Con Law Updates

Quiz 4 scores are posted and the reading assignments have been updated on the online syllabus.

Review

Post your quiz review questions here.

Torture Authorized By Highest White House Officials - and President Bush

According to an ABC News report (video), "the most senior Bush administration officials discussed and approved specific details of how high-value al Qaeda suspects would be interrogated by the Central Intelligence Agency." These officials approved "enhanced interrogation techniques" considered to be torture by many - including the U.S. Army Field Manual. According to the report "some of the interrogation sessions were almost choreographed -- down to the number of times CIA agents could use a specific tactic." The senior officials involved were members of the National Security Council's Principals Committee including "Vice President Cheney, former National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell, as well as CIA Director George Tenet and Attorney General John Ashcroft." In response to the report President Bush told ABC News he knew and approved of the meetings.

At one point during these meetings Attorney General Ashcroft commented "Why are we talking about this in the White House? History will not judge this kindly."

Amnesty International
Human Rights First

Is U.S. Avoiding the Law by Trying Suspects in Afghanistan?

The United States has transferred approximately 50 detainees from its detention facility in Guantanamo Bay to U.S. funded prisons in Afghanistan.  There they are held indefinitely without any rights whatsoever.  This effectively circumvents Supreme Court rulings in Hamdi, Rasul and Hamdan that detainees are entitled to basic human rights protected in U.S. and international law.  Some of these detainees are being tried in secret Afghan military tribunals with evidence provided by the U.S.

  

See this International Herald Tribune story and this Washington Post story for more

  

Take action through Amnesty International.

Scalia Plays the Lyric

University of Baltimore
Spring Speaker Series: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
April 24, 2008

Time: 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Location: The Lyric
Contact Name: Office of External Relations
Contact E-mail: lawevents@ubalt.edu
Join the University of Baltimore School of Law in welcoming United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia to Baltimore. Justice Scalia will speak at 3 PM at the Lyric Opera House, located at 140 W. Mt. Royal Ave.

This event is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required (see below for contact information). Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Please plan on arriving early to ensure a seat.

Parking is extremely limited for this event, but several mass transit options are available. Baltimore's Light Rail stops 2 blocks from campus (University of Baltimore/Mt. Royal stop). In addition, Baltimore's Penn Station is approximately 3 blocks from campus and is serviced by Amtrak and MARC trains.

To register online, click here. For more information, email lawevents@ubalt.edu.