Member posts – Alliance for American Rule of Law

A brass set of scales sits atop a wooden base, with the left scale slightly lower than the right scale

Ending the Imperial Presidency (Part 2): Two Reforms to Improve Public Trust in the Administration of Justice

By Alliance Member Alain Norman, MSc JD

The Rule of Law in the United States is now endangered by an American presidency that, over time, has developed “imperial” powers and trappings. This essay highlights a further serious problem that undermines American Rule of Law: The president’s ability to influence or politicize the administration of justice. This article argues that we must bolster public confidence in the administration of justice by changing the appointment process of Department of Justice leadership and by creating a Federal Ombudsperson’s Office. Both reforms would draw inspiration from other, modern democratic systems.

Curled barbed wire tops a chain link fence, against a grey-blue sky

Disarming the “Loaded Weapon” of Unchecked Executive Power: A Former Guántanamo Lawyer’s Call for Accountability

By Alliance Member Jana Ramsey

I was alarmed, but not surprised, to see New York Times reporting that White House advisor Stephen Miller has proposed suspending the right of habeas corpus for undocumented immigrants and invoking the Insurrection Act to deploy the military against civilians inside the U.S. Despite initial legal pushback within the White House, the Times noted that these ideas remain a “loaded weapon in a West Wing eager to test the limits of presidential power.” As a former lawyer for Guantánamo detainees, the arguments for radical expansion of presidential power sound very familiar—and must be countered.

An off-white, marble statue of Julius Caesar looks out of frame to the left, on a dark gray background

Constitutional Reforms to Curb Our Imperial Presidency and Protect the Rule of Law

By Alliance Member Alain Norman

What is to be done to curb America’s growing “imperial presidency”–a presidency in which the chief executive operates, at least de facto, with no significant checks or balances from the other two branches of government? Alliance Member Alain Norman provides an assessment of the problem grounded in constitutional analysis, and proposes a constitutional amendment to curtail one of the gravest examples of executive overreach: the ability to launch wars without consent of the American people.

From among a crowd, a hand raises a sign with "Fight Today for a Better Tomorrow" written on it

A Call to Action on America’s 250th

By Alliance Member Jay Blitzman

The past year has shaken our faith in institutions, and perhaps, in each other. If not already eviscerated, the Rule of Law is under attack. In this atmosphere of constant chaos, we have become numbed by the events of each day and the scope of unprecedented executive action. Yet, even in the face of growing autocracy and oligarchy, the Rule of Law can prevail.

There is nothing inevitable about justice prevailing. Justice is only a possibility, contingent on what we do next. If we settle for comfort, symbolic gestures, or the illusion that progress will unfold on its own, we will find ourselves deeper in despair. But if we pair our moral outrage with material action, honest reflection, and collective struggle, then even now, in the midst of fear and uncertainty, we can begin to build something more durable than optimism.

A black mural stating "defend truth" in white letters sits on a while building wall, over a city sidewalk

When Belief Becomes Law: The Rise of Executive Rule and the Vanishing of Facts

By Alliance Member Jay Blitzman

During his successful defense of the British soldiers accused of killing Americans in the Boston Massacre of 1770, John Adams, the nation’s second president, famously observed that “facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations or the dictates of passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”

Times have changed. When President Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, saying that the jobs numbers compiled by the agency’s nonpartisan analysts and experts “were RIGGED” some pundits observed that you can fire the umpire, but you can’t change the score.

Unless you can.

A series of armored vehicles travel away from the viewer on a flat road, with the American flag flying from the top of each vehicle

Good Governance vs. Armored Cars: Why America Must Revitalize Its Rule of Law Traditions

By Alliance Member Alain Norman

When leaders fail to respect the law and constitutional norms, any society can enter a downward spiral that ruins the economic well-being and security of nearly everyone within it.

America was very lucky, 250 years ago, to have had good leaders–i.e., Founding Fathers willing to pledge their “lives, fortunes, and sacred honor” to the cause of independence for a nation based on the idea that individuals have inalienable rights, including the rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” To this day, good leaders understand that they should respect laws, procedures, and norms if they wish to preside over successful businesses or nations. Leaders who set bad examples encourage selfishness and misbehavior among others that, in turn, undermines society’s functionality.

What Would Abraham Lincoln Say?

By AAROL Member Homer E. Moyer, Jr.

Imagine for a moment if we could call upon Abraham Lincoln today and ask him to share his thoughts about the challenges our country faces in this anniversary year. What if we asked simply that he update for today the iconic speech he gave at Gettysburg?

Although we can never have his response to that fanciful request, we as a country might well benefit by trying to imagine — admittedly presumptuously — a current version of that short, historic address. Taking cues from what he did say in 1863, preserving much of its elegance, and remembering the national pain of our Civil War and its long aftermath, the original — with lined-out deletions — and an imagined, updated version might look something like the following.

Juries are essential to democracy, and they are under threat in America

By AAROL Member Nicolas Mansfield. Last month a trial jury in the federal district court of Washington, DC acquitted a man for throwing a sandwich at a federal agent. The case had become a local cause célèbre because it took place during the Trump administration’s takeover of local law enforcement in the nation’s capital and […]

Red Lights Flashing: Warning Signs for Our Courts from the Republic of Georgia

By AAROL Member Neil Weinstein. Courts in the U.S. are losing their luster. The approval rating of our courts, especially the Supreme Court, is at an all-time low — in part because of the Supreme Court’s seemingly reflexive acceptance of the Trump Administration’s applications, decided almost always through its “emergency” or “shadow” docket via orders […]

Constitution Day series | Catching Up with Our National Values

By AAROL Member Homer E. Moyer, Jr. Next year we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of our becoming an independent nation, and in just a few days (September 17th) we will commemorate a less celebrated, but no less important anniversary—”Constitution Day,” the day delegates gathered in Independence Hall in Philadelphia signed our Constitution. Both milestones […]