The Rule of Law Program addresses perceived threats to the
rule of law and to
constitutional liberties that have resulted from the assertions of
expansive presidential authority in the aftermath of the
attacks of September 11, 2001,
Congress’s simultaneous failure to exercise its duties as a separate and independent branch of government, and efforts by both Congress and the President to strip the courts of their jurisdiction to oversee the actions of the
executive and
legislative branches.
Liberty and Security Committee The Liberty and Security Committee of the Rule of Law Program is co-chaired by
David D. Cole, professor of law at
Georgetown University Law Center, and
David Keene, former chairman of the
American Conservative Union. The Committee is convened to address the “variety of important questions about how to enhance our security while simultaneously protecting our civil liberties.” Members of the committee have authored columns for major newspapers on watch lists, the state secrets privilege,
habeas corpus, and public video surveillance.
Legal briefs ;
Padilla v. Rumsfeld,
US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit : The Constitution Project, with the
Cato Institute, the Center for National Security Studies, the
Lawyers Committee for Human Rights,
People for the American Way, and the
Rutherford Institute, filed an
amicus brief in support of
José Padilla. ;
Padilla v. Rumsfeld,
Supreme Court of the United States : The Constitution Project, with the
Cato Institute, the Center for National Security Studies, the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, People for the American Way, and the Rutherford Institute, filed an
amicus brief in support of José Padilla. ; Padilla v. Hanft,
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit : The Constitution Project, with the Center for National Security Studies, filed an
amicus brief in support of José Padilla. ;
Hamdan v. Rumsfeld,
Supreme Court of the United States : The Constitution Project filed an
amicus brief in support of
Salim Ahmed Hamdan. ;
ACLU v. NSA,
US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit : The Constitution Project, with the Center for National Security Studies, filed an
amicus brief in support of the
ACLU. ; Rahmani v. United States,
Supreme Court of the United States : The Constitution Project filed an
amicus brief urging the Court to grant
certiorari to
Roya Rahmani. ; NIMJ v.
Department of Defense,
US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit : The Constitution Project filed an
amicus brief in support of the National Institute for Military Justice. ; El-Masri v. United States : The Constitution Project filed an
amicus brief urging the Court to grant
certiorari to
Khaled El-Masri. In addition to publishing its own statements and reports, the Coalition also joins statements and reports issued by other committees.
Reports and Statements ; Statement on Presidential
Signing Statements : The statement “condemns certain uses of presidential signing statements and calls for immediate action from both the Executive and Legislative branches of the federal government to respond to a ‘constitutional crisis’ that is endangering our system of checks and balances.” ==Criminal Justice Program==