Below is a round-up of the latest from the Battle for the Constitution: a special project on the constitutional debates in American life, in partnership with The Atlantic.
Republicans With Any Love of Country Must Acknowledge That Trump Has Lost
By Gregg Nunziata, Lawyer, Manatt, Phelps, & Phillips
Gregg Nunziata writes, as a lifelong conservative, that Donald Trump and Republicans must acknowledge that he has lost the election—and that accepting the outcomes of elections, even when the opposing party wins, is essential to American democracy.
The Flynn Pardon Is a Despicable Use of an Awesome Power
By Mark Osler, Professor and Robert and Marion Short Distinguished Chair in Law, University of St. Thomas School of Law
Mark Osler looks at the history of the pardon power, how Donald Trump has used and abused it, and argues that even in the face of those abuses, the power should not be restricted.
Biden Could Expand Abortion Access, Even Without the Senate
By Greer Donley, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Pittsburgh School of Law
Greer Donley examines executive actions that President-elect Biden can take when he assumes office to expand access to abortion.
There Aren’t Serious-Enough Consequences for Those Trying to Break American Democracy
By Quinta Jurecic, Managing Editor, Lawfare
Quinta Jurecic says that there should be more severe penalties for the lawyers attempting to overthrow the will of the voters and sow doubt about the election by pursuing Donald Trump’s campaign’s lawsuits, but unfortunately there likely will not be.
Minority Rule Cannot Last in America
By Kenneth Owen, Associate Professor of History, University of Illinois at Springfield
Kenneth Owen gives a series of examples of minority rule in American history, and how such a situation cannot last, and says that while Republicans technically can maintain dominance at the national level for some time despite representing a minority of the population, it is against the spirit of democracy and will likely provoke a backlash.
Trump’s Election Litigation Will Have Lasting Effects
By Kim Wehle, Professor of Law, University of Baltimore School of Law
Kim Wehle writes that one legacy of Donald Trump’s campaign’s lawsuits to restrict the franchise in the run up to the election is that more campaigns will seek to have courts do the same in the future.
Thank Goodness for the Independence of America’s Judiciary
Sheldon L. Snook, Lawyer and Former Special Assistant, Office of the Counselor to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
Sheldon L. Snook asserts that the judiciary’s rejection of Donald Trump’s false claims of election fraud, while courts around the world rubberstamp anti-democratic actions, is crucial and proves the vitality of an independent judiciary.
