White men are neutral, disinterested and objective. At least, that seems to be the view of those commentators who have attacked Sonia Sotomayor for suggesting that a Latino woman might actually reach better decisions than a white man.

This business of life experience is a curious phenomenon. I wasn't...

The May 30, 2009, New York Times contains two interesting articles about Sonia Sotomayor. One deals with her views of affirmative action, the other with her views of campaign finance regulation. According to these articles, Judge Sotomayor has been supportive of both policies. What this means in terms of her...

In his speech on Thursday about Protecting Our Security and Our Values, President Obama touched on many of the challenges posed by the threat of terrorism. I want to address one challenge in particular: What should we do with "detainees at Guantanamo who cannot be prosecuted yet who pose a...

"A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or perhaps both." -- James Madison

President Barack Obama yesterday changed his mind about releasing to the public hundreds of photographs that apparently document abuse of prisoners in...

What criteria will President Obama take into account is selecting his first nominee to the Supreme Court? I think four factors will be especially important to him.

1. High level of intellectual ability. As a professor of constitutional law, Obama fully understands the complexity of a Supreme Court justice's responsibilities...

As we contemplate the appointment of a new Supreme Court justice, two new books, released on May 1 by the American Constitution Society, will be particularly enlightening. A fundamental question in the developing debate over President Obama's eventual nominee concerns judicial philosophy. What does it mean to be a "progressive"...

It would appear from the latest news reports that Justice David Souter is about to part ways with the Supreme Court after a nineteen-year tenure. At the time of his nomination by President George H. W. Bush, David Souter was a virtual unknown. In his long career as a justice...

The Illinois legislature will soon act on the Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act, which would legally recognize civil unions in Illinois. The legislation provides that "persons entering into a civil union" will have "the same obligations, responsibilities, protections and benefits" as married persons. Civil unions would be available...

Sunday morning marked the official opening of the Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie, Illinois. This striking new institution is dedicated to "preserving the legacy of the Holocaust by honoring the memories of those who were lost and by teaching universal lessons that combat hatred, prejudice and indifference."

In a piece in Tuesday's New York Times (March 31, 2009), Adam Liptak addressed the alleged "liberal bias" of the American Bar Association in its evaluation of presidential judicial nominees. ("As the Bar Gets Its Voice Back on Judges, Advice May Ring Familiar.")

The basic premise of the...

As an unabashed civil libertarian who sharply criticized many of the policies of the Bush administration, particularly in the "war on terror," I have high hopes for the administration of President Obama. I know many of the officials in the Department of Justice and I know that they, too, are...

By a vote of five-to-four, an Illinois House committee on Thursday approved House Bill 2234, the Religious Freedom and Civil Union Act. If adopted, the Act will provide those individuals who enter into civil unions, including both same-sex and opposite-sex couples, with "the same legal obligations, responsibilities, protections, and benefits"...

The past eight years of the George W. Bush administration have seen significant restrictions of individual liberty. Much of the impetus for these restrictions has come from the tragedy of September 11 and its complex aftermath: War inevitably magnifies the tension between individual liberty and national security. But there are...

The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University recently asked me and other "writers, thinkers and advocates" to express our "thoughts about what should be the President's first order of business." Here is my response.
(For other responses, see here).

As one of his first...

What's to be done about the lingering questions concerning the arguably unlawful activities of the Bush administration? I refer, for example, to such issues as the use of torture, the creation of secret prisons, the secret detentions of American citizens, and the NSA surveillance program. These actions, and many others,...

How can a free society reconcile the often competing values of democracy, religious liberty and the separation of church and state? This challenge was vividly illustrated by the recent controversy over California's Proposition 8, which forbade same-sex marriage.

In a democracy, the majority of citizens ordinarily may enact whatever laws...

On Sunday, September 21, the New York Times published an editorial ("The Candidates and the Court") predicting that, if elected president, Barack Obama will appoint "moderate" or "centrist" justices, like Stephen Breyer, rather than "all-out liberals, like William Brennan or Thurgood Marshall." The Times argued this is a good...

How does a democracy deal with lies? In the last several national elections, political operatives, exemplified by the Swift Boaters in 2004, have employed a deeply cynical and highly effective strategy to distort and manipulate public discourse. This strategy poses a serious threat to the very foundations of democratic self-governance.

Karl Rove: We need a babe.
John McCain: A what?
KR: A babe. You know, a broad.
George Bush: I been abroad.
KR: Not that kind of "a broad," George.
GB: Oh.
JM: What kind, then? You mean a woman?
KR: Yes, old...

According to various polls, as many as 25% of the voters who say they support Hillary Clinton are unsure whether they will support Barack Obama. Hillary Clinton's speech at the Democratic Convention no doubt persuaded many of those voters to support Obama. But some will continue to equivocate. What can...