Uncategorized

By Daniel Cotter* When the Mueller Report was expected in the early months of 2019, the question of the potential for a sitting president to be indicted was debated.  The main argument against the ability to indict a sitting president was the September 24, 1973, Office of Legal Counsel (“OLC”) memo drafted by President Richard Nixon’s OLC in the wake of his impeachment.  The 1973 OLC memo was reiterated in an October 2000 OLC memo after the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton. After …

Continue Reading about Options for Dealing with a Sitting President →

We're seeking submissions for our student note competition, with winners to be published this summer in Vol. 15.1! The competition provides a unique opportunity for law students to publish their work in HLPR, which has had a recent distribution to more than 6,000 lawyers nationwide, as well as congressional offices, judges, and other progressive decision-makers. We seek policy-oriented pieces that are 4,000–13,000 words, shorter in length than a typical journal article. We welcome articles that …

Continue Reading about HLPR Student Note Competition Open →

By Daniel Cotter* On December 18, 2019, President Donald J. Trump became only the 20th person and 3rd president to be formally impeached by the House.  Debate began about whether he had been impeached if the articles were not submitted to the Senate.  The better argument, reading the language of the Constitution, is that a majority voting to approve an article of impeachment is in fact impeachment. Reminder of the Constitution Provisions on Impeachment Article I, Section 2, Clause 5 of …

Continue Reading about High Crimes and Misdemeanors →

By Mateo De La Torre* and Harper Jean Tobin** As the nation discusses sentencing and prison reform, judges and policymakers increasingly consider the rights of an especially vulnerable group of prisoners: those who are transgender. Similar to other minority groups, LGBTQ people face disproportionate rates of incarceration. Federal data show non-heterosexual adults are locked up at nearly three times the rate of their heterosexual counterparts. While comparable federal data is not yet …

Continue Reading about Transgender Prisoners: Ground Zero for Prison Reform →

By Daniel Cotter* On October 31, 2019, the House voted along party lines, 232-196, to formalize the impeachment inquiry procedure.  Republicans had insisted that the process must be formalized and that a vote was required before the House could conduct an impeachment inquiry.  That insistence is misplaced and is a myth of the impeachment process that is not supported by the Constitution or by the past impeachment processes of the presidents.                                                    …

Continue Reading about The Myth of the Impeachment Inquiry Process →

By Daniel Cotter* On October 8, 2019, White House Counsel Pat A. Cipollone wrote an eight-page letter to House Speaker Pelosi, and to Chairmen Engel, Schiff, and Cummings. The letter was described as being without legal basis and wrong.  It is a dangerous letter for many reasons, including that it inaccurately addresses what impeachment is and how the process works. The Constitution includes much on impeachment in Articles I, II, and III.  The original document before amendments contains …

Continue Reading about A Troubling Interpretation →