“We Believe We Are in a Constitutional Crisis”: Law Professors and Law Teachers Stand Against Administration's Illegal and Unconstitutional Actions | ACS

Greater than 950 regulation students from across the nation have signed on to a bipartisan letter decrying President Trump’s slew of unlawful govt orders and actions. The letter was coordinated by Kent Greenfield, Professor and Dean’s Distinguished Scholar at Boston School Legislation Faculty, and the American Structure Society. 

The undersigned are professors and lecturers of regulation, devoted to the rule of regulation. We consider we’re in a constitutional disaster.

The President has signed numerous govt orders which are past his constitutional or statutory authority. The President can not change who’s a citizen. He doesn’t have unbridled authorized authority to cease funds already allotted by Congress, nor can he unilaterally impose new, politically-motivated situations on authorities advantages that violate the constitutional rights of the recipient people, corporations, and establishments. He’s not empowered to disband businesses and departments duly created, empowered, and funded by Congress. He’s not allowed to present oversight and management over authorities operations to personal people unconstrained by regulation.

The federal government and legal guidelines of the USA will not be topic to presidential whim. Quite the opposite, the President is certain to “take care that the legal guidelines be faithfully executed.” And he’s certain by oath to “faithfully execute” the workplace of the president and “protect, shield and defend the Structure of the USA.”

The undersigned have quite a lot of views on the underlying insurance policies at challenge. However we’re united in our view that the President has acted unlawfully and unconstitutionally.

The illegality of those actions, even when the illegality has been adjudged in federal courts, doesn’t appear to be deterring the President’s actions. As a substitute, the President and his administration are overtly flirting with disobeying judicial rulings in opposition to him. Actually, the President has proclaimed, “He who saves his Nation doesn’t violate any Legislation.”

We’re saddened by the truth that we now have to elucidate to the President this elementary democratic precept, however we do: a president has the duty to obey the Structure in addition to courtroom orders enjoining his unlawful and unconstitutional efforts. The regulation shouldn’t be no matter Mr. Trump says it’s. He’s not king.

Within the phrases of President John F. Kennedy, “People are free … to disagree with the regulation however to not disobey it. For in a authorities of legal guidelines and never of males, no man, nonetheless outstanding or highly effective, … is entitled to defy a courtroom of regulation.”

We stand in help of democracy and the rule of regulation. We stand as allies to these people and establishments focused by unlawful and unconstitutional coercion. Our democracy can survive, however not with out regulation.

Kent Greenfield (principal creator)Professor of Legislation and Dean’s Distinguished Scholar, Boston School

Click on right here for the total checklist of signatories.

Government Energy, Rule of Legislation, Separation of Powers and Federalism