged an order given by a General (and authorized by Congress) during World War II that mandated the internment of all Americans of Japanese dissent in California. The Supreme Court upheld the law, but in his dissent, Justice Jackson stated, “if we cannot confine military expedients by the Constitution, neither would I distort the Constitution to approve all that the military may deem expedient.” Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214, 244 (1944). Justice Jackson’s point was that while some decisions may be required because of the unknowns of a military situation facing the country, those decisions should still be subject to judicial review.
While torture is illegal it can sometimes be justifiable. Continue Reading »
Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments »
May 8, 2009 by Hamilton Fish
We haven’t disappeared – just taking some time off after finals to regroup our thoughts and get settled in the normal world again. Check back on Monday for regular blogging.
I hope you are all enjoying your break so far!
Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
April 27, 2009 by Hamilton Fish
I can see the distant shores of freedom approaching with each passing hour. Friday at 5pm cannot come soon enough.
I plan on spending the first beautiful day post-finals sleeping on the grass in a park, somewhere. This summer, I’ll be spending some time back in my fair land of Brooklyn, working in DC, and taking a trip to Greece (hopefully).
What’s the first thing you are going to do post-finals? What are you big summer plans?
Posted in Uncategorized | 12 Comments »
April 23, 2009 by Hamilton Fish
You got the email.
What do you think?
UPDATE: Here’s the text of the letter: Continue Reading »
Posted in Uncategorized | 64 Comments »
We told you in April that GW scored a big coup in hiring Alan Morrison as the new Lerner Family Associate Dean for Public Interest/Public Service. He has had an incredible legal career – far too much for me to describe in a short blog post – but I’ll give you the following points from his resume: Along with Ralph Nader, he founded Public Citizen in 1971; and he has argued 16 cases in front of the Supreme Court, including everyone’s Con Law favorite, INS v. Chadha.