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Cass Sunstein

  • Pelosi’s Stance on Impeachment Needs Some Explaining

    March 13, 2019

    An op-ed by Cass Sunstein: In an important statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, in response to an interview question, “I’m not for impeachment.” She explained: “Impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don’t think we should go down that path, because it divides the country.” There is a lot of sense in her comment. But it can easily be read in a way that puts it at odds with the Constitution itself. It’s best to assume that Pelosi did not mean it in that way. But on such a fundamental question, we should get very clear on the constitutional responsibility of the House of Representatives.

  • If Not Trump, Then Who? Pelosi Fuels Impeachment Debate With Long Implications

    March 13, 2019

    In throwing cold water on the idea of impeachment, Speaker Nancy Pelosi in some ways was simply offering a clear-eyed assessment of the state of politics today in the nation’s hyperpolarized capital: There are not enough votes to convict and remove President Trump from office. ... Unlike Mr. Matz, Cass R. Sunstein, a Harvard Law School professor who once worked in President Barack Obama’s White House, argued that the Constitution offers lawmakers little choice. “If we have a clear impeachable offense that is not a borderline one but a clear one, the impeachment process is mandatory because the House of Representatives is an agent of ‘we the people,’ the first three words of the Constitution,” said Mr. Sunstein, whose latest book, “On Freedom,” was published last month.

  • Putting the Calorie Count Before the Cheeseburger

    March 11, 2019

    An op-ed by Cass Sunstein: A provision of the Affordable Care Act that is strongly supported by Donald Trump’s administration requires calorie labels at U.S. chain restaurants. The basic idea is that if consumers are informed, they will reduce their calorie consumption -- and improve their health. Unfortunately, it isn’t clear that calorie labels are doing much good.

  • Political savagery makes self-government impossible

    March 8, 2019

    An op-ed by Cass Sunstein: This is the first in a series of opinion pieces on how to fix democracy.  Democracies Depend for their stability on four things. First, well-functioning institutions. Second, the delivery of good or at least decent outcomes for most citizens. Third, norms of reciprocity and forbearance. And fourth, certain character traits among both officials and citizens. While the four are closely connected, the last is the most fundamental.  In particular, democracies require high levels of personal grace. They are gravely endangered by its opposite, which is savagery. James Madison, the principal thinker behind the American Constitution, focused mostly on institutional design. But in the Virginia Ratifying Constitution, he went in a different direction, and offered a kind of cri de coeur: “Is there no virtue among us? If there be not, we are in a wretched situation. No theoretical checks—no form of government can render us secure.”

  • Alford receives the Li Buyun Law Prize 2

    Alford receives the Li Buyun Law Prize

    March 5, 2019

    William P. Alford ’77, the Jerome A. and Joan L. Cohen Professor of East Asian Legal Studies at Harvard Law School, has received the Li Buyun Law Prize from the Shanghai Institute of Finance and Law, a leading Chinese academic society.

  • If Trump really attempted to ruin CNN, he deserves to be impeached

    March 5, 2019

    The difficulty of covering the Trump administration is that the scandals are so numerous and frequent that it is nearly impossible to focus on one before being overtaken by another. ... Perhaps the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission were deciding these cases on the merits. But T-Mobile executives seem to have gotten the message that they can influence antitrust proceedings by currying favor with the president: They dramatically increased their patronage at the Trump hotel in Washington as soon as they announced a merger with Sprint. If Trump misused his authority to reward his friends in the media and punish his enemies, Harvard law professor Cass Sunstein argues, that would be an impeachable offense.

  • Library Book Talk - Cass Sunstein on Freedom

    Video: Cass Sunstein, “On Freedom”

    March 1, 2019

    As part of its regular Book Talk series, the Harvard Law School Library recently hosted Robert Walmsley University Professor Cass Sunstein for a discussion of his latest release, "On Freedom."

  • The Misguided Idea in the House’s Green New Deal

    February 26, 2019

    An op-ed by Cass Sunstein: If you are interested in the resolution calling for a “Green New Deal” that Democrats have introduced in the House, you might want to pay attention to one remarkable phrase in particular. It appears in the resolution no less than three times: “as much as is technologically feasible.”

  • Clarence Thomas Has a Point About Free-Speech Law

    February 21, 2019

    An op-ed by Cass Sunstein: With his stunning plea for reconsideration of New York Times v. Sullivan – the landmark free-speech decision insulating the press, and speakers in general, from most libel actions – Justice Clarence Thomas has … performed a public service. Not necessarily because he’s right, but because there’s a serious issue here. To see why, imagine that a lawyer, a blogger, a talk-show host or a newspaper lies about you -- and in the process destroys your reputation. Your accuser might say that you are a pedophile, a drug peddler, an arsonist or a prostitute. In an hour, the lie goes around the world. If you count as a public figure, does the Constitution really mean that the law cannot provide you with any kind of redress? Thomas doesn’t think so.

  • Trump might have a solid case for emergency declaration, analysts say

    February 20, 2019

    Many legal analysts who watched Donald Trump declare a national emergency over immigration on Friday thought the president had weak legal grounds for doing so. In particular, many thought Trump hurt his own case by admitting, right there in the White House Rose Garden: “I didn’t need to do this, but I’d rather do it much faster.” ... “The legality of Trump’s decision will probably turn on highly technical provisions involving the use of funds for military construction projects,” wrote Harvard law professor Cass Sunstein, a former White House official under Barack Obama. ... Jack Goldsmith, Sunstein’s colleague at Harvard and a veteran of the justice department under George W Bush, said presidents have broad leeway in declaring emergencies. “‘Emergency’ isn’t typically defined in relevant law, presidents have always had discretion to decide if there’s an emergency, and they’ve often declared emergencies under circumstances short of necessity, to address a real problem but not an emergency as understood in common parlance,” Goldsmith tweeted.

  • Four False Assumptions About Trump’s Wall Emergency

    February 19, 2019

    An op-ed by Cass SunsteinA full evaluation of the legality of President Donald Trump’s decision to declare a national emergency, and to order the building of a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, is best deferred until the appearance of a supporting memorandum from the Justice Department. But even now, four points are clear – and they are at risk of getting lost in the national discussion. 1. It is wrong to say that if Trump can declare a national emergency, he can necessarily order the Defense secretary to build a wall.

  • Regulate Facebook and Twitter? The Case Is Getting Stronger

    February 15, 2019

    An op-ed by Cass SunsteinThe U.S. government should not regulate social media. It should stay far away from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and the rest. Any regulatory effort might well violate the First Amendment. Even if it turned out to be constitutional, it would squelch creativity and innovation in the very places where they are most needed.  Until recently, I would have endorsed every sentence in the above paragraph. But as Baron Bramwell, the English judge, once put it, “The matter does not appear to me now as it appears to have appeared to me then.”

  • Trump Is Right to Warn Democrats About Socialism

    February 7, 2019

    An op-ed by Cass SunsteinIn his State of the Union address, President Donald Trump was entirely right to reject “new calls to adopt socialism in our country.” He was right to add that “America was founded on liberty and independence — not government coercion,” and to “renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country.” Yet to many Americans, the idea of socialism seems to have growing appeal.  Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the nation’s most influential new voices, is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. Senator Bernie Sanders, a leading voice among progressives, has long described himself as a socialist. Since 2010, most Democrats have had a favorable attitude toward socialism. Recently, 57 percent of Democrats reported such a favorable attitude, well above the 47 percent who said they have a positive attitude toward capitalism. (By contrast, 71 percent of Republicans are upbeat about capitalism, and only 16 percent feel positively about socialism.)

  • Facebook Bums Us Out But We’ll Pay for It Anyway

    February 4, 2019

    An op-ed by Cass SunsteinWould you be better off without Facebook? Would society benefit, too? A team of economists, led by Hunt Allcott of New York University, has just produced the most impressive research to date on these questions. In general, the researchers’ findings are not good news for Facebook 1 and its users. Getting off the platform appears to increase people’s well-being — and significantly decrease political polarization.

  • weight balancing illustration / dollars vs people

    The Price Is Right

    January 29, 2019

    HLS Professor Cass Sunstein ’78 argues that for all their differences, every president since Ronald Reagan has agreed on one fundamental principle of government. That is, “No action may be taken unless the benefits justify the costs.” Sunstein identifies President Reagan as the main architect of this concept, and he credits the president he served under, Barack Obama ’91, with cementing what he calls “the cost-benefit revolution,” which is also the title of Sunstein’s new book.

  • Government Without the Drama and Tumult

    January 29, 2019

    An op-ed by Cass Sunstein: Many social problems seem impossibly daunting, simply because they are so large. Poverty, immigration, cancer deaths, gun violence, climate change – in light of the magnitude of those problems, most imaginable reforms seem pretty small. In their book “Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard,” Chip Heath and Dan Heath argue that the best response to big challenges is often to “shrink the change.” Instead of trying to solve a problem, dent it.

  • William Barr’s Baffling and Alarming View of Executive Power

    January 22, 2019

    An op-ed by Cass Sunstein: By all accounts, William Barr, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the position of attorney general, is a lawyer of integrity, decency and competence. For that reason, his memorandum of June 8, 2018, raising serious constitutional doubts about Robert Mueller’s investigation, is baffling -- a genuine head-scratcher. It is important to understand exactly why. Barr has legitimate concerns. The legal definition of “obstruction of justice” is far from clear. Under federal law, a person is guilty of obstruction if he corruptly: (1) “alters, destroys, mutilates, or conceals a record, document, or other object, or attempts to do so, with the intent to impair the object’s integrity or availability for use in an official proceeding,” or (2) “otherwise obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so.” Barr is deeply worried about the meaning of (2).

  • HLS faculty maintain top position in SSRN citation rankings 2

    HLS faculty maintain top position in SSRN citation rankings

    January 18, 2019

    Statistics released by the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) indicate that, as of the end of 2018, Harvard Law School faculty members have continued to feature prominently on SSRN’s list of the 100 most-cited law professors.

  • Trump’s Emergency Powers Won’t Get Him a Wall

    January 15, 2019

    An op-ed by Cass Sunstein: Does President Donald Trump have the legal authority to declare a national emergency, and order the military to build a wall between Mexico and the United States? We are dealing with a novel question here, which means that any judgment has to have a degree of tentativeness. But the best answer appears to be no.

  • The Sense and Nonsense in the EPA’s Mercury Rule

    January 14, 2019

    An op-ed by Cass Sunstein: Whenever the Trump administration proposes to eliminate a regulation, many people are tempted to give it a standing ovation. Many others are tempted to boo and hiss. Sometimes it’s right to do one or the other. But with respect to the Environmental Protection Agency’s recent decision to rethink its controversial mercury regulation — well, it’s complicated and unusually interesting.

  • Can Trump Fire Powell? Only Custom Stands in His Way

    January 9, 2019

    An op-ed by Stephen Mihm: How safe is Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s job? After President Donald Trump threatened to fire him several weeks ago, Powell upped the ante by declaring that he would refuse to resign if Trump tried to get rid of him, effectively drawing a line in the sand. ... The court also drew a hard and fast distinction between executive officers under the direct control of the president (e.g. cabinet heads) and the officers of independent agencies. And yet, as the Bloomberg Opinion columnist Cass Sunstein and his fellow legal scholar Lawrence Lessig observed in a 1994 law review article, the court “has not said what ‘good cause’ means. The Court has also failed to define “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office … There is no controlling judicial decision on how ‘independent’ the independent agencies and officers can legitimately claim to be.”