July 20, 1969 … and 1944

225px-bendler_block_memorial_crop2July 20, 1969 was the day of a great human accomplishment. Watching the rebroadcast of bits of Cronkite’s newscast, I was struck by how much we have lost the sense of wonder that was felt around the world that day and abandoned the sense of adventure that made it possible.

But I want to talk about a different thing that happened on July 20.

On July 20, 1944, a group of German military officers and civilians made one last attempt to overthrow the Nazi regime. This one came the closest to success. As we all know, the plan was to kill Hitler and then to use a Nazi contingency plan called Operation Valkyrie (Unternehmen Walküre) to remove resistance from the regime with the regime’s own resources. Once accomplished, a new government would be established. By a series of three misfortunes, Hitler survived and the plan failed. Had any of these three not occurred, he would have died on that day and perhaps the war would have ended nine months before it did, sparing hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of lives and avoiding the forty year Soviet occupation of Germany. 

Continue ReadingJuly 20, 1969 … and 1944

The Sotomayor Hearings — What We Can Agree On?

Here is something that we can all agree on. Maybe. Over at PrawfsBlawg, Howard Wasserman of Florida International says that the Sotomayor hearings have been “inane and meaningless.” This has been a widely shared reaction among liberal legal academics and lawyers. They are disappointed in (even if they are willing to excuse) her retreat into a caricature of judicial restraint. They are put off (even if they are willing to rationalize) the fog of platitudes and non sequiturs with which she has responded to questions.

Here’s an example. Our own Senator Feingold asked her what the test is for incorporating provisions of the Bill of Rights into the Fourteenth Amendment: 

Continue ReadingThe Sotomayor Hearings — What We Can Agree On?

Seventh Circuit Criminal Case of the Week: “A Total Breakdown of Justice”

seventh-circuit3

In January 2003, Milwaukee police officers found two guns in the home of the estranged wife of Rashid Salahuddin.  Salahuddin himself was arrested shortly afterwards.  Now, more than six years later, after many rounds of legal proceedings in state and federal court, Salahuddin still awaits final resolution of criminal charges stemming from the discovery of the guns.   

In October 2008, Judge J.P. Stadtmueller of the Eastern District of Wisconsin summoned the United States Attorney and the Federal Defender to his office for an off-the record conversation about the case, which he characterized as “a total breakdown of justice.”  Following this conversation, the government asked Stadtmueller to recuse himself from the case.  When Stadtmueller refused, the government initiated proceedings in the Seventh Circuit to compel the district judge’s removal. 

The Seventh Circuit has now agreed with the government that Stadtmueller’s statements at the October 2008 meeting required his recusal.  In re United States of America (No. 09-2264) (Ripple, J.). 

Continue ReadingSeventh Circuit Criminal Case of the Week: “A Total Breakdown of Justice”