Courts & Litigation
Just Security’s expert authors offer analysis and informational resources on key litigation impacting national security, rights, democracy, and the rule of law. Our content spans domestic and international litigation, from cases at the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, and other international and regional tribunals, to those in U.S. courts involving executive branch actions, transnational litigation, and more.
2,864 Articles
Holding Migrant Children on Military Bases: What You Need to Know
The Washington Post recently reported that the Trump administration is making preparations to hold migrant children on U.S. military bases while their parents are pending trial…
Trump’s Subpoena Gamble: Fighting It Could Open Door to Indictment
If President Trump litigates the question whether the special counsel can subpoena him, the courts may ending up also saying a sitting president can be indicted.
Letter to the Editor: The Twenty-Fifth Amendment Reader’s Guide
Harold Koh and the Yale Law School Rule of Law Clinic should be proud of their work. Released on April 18, the Clinic’s “Reader’s Guide” to Section 4 of the Twenty-Fifth…
Contempt of Congress, Contempt by Congress
The latest sideshow stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian collusion is Congressmen Devin Nunes’s (R-Calif.) and Mark Meadows’s (R-N.C.)…
The Missing Justice Dep’t Memo on Whether a President Can Be Subpoenaed to Testify in a Criminal Case
A hot button issue in the Russian investigation is whether a sitting president can be subpoenaed to testify in a criminal proceeding. There's a critical Justice Department opinion…
Process as well as Substance is Important in ICC’s Rohingya Decision
The issue of ICC jurisdiction over the Rohingya deportation will establish important precedent for the Prosecutor’s ability to seek advisory opinions on jurisdiction or admissibility…
The Intel Community’s Annual Transparency Report Raises More Questions Than It Answers
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence's new mandatory report, summarizing certain intelligence agencies’ surveillance activities in 2017, is one of the most important…
What the Heck is Happening in Al-Nashiri?: The Ten-Layer Dip at the Heart of the Latest Guantánamo Mess
It’s hard to imagine a better microcosm of everything that’s gone wrong with the Guantánamo military commissions than the current headaches arising out of the prosecution…
Crime or Slime: Making Sense of Michael Cohen’s Shell Company
How do we know whether Michael Cohen's Essential Consultants was unlawful or just awful?
The Future of the US Military Commissions: Legal and Policy Issues
The American Bar Association releases significant new report on fate of military commissions at Guantanamo. Judge Jamie Baker and Laura Dickinson served on the Committee and highlight…
Just Security Podcast: Alex Whiting on Mueller/Sekulow’s 49 Questions
This week, news organizations, led by the New York Times, revealed a list of 49 questions that, depending on which account you read, are what Special Counsel Mueller wants to ask…
What the Law of Military Obedience Can (and Can’t) Do–What Happens if a President’s Orders are Unlawful?
A proposal to bring back waterboarding and a “hell of a lot worse.” The possible suggestion that members of the military should intentionally target terrorists’ civilian…