Harvard Law & Policy Review

The Progressive Journal of the American Constitution Society

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Online Symposium: The Future of Progressive Constitutionalism

  Today, the Harvard Law & Policy Review and the Harvard Law School chapter of the American Constitution Society have the pleasure of releasing three fantastic pieces setting out progressive visions for the U.S. Constitution. Citizenship, Personhood, and the Constitution in 2020 Rachel F. Moran Reproductive Rights and the Rule of Law in Peril: The Fruits of a Decades-Long Effort to Reshape the Judiciary Dawn Johnsen Historicizing the Executive Bernadette Meyler Eleven …

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Options for Dealing with a Sitting President

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 …

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HLPR Student Note Competition Open

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 …

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High Crimes and Misdemeanors

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 …

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The Long Road Home: Collateral Consequences of Conviction Not Relieved by Commutation Alone

By Eric Allen Kauk* Oklahoma recently commuted the sentences of more than 500 inmates. This mass commutation followed a state legislature reclassification of low-level drug possession and property crimes. The legislature announced that the state will apply these changes retroactively. This state action may seem like a huge win in a society thirsty for criminal justice reform, but we should put the parades and confetti on hold until we see how these individuals are supported after release. A …

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Transgender Prisoners: Ground Zero for Prison Reform

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 …

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