Guantanamo
Posted by admin on Jan 5, 2007
Two new books in the library this month have very different views on the powers of the president and the war on terror. First a book by civil rights attorney Joseph Margulies.
Joseph Margulies. Guantanamo and the Abuse of Presidential Power. New York, Simon & Schuster, 2006. KF5060 .M373 2006
From the publisher: After september 11, the Bush administration developed a detention policy unique in our nation’s history. Prisoners have been taken from every corner of the globe, some of them arrested thousands of miles from any battlefield, and shipped to offshore prisons run by the CIA or Department of Defense. Nearly five hundred prisoners are currently held at the Guant·namo Bay Naval Station, in Cuba, some of whom have been in prison for more than four years. Another five hundred are held at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.
Perhaps as many as two hundred others have been sent to countries with richly deserved reputations for torture, a process known as “extraordinary rendition.” Still more are held at so-called black sites-CIA-run facilities so secret the Administration does not even acknowledge their existence. At these “prisons beyond the law,” the Administration claims the right to hold people indefinitely, incommunicado and in solitary confinement, without charges or access to counsel, and without the benefit of the Geneva Conventions. Worse, the Administration has subjected them to interrogation techniques that Margulies argues are abusive, illegal, and immoral. Weaving together firsthand accounts of military personnel who witnessed the interrogations with the words of the prisoners themselves, Margulies exposes the chilling reality of Guant·namo Bay. He examines the genesis of the detention policy and exposes its consequences, not only for the prisoners who endure the torment of their captors but for the larger “war on terror” that is the centerpiece of the nation’s foreign policy.
Joseph Margulies is a nationally recognized civil rights lawyer and law professor in Chicago.He was the lead attorney in Rasul v. Bush, one of two cases in the Supreme Court that exposed the plight of the Guant·namo prisoners and led to judicial oversight of the prison at Guant·namo Bay. He argues that in creating this detention policy, the president has claimed all the power of a wartime executive but rejected all restraints on the use of that power, including those imposed by other branches of government. The result is an unprecedented, and dangerous, expansion of presidential authority. Guant·namo and the Abuse of Presidential Power examines the arguments on both sides of the issue, but it makes clear that the present policy is a legal and ethical disaster that offers only a false promise of security against terrorism, even as it inflames sentiments against us in the rest of the world, inspiring far more terror than it could ever prevent.
War by Other Means
Posted by admin on Jan 5, 2007
And this book by John Yoo, former deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice and law professor at Berkeley.
John Yoo. War by Other Means: An Insider’s Account of the War on Terror. New York, Atlantic Monthly, 2006. HV6432 .Y66 2006
From the publisher: On September 11, 2001, while America reeled from the day’s cataclysmic events, and the majority of Official Washington, D.C. – including most of the Justice Department – evacuated, John Yoo and a skeletal staff of the Office of Legal Counsel stayed behind. They quickly found themselves on the phone with the White House. The attacks called for a response, but the president’s legal authority to act was unclear. Were we at war?
In answering that question and others in the following months, Yoo had an almost unmatched impact on the fight against al Qaeda. His analysis led to many of the Bush administration’s most controversial policies: detention at Guantanamo Bay, coercive interrogation, military trials, the NSA’s wiretapping program, the Patriot Act, and the decision that the Geneva Conventions are irrelevant for “illegal enemy combatants.”
In War by Other Means, you offers an insider accounts of the personalities, on-the-ground facts, and legal basis behind these decisions Through specific cases, from John Walker Lindh and Zacarias Moussaoui, to an American al Qaeda leader killed by a CIA pilotless drone in the deserts of Yemen, Yoo sweeps aside partisan bickering, answers his and the Bush administration’s critics, and clarifies how and why we fight. War by Other Means is a captivating, brilliant, and accessible book, a must read for anyone concerned about the War on Terror.
Linguistics in the Courtroom
Posted by admin on Jan 5, 2007
Roger W. Shuy. Linguistics in the Courtroom: A Practical Guide. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2006. KF8968.54 .S483 2006
From the publisher: This is a practical guide for both beginning and established linguists who have been asked by lawyers to address the language issues in their civil and criminal cases. Author Roger W. Shuy deals with issues of how to become an expert, how to start and manage a practice of consulting on law cases, how to address the issue of professional ethics, how to work with lawyers, write reports, affidavits, and participate successfully in depositions, direct examination, and cross examination at trial. The book also suggests ways that linguists can use their forensic linguistic experiences in their publications and classroom teaching, along with suggestions of recent books that forensic linguists may need for their personal libraries.
Not a Suicide Pact
Posted by admin on Jan 5, 2007
Richard A. Posner. Not a Suicide Pact: The Constitution in a Time of National Emergency. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2006. KF4749 .P67 2006
From the publisher: Eavesdropping on the phone calls of U.S. citizens; demands by the FBI for records of library borrowings; establishment of military tribunals to try suspected terrorists, including U.S. citizens – many of the measures taken by the Bush administration since 9/11 have sparked heated protests. In Not a Suicide Pact, Judge Richard A. Posner offers a cogent response to these protests, arguing that personal liberty must be balanced with public safety in the face of grave national danger.
The House
Posted by admin on Nov 27, 2006
Robert V. Remini. The House: The History of the House of Representatives. New York, Smithsonian Books in association with HarperCollins, 2006. JK1319 .R46 2006
From the publisher: The United States House of Representatives is regarded by many as the finest deliberative body in existence. Throughout America’s history, the House has played a central role in shaping the nation’s destiny. In our own time the impeachment hearings of President Clinton and the rise and fall of Newt Gingrich revealed, quite starkly, just how vital the House’s constitutional powers remain. In this incomparable single-volume history, distinguished historian Robert V. Remini traces the development of this quintessential American institution from a struggling, nascent body to the venerable powerhouse it has become since America’s rise on the world stage. Violence, acrimony, triumph, and compromise litter the House’s varied and illustrious past. Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, John Randolph, “Czar” Thomas Reed, “Uncle Joe” Cannon, and, more recently, Sam Rayburn, Tip O’Neill, Gerald Ford, Shirley Chisholm, Barbara Jordan, Jim Wright, Patricia Schroeder, Dick Cheney, Tom Foley, Peter Rodino, and John Murtha are just a few of the figures who have played significant political roles. These leaders mastered the rules and folkways of the House and bent them to their own or the people’s wills and needs. Through their exploits, Dr. Remini shows the true brilliance of constitutional elasticity and the dangers inherent in it. The founders of our country created the House to reflect the will of the people. Out of chaos could emerge a national consensus that could bind the country together after first revealing the deep fissures between North and South and, in our day, among the Midwest, the South, and the coastal regions. For two centuries the powerful hold the Founding Fathers gave the House over the purse strings of the nation has forced its members to be conciliators and statesmen in times of crisis. The essential drama of democracy — the struggle between principle and pragmatism — is showcased throughout the book and through it the history of America’s successful experiment with democracy unfurls.
Without Precedent
Posted by admin on Nov 8, 2006
Thomas H. Kean and Lee H. Hamilton. Without Precedent: The Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. HV6432.7 .K43 2006
From the publisher: In the words of the commission’s co-chairmen, this is the compelling inside story of how the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States-more commonly known as the 9/11 Commission-managed to succeed against all odds in producing a report that made clear what went wrong and why. The mandate of the 9/11 Commission was daunting and all-encompassing. In its investigation of the events leading up to and including September 11, 2001, the commission had to examine U.S. diplomacy, military policy, intelligence agencies, law enforcement, border and aviation security, and congressional oversight, as well as the immediate response to the terrorist attacks, while also investigating the lethal enemy al Qaeda. Here for the first time is the story of how the commission came together to produce its landmark document.
The Yale Book of Quotations
Posted by admin on Nov 8, 2006
Fred R. Shapiro. The Yale Book of Quotations. New Haven, Yale University Press, 2006. Reference PN6081 .Y35 2006
From the publisher: This reader-friendly volume contains more than 12,000 famous quotations, arranged alphabetically by author. It is unique in its focus on American quotations and its inclusion of items not only from literary and historical sources but also from popular culture, sports, computers, science, politics, law, and the social sciences. Anonymously authored items appear in sections devoted to folk songs, advertising slogans, television catchphrases, proverbs, and others.
For each quotation, a source and first date of use is cited. In many cases, new research for this book has uncovered an earlier date or a different author than had previously been understood. (It was Beatrice Kaufman, not Sophie Tucker, who exclaimed, “I’ve been poor and I’ve been rich. Rich is better!” William Tecumseh Sherman wasn’t the originator of “War is hell!” It was Napoleon.) Numerous entries are enhanced with annotations to clarify meaning or context for the reader. These interesting annotations, along with extensive cross-references that identify related quotations and a large keyword index, will satisfy both the reader who seeks specific information and the curious browser who appreciates an amble through entertaining pages.
The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Practicing Law
Posted by admin on Nov 1, 2006
Mark Herrman. The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Practicing Law. Chicago, Ill. : American Bar Association, c2006. KF300 .H47 2006
From the publisher: “The Curmudgeon” has been practicing law for just a little too long, and he may be too jaded for his own good. Beneath his crusty exterior, however, lies a fount of wisdom. The Curmudgeon knows everything about the legal profession, and he’s willing to share his keen observations from the corner office. He offers practical and honest, if blunt, advice for surviving and thriving in a law firm. He tells you what you need to know about billing, managing your assistant, drafting internal memos, dealing with clients and building your law practice. Read the Curmudgeon and find out what drives law partners crazy, what will impress them and what ten mistakes you should avoid. Concise, humorous and full of valuable (but curmudgeonly) insight, this is a must-read for every lawyer and law student.
Writing Essay Exams to Succeed
Posted by admin on Oct 18, 2006
John C. Dernbach. Writing Essay Exams to Succeed (Not Just to Survive). New York, Aspen Publishers, 2007. KF283 .D47 2007
Professor Dernbach teaches at Widener’s Harrisburg campus.
From the publisher: Essay exams don’t have to be a mystery. With
its wealth of visual aids, examples, and practical advice, Professor
Dernbach’s concise guide enables pre-law and law school students to
develop the strong essay-writing skills they need to succeed and feel
confident taking essay exams.
Mapp v. Ohio
Posted by admin on Oct 18, 2006
Carolyn N. Long. Mapp v. Ohio: Guarding Against Unreasonable Searches and Seizures. Lawrence, KS, University Press of Kansas, 2006. KF224.M213 L66 2006
From the publisher: Although she came to be known as merely “that girl with the dirty
books,” Dollree Mapp was a poor but proud black woman who defied a
predominantly white police force by challenging the legality of its
search-and-seizure methods. Her case, which went all the way to the
Supreme Court, remains hotly debated and highly controversial today.