The Libya Intervention: Legality and Lessons (Part II)

In my previous post, I discussed the legal merits and some of the practical consequences of NATO’s intervention in Libya. The legal analysis in that post focused exclusively on international law. The intervention, however, also raised important questions under U.S. domestic law, the most prominent of which concerned the applicability of the War Powers Resolution. In this post, I’ll discuss some of the main arguments regarding the Resolution’s applicability, and one of the practical consequences of the Obama Administration’s approach to the issue.

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The Law of Halloween

Today is the day of tricks or treats, of lit jack-o-lanterns, and of dressing in costumes silly or scary or downright outlandish.  But Halloween gives rise to more than ghouls and goblins; it also produces facts for interesting case law.  How about the neighbor whose lawn decorations included a sign saying “Insane Asylum” with an arrow pointing toward the plaintiff’s house, along with a homemade tombstone that allegedly referenced the plaintiff and read:

At 48 She had

No mate No date

It’s no debate

She looks 88

She met her fate

in a crate

Now We Celebrate

1961–2009.

Click here for an article in the New York State Bar Association Journal by Attorney Daniel B. Moar, collecting what he calls “Case Law from the Crypt:  The Law of Halloween,” including the above case as well as a case where the court held as a matter of law that a house was haunted.

Trick or treat!

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Learning to Make a Brief March

[Editor’s Note:  This month faculty members share their favorite brief writing or oral argument tip.  This is the third entry in the series.] 

Maybe it’s like your first kiss, or maybe I’m unusual this way, but I think I will always remember my first brief.  I was a new associate working with two partners on the defense of a federal securities lawsuit.  The litigation was just a minor skirmish in a larger war: the plaintiff was attempting a hostile takeover of our client, and the litigation was intended to bring some more pressure to bear on our recalcitrant board of directors. Could we do anything to relieve that pressure?

The senior partner asked me to research an obscure provision of securities law that he felt might provide a basis for a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6).  I prepared a memo that carefully assessed the strengths and weaknesses of his theory, ultimately concluding that it was viable.  “Great memo,” he responded, “now rewrite your analysis as a brief in support of a motion to dismiss.”

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