Main Articles

Mark M. Jaycox[*] [Full text of this Article in PDF is available at this link] I.   Introduction In 2013, investigative journalists disclosed that the U.S. government had used section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act as authorization for a now-defunct surveillance program that collected the daily call records of Americans from telecommunications companies.[1] Reporting also revealed that section 702 was, and still is, read to authorize the collection of Americans’ information from the telecommunications backbone,[2] even though section 702 targets foreigners outside the United States for foreign intelligence information.[3] Since then, national security scholars have applied particular scrutiny to those two […]

Nino Guruli[*] [Full text of this Article in PDF is available at this link] I.   Introduction There is a common refrain in U.S. legal scholarship that an assertive exercise of judicial power in matters of national security jeopardizes established institutional arrangements. In war and national security, the executive takes the lead, with some legislative oversight.[1] The legislative branch is constitutionally empowered and institutionally suited to check executive excesses in war and national security. The argument tends to go something like this: robust judicial review that thoroughly engages with the substance of executive power and decision making in national security is likely

Jeremy K. Davis[*] [Full text of this Article in PDF is available at this link] I.   Introduction In the early morning hours of January 3, 2020, an American MQ-9 Reaper drone fired several missiles into a motor vehicle convoy leaving Baghdad International Airport.[1] Among those killed in the U.S. attack was Major General Qassim Soleimani, Iran’s top security and intelligence commander and the leader of the powerful Qods Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.[2] U.S. President Donald Trump directed the drone strike in response to “an escalating series of armed attacks in recent months by the Islamic Republic of Iran

Scott Harman-Heath[*] [Full text of this Article in PDF is available at this link] Introduction For nearly three months beginning in September 2017, the United States detained a U.S. citizen “unnamed, uncharged, and, despite his request, without access to counsel.”[1] The government asserted that John Doe was detained as an enemy combatant in Iraq and that no party had Article III standing to seek judicial review of Doe’s detention.[2] The American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”) contested the legality of Doe’s ongoing detention by seeking a writ of habeas corpus on Doe’s behalf, pursuant to a doctrinal exception called “next friend standing.”[3] The

Anthony J. Ghiotto[*] [Full text of this Article in PDF is available at this link] Introduction On March 10, 2009, Michael McClendon shot and killed his mother in their hometown of Kinston, Alabama.[1] He then travelled to Samson, Alabama, where he shot and killed five additional family members.[2] McClendon then fled in his vehicle, continuing to shoot other motorists and innocent bystanders all while leading police on a twenty-four mile chase throughout rural Alabama.[3] The chase ended in a police shootout and resulted in McClendon committing suicide.[4] In total, McClendon’s shooting spree resulted in ten deaths and lasted less than one

Susan Landau & Asaf Lubin[*] [Full text of this Article in PDF is available at this link] Introduction The first of Edward Snowden’s disclosures was a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (“FISC”) order requiring that Verizon provide the National Security Agency (“NSA”) with daily Call Detail Records (“CDRs”) for all communications to, from, or within the United States.[1] The order, based on a FISC interpretation of Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, required Verizon to release all call routing information, including session identifying information (e.g., originating and terminating telephone number, International Mobile Subscriber Identity (“IMSI”) number, International Mobile station