JURIST Guest Columnist Julie R. Colton of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law discusses how the newfound legalization of same-sex marriage can raise more questions than it answers, particularly with respect to common law marriage... Even though the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell that bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional back in 2015, important issues surrounding same-sex marriage …

JURIST Guest Columnist Professor Pacifique Manirakiza of the University of Ottawa discusses the complexities behind investigations into the atrocities in Burundi and the need for a special tribunal to prosecute the crimes ... In April 2016, the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda opened a preliminary examination focusing on the third term related atrocities in Burundi following President Pierre …

JURIST Guest Columnist Louis René Beres of Purdue University, critically analyzes Trump's "America First" foreign policy... "The existence of `system' in the world is at once obvious to every observer of nature....Each element of the cosmos is positively woven from all the others." — Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, The Phenomenon of Man The cumulative jurisprudential assets and liabilities of U.S. …

JURIST Guest Columnist Louis Rene Beres of Purdue University discusses President Trump's potentially problematic access to and control over America's nuclear arsenal, an issue relatively unaddressed amidst the constant discussion of Trump-related scandal... Strictly speaking, insanity is not a proper medical or psychiatric term, but rather a more-or-less acceptable legal description. Nonetheless, as a convenient shorthand for exploring mental illness …

JURIST Guest Columnist Louis René Beres of the Purdue University College of Liberal Arts discusses President Donald Trump's recent antics and how they will affect the potential for nuclear action...Increasingly, Donald Trump is showing palpable signs of debility. Most worrisome, in this sobering display, is the president's conspicuously proud disregard for science, history, diplomacy, intelligence, and jurisprudence. Less easily documented, …

JURIST Guest Columnist David M. Crane of the Syracuse University College of Law discusses how President Trump is using the conflict with North Korea to divert attention from his own shortcomings...Tyrants need a war. Looking back over the past hundred years one finds that tyrants come to power in conflict and remains in power largely due to conflict. It centers …

JURIST Guest Columnists James G. Hodge, Jr. of the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Arizona State University and Sarah A. Noe of the University of Pennsylvania Law School discuss the recent national call for a Presidential state of emergency in response to the opioid epidemic gripping the nation...On July 31, 2017 President Donald J. Trump's White House Commission on …

JURIST Guest Columnist Bradley Abramson of Alliance Defending Freedom, discusses the new ABA Model Rules and potential first amendment concerns ... The new ABA Model Rule 8.4(g) prohibits attorneys from engaging in "harmful," "derogatory," or "demeaning" speech in any activity "related to the practice of law," including "bar association, business or social activities." Proponents of the rule have advanced several …

JURIST Guest Columnist Megan A. Fairlie of the Florida International University College of Law discusses the value of preserving an important, unsung hero of the State Department... Earlier this month, former State Department Deputy Beth van Schaack first reported on the planned closure of the State Department's Office of Global Criminal Justice ("GCJ"). The GCJ, historically led by an Ambassador-at-Large, …

JURIST Guest Columnist Louis René Beres of Purdue University, discusses the implications of Palestinian statehood under the rubric of International Law... "The first general law, which is to be found in the very end of the society of Nations, is that each Nation should contribute as far as it can to the happiness and advancement of other Nations." Emmerich de …

JURIST Guest Columnist Louis René Beres of Purdue University, in part two of this two part series, continues his discussion on how Higher Law supports the prospective impeachment of President Trump... II. What is to be done when positive law (which now includes US Constitutional law) is at variance with true law? The Romans had proposed a remedy. They incorporated …

JURIST Guest Columnist Louis René Beres of Purdue University, in part one of this two part series, discusses how Higher Law supports the prospective impeachment of President Trump... "The legality of the Constitution, its supremacy, and its claim to be worshipped alike find common standing ground on the belief in a law superior to the will of human governors." — …

JURIST Guest Columnists, David M. Crane, of Syracuse University School of Law, and Richard Goldstone, former Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, discuss the widespread implications of the US decision to close the Office of Global Criminal Justice...With the raspy barking of a US President in the background trying to "Make America Great Again," the world shrinks away …

JURIST Guest Columnist Benjamin G. Davis of University of Toledo College of Law adapts Leo Amery's famous 1940 speech calling for the ousting of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain for the age of Trump...May I say that I agree wholeheartedly with what just fell from the lips of the hon. Maxine Waters of California as to the responsibility of the Opposition …

JURIST Guest Columnist L. Ali Khan of the Washburn University School of Law discusses the rationale behind some proposed changes to the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct... The American Bar Association (ABA) has proposed a model rule to discipline lawyers who in the practice of law harass or discriminate, by speech or conduct, on the basis of race, sex, …

JURIST Guest Columnist Julie A. Hill of The University of Alabama School of Law, discusses the Financial Choice Act and duplicative enforcement of financial regulations ... After the L.A. Times revealed that Wells Fargo employees opened millions of unauthorized consumer accounts, the bank faced multiple investigations and fines. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) fined Wells Fargo a record $100 …

JURIST Guest Columnist Benjamin G. Davis of University of Toledo College of Law discusses the effect the Supreme Court's recent decision to stay parts of President Trump's "Muslim ban" will have on vulnerable refugees...On June 26, 2017, the Supreme Court per curiam opinion granted the US Government's application to stay the "Muslim ban or not" injunctions to the extent that …

JURIST Guest Columnist Mohamed Arafa of Indiana University discusses the new French president, Emmanuel Macron's foreign policy in Muslim and Middle Eastern world ... Emmanuel Macron, a 39-year-old and the ex-minister of economics, is now the France's new president after crushing his bitter rival the far-right wing Marine Le Pen in the fight for the presidency and real democracy. This …

JURIST Guest Columnist Mark R. Killenbeck of the University of Arkansas School of Law discusses Alabama's HB 24 which allows adoption agencies to refuse to place foster children with same-sex couples according to religious beliefs ... In March 1967, a three-judge district court in Lee v. Macon County Board of Education condemned Alabama's "relentless opposition" to the elimination of its …

JURIST Guest Columnist, David M. Crane, of Syracuse University School of Law discusses the importance of the rule of law in restoring the ideals of humanity and morality on a global scale...There is a growling of a discontent, an unrest, just below the surface, festering ready to erupt into a boil of frustration. The salve of the rule of law …

JURIST Guest Columnist, Roy S. Gutterman, of School of Public Communications at Syracuse University discusses the implications of late-night television political satire and the effect of FCC regulation on the First Amendment...Since the election late-night TV show hosts have been making a killing at the expense of the Trump administration. But new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman, Ajit Pai, intimated …

JURIST Contributing Editor Marjorie Cohn, Professor Emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, discusses the legal framework of a potential Trump impeachment...Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has responded to the crescendo of outrage by appointing former FBI director Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate "any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of …

JURIST Guest Columnist Greg Barns, Lecturer in Jurisprudence RMIT University (Melbourne, Australia) and Anna Talbot, Legal and Policy Adviser Australian Lawyers Alliance discuss the human rights of unwell asylum seekers at the refugee facility on Manus Island... On April 30th, the National Court of Papua New Guinea granted an urgent request for an injunction to prevent Lebanese asylum seeker Azzam …

JURIST Guest Columnist Ricardo Arredondo, a professor at University of Buenos Aires, responds to David Crane's commentary article in respect to the international law on the use of force... A few days ago Prof. Crane wrote a very interesting article about the international law on the use of force, particularly regarding in situations where mass atrocities are being committed. The …

JURIST Guest Columnist David M. Crane and Catherine Read discuss the Supreme Court's decision on denying cert in the ACLU's Freedom of Information Act lawsuit... Last Monday, 24 April, it was easy to miss the important news that the Supreme Court denied cert in the ACLU's Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to make public the full Senate Intelligence Committee report …