Separation of Powers

Selecting Facts Regarding the Supreme Court

Howard Steven Friedman | Posted 04.06.2012

Howard Steven Friedman

The Constitution does not explicitly state that the Supreme Court has the right to review laws and declare them constitutional or not. In fact, the Supreme Court gave themselves this power in Marbury v. Madison.

OLC's Skillful Defense of President Obama's Recess Appointments and Its Possible Aftershocks

Peter M. Shane | Posted 03.14.2012

Peter M. Shane

The Justice Department's release of on Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) opinion regarding President Obama's recess appointments power is a welcome display of public accountability. However one analyzes the bottom line, the opinion is a model of the genre.

Recess Appointments and President Obama's Surprising Restraint

Peter M. Shane | Posted 03.07.2012

Peter M. Shane

For all the brouhaha surrounding President Obama's recess appointments this week of three new members for the National Labor Relations Board and of Ri...

How the Gingrinch Stole the Judiciary

Judge H. Lee Sarokin | Posted 02.20.2012

Judge H. Lee Sarokin

Gingrich apparently has this view that judicial independence and separation of powers are some quaint old relics that have seen better days.

Republican Candidates Want the Federal Judiciary to Be More Like American Idol

Judge H. Lee Sarokin | Posted 12.24.2011

Judge H. Lee Sarokin

The GOP keeps insisting that judges be held accountable; that somehow public opinion should influence outcomes. Nothing could be more inaccurate or contrary to constitutional principles.

What May a President Do if He Cannot Pay Our Bills?

Peter M. Shane | Posted 09.19.2011

Peter M. Shane

If the president cannot pay off America's creditors and keep all government programs running, what legal authority does he have to deal with the crisis?

Double Congress's Pay

Robert J. Spitzer | Posted 05.25.2011

Robert J. Spitzer

We must separate our ire at the Congress of the moment from the nobility of the legislative task performed by the people we choose, and demand that congressional pay be doubled -- at least.

Ten Congressional Commandments

Bruce Fein | Posted 05.25.2011

Bruce Fein

Members of Congress have abdicated to the president their constitutional responsibilities because of slavish devotion, staggering constitutional illiteracy, and a vassal-like conviction that the executive branch knows best.

Are You Brainwashed? 7 Principles For Free Government

John W. Whitehead | Posted 05.25.2011

John W. Whitehead

Precisely because Americans are easily distracted -- because, as study after study shows, they are clueless about their rights -- the American governmental scheme is sliding ever closer toward authoritarianism.

Pres. Obama: Don't Make This Veto Mistake

Robert J. Spitzer | Posted 05.25.2011

Robert J. Spitzer

Mr. President, the advice you received on how to veto this bill was fatally defective. Yes, some of your predecessors have used this gambit, but it's an affront to the Constitution, it's unnecessary, and it thwarts the separation of powers.

Reject False Choices Between Law Enforcement & Military

Christine Pelosi | Posted 05.25.2011

Christine Pelosi

As Obama tasks our independent judiciary with trying more suspected 9/11 terrorists, count me among those who agree with Mayor Giuliani's first position on trying alleged terrorists in US courts: in the yes column

President Obama's Signing Statements and Congress's Response: A Return to Separation of Powers Sanity?

Peter M. Shane | Posted 05.25.2011

Peter M. Shane

The intriguing debate continues on President Obama's use of signing statements to protest provisions of statutes he is signing into law.

Times' Sanger Concerned about Concentration of Power

Mike Smith | Posted 05.25.2011

Mike Smith

The Inheritance: The World Obama Confronts and the Challenges to American Power looks at how the Obama Administration faces global challenges not of its own making.

Sam Stein

Obama And Congress Learn To Dance

HuffingtonPost.com | Sam Stein | Posted 05.25.2011

As he prepares to take the oath of office, Barack Obama's biggest political roadblock may end up being institutional hurdles rather than a united Repu...

Executive Vigor Without Executive Arrogance I: Ending the Reign of Signing Statements

Peter M. Shane | Posted 05.25.2011

Peter M. Shane

With supporters clamoring for the new president to wipe away Bush-era policies with a stroke of a pen, how can the new president wield his own pen without embracing the Bush assault on constitutionalism?

Political Parties Are Not "Checks" Or "Balances"

Chris Weigant | Posted 05.25.2011

Chris Weigant

I'm not worried about whether checks and balances will disappear if Republicans don't have more than 40 seats in the Senate. True checks and balances are more fundamental than party affiliation.

Palin: What Should Worry Us Most

William Fisher | Posted 05.25.2011

William Fisher

During the run-up to the election that made Sarah Palin the governor of Alaska, the right-wing pro-life group Eagle Forum sent a detailed questionnair...

New War Powers Legislation Called For By Panel

AP | ANNE FLAHERTY | Posted 05.25.2011

WASHINGTON — The next time the president goes to war, Congress should be consulted and vote on whether it agrees, according to a bipartisan stud...

Precedent George Bush

Chris Weigant | Posted 05.25.2011

Chris Weigant

Bush's term in office will be remembered for the precedents it set, particularly in relation to the presidential power, and the separation of powers between the three branches of U.S. government.