Apr. Volume 7, ISSUE 3
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Feb.-Apr. Volume 7, ISSUE 3 Skyler Goldberg Threat to Our National Security or to Our Democracy? On Feb. 15, President Donald Trump de- Paul has written, clared illegal immigration on the southern border a however, that the national emergency and claimed he now has the National Emergen- power to build a border wall. cies Act “gave the The president is relying on a provision of president unfet- general military law that empowers the president to tered authority to “undertake military construction projects” during make a national national emergencies that require “use of the armed emergency declara- forces.” The statute allows Trump to appropriate tion and use specif- funds for the wall from the existing military con- ic statutory powers.” Paul emphasizes that the law struction budget. did not establish any criteria for national emergen- But this authority, which has not been in- cies. So judges have little basis on which to inter- voked since 9/11, is limited to projects “necessary to vene. support such use of the armed forces” — and the The El Paso attorneys counter that, as the army plays little role in border security. Still, sup- Supreme Court did in Sebelius v. Cloer regarding porters of the emergency maintain that the wall will the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, courts help the troops Trump has deployed to secure the should apply the “ordinary meaning” of words not border. defined in the statute. Most would agree that the Yet some lawyers argue that Trump has not dictionary definition would restrict emergencies to cited a true emergency. These critics say that emer- situations demanding immediate action. gencies are limited to time-sensitive national secu- The president’s opponents also point to rity threats, threats the country can’t wait for Con- Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer as proof gress to address. They emphasize that courts can intervene. In this case, the Supreme that Congress did address the is- Court rejected President Harry Truman’s attempt to sue, repeatedly denying Trump seize private steel mills by invoking emergency his border wall. And even Trump powers. Truman did so to end a strike that he said acknowledged that the border would jeopardize the country’s military efforts dur- wall does not pose any urgent ing Korean War. threat, saying, “I didn’t need to do Nonetheless, experts like Paul point out that this, but I’d rather do it much Congress hadn’t yet passed the National Emergency faster.” Act when Youngstown was Continued on next page Former prosecutor Deanna decided. Paul argues that the Drum Roll, Please A Computer Wins World War II Gilette Ad Receives Jagged Response Pg 14 Pg 10 Pg 12 Presidential Performance Grace Patterson President Donald Trump gave his second jobs. He also announced his intent to hold another State of the Union address on Feb. 5, 2019 in the summit with Supreme Leader of North Korea Kim midst of the longest Jong-un, a summit that occurred on Mar. 2. Trump U.S. government also asserted that he wouldn’t call a state of emer- shutdown to date. gency yet in his efforts to build a wall between The President began America and Mexico. He reneged on this promise, by discussing what calling a state of emergency on Feb. 15, just 10 days his administration after his address. had accomplished in Trump also discussed many of the current the 2 years he had been in office. Trump celebrated crises in America, including the opioid crisis and the his big tax cuts and the reduction in the unemploy- current War in Afghanistan. He also contended that ment rate in the United States. while the administration was working very diligently Trump’s speech was the third longest State of to remove the many MS-13 gang members from the the Union address, lasting a total of 82 minutes. United States, without the improvement of border Trump took the time in his speech to address the security, the constant influx will continue. “The sav- government shutdown, his plans for border security age gang MS-13 now operates in at least 20 different and the border wall, the economy and American American states, and they almost all come through our southern border,” he added. Threat to Our National Security or to Our Democracy - Continued from previous page law expanded emergency authority. Unlike Truman, In the states’ lawsuit, the attorneys general she says that Trump “is using a specific statutory argue that building the wall will detract from the power created by Congress for the president.” amount of money their governments receive in fed- The El Paso attorneys disagree. Based on eral funding. But courts might reject this claim un- statements from the senators who passed the law, der the “prohibition of generalized grievances” doc- they argue that the statute restricted emergency trine. According to this principle, harms that indis- powers to true crises. Yet many legal scholars be- criminately affect “all or a large class of citizens” lieve courts should not rely on legislative intent to don’t justify standing. So, harms to entire states may interpret statutes, maintaining that judges should not merit standing. look only at the text of the law. So who will prevail in these cases? Harvard Regardless of whether Trump has grounds to law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz predicts call an emergency, El Paso, as well as the 16 states that Trump will win because, historically, courts and coalition of landowners suing the president, all tend to defer to the president on national security face a significant hurtle in the legal battle: the need matters. The Supreme Court upheld Trump’s travel to show standing. Courts will not hear the case un- ban last year based on this principle. less the plaintiffs can point to a “harm” they will suf- But University of George Mason Professor fer because of the wall’s construction. Ilya Somin sees this case as distinct from the travel In the El Paso and landowner coalition law- ban case. He thinks Trump will lose, both because suits, the plaintiffs live on the border and will lose the plaintiffs have overcome their property if Trump builds the wall. While loss of the deference owed to the property usually fulfills the standing requirement president and because the without question, real estate attorney Bob Kass has national emergency does written that landowners “generally cannot challenge not require the “use of the the taking of the property” by the government. armed forces.” Life or Death Madison Zicchinelli The Reproductive Health Act On Jan. 22, Democratic Governor Andrew to provide abortions. While New York State law Cuomo signed New York’s Reproductive Health had previously made it illegal to administer or Act, affirming take drugs to cause a miscarriage, this section of women’s right the law has also been repealed. to abortions. Many disagree with the new abortion law. The law’s en- Some people say that women use abortion to side actment coin- -step other problems. For example, Megan Clan- cides with the cy, a psychologists, said: “There are women who 46th anniver- are starving who become pregnant; the problem sary of when is that they are starving, not that they are preg- the Supreme Court established that restrictions nant.” on abortion that “place an ‘undue burden’” on There are others who oppose abortion due women seeking abortions are unconstitutional. to its cost. Some also believe abortions damage Democrats and Republicans had debated the mental health of the mother. Still others say the new law for the past 49 years. When the that abortion is the immoral killing of a human Democrats gained control of both houses of the being, inflicts suffering on an unborn child and is legislature, they easily signed and passed the Re- unfair to those couples who are unable conceive. productive Health Act. Some people think that repealing abortions from Since the 1970s, the law has defined a the criminal code limits “prosecutors from apply- “conduct which causes the death of a person or ing criminal charges in the cases of so-called an unborn child with which a female has been forced abortions, which can occur during domes- pregnant for more than 24 weeks” as homicide. tic- violence cases when a woman loses a child The old law permitted abortions within the first during pregnancy.” 24 weeks of the pregnancy, when the life of the In contrast, pro-abortion advocates con- patient is put at risk, or cases in which the fetus tend that the government should not dictate what is inviable. Abortions performed after 24 weeks a woman does with her body. Hillary Clinton ex- of the pregnancy were legal only if necessary to plained, “I’m pro-choice, because I want people protect the mother. In all other circumstances, to make their own choices. abortion was “criminalized.” Other supporters of abortion rights be- If an abortion does take place, the woman lieve that the government should stay out of does not need to get consent from her parents or healthcare. These skeptics of bureaucracy point her partner after the age of 18. The new public to the Charlie Gard case, in which a healthcare health law requires abortions past 12 weeks to be policy enforced performed in a hospital. And after 20 weeks, an by the British additional physician must be present. The law government pre- also guarantees babies “immediate legal protec- vented an infant tion under the laws of the state of New York” from obtaining once born. treatment essen- The Reproductive Health Act allows li- tial to his surviv- censed nurses, physician assistants and midwives al.