Media Mentions

An op-ed by David Weinberger. Artificial intelligence systems are going to crash some of our cars, and sometimes they're going to recommend longer sentences for black Americans than for whites. We know this because they've already gone wrong in these ways. But this doesn’t mean that we should insist—as many, including the European Commission's General Data Protection Regulation, do—that artificial intelligence should be able to explain how it came up with its conclusions in every non-trivial case.

The mandate of the head of the Environmental Protection Agency is to protect human health and enforce environmental regulations. Yet since he was confirmed last February, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has worked deliberately to stall or roll back this core work of his agency, efforts he’s now celebrating with posters...“He is much more organized, much more focused than the other Cabinet-level officials, who have not really taken charge of their agencies,” Richard Lazarus, a professor of environmental law at Harvard University, told the New York Times. “Just the number of environmental rollbacks in this time frame is astounding.”

An op-ed by Noah Feldman. The web is abuzz with the revelation that President Donald Trump tried to fire special counsel Robert Mueller in June but was blocked by White House counsel Donald McGahn. What information can be gleaned from the leak and its circumstances? Let’s pull on the deerstalker and try to draw some inferences -- both positive and negative.

Even as President Trump's falsehoods go, this one was pretty blatant: Two months after he unsuccessfully tried to fire Robert S. Mueller III, Trump denied that he had even considered doing such a thing...Another constitutional law expert, Mark Tushnet of Harvard University, said it would be a “stretch” to say that such lies inherently violate a president's duty to faithfully executive the laws. But he said it could play into an obstruction case. Another constitutional law expert, Mark Tushnet of Harvard University, said it would be a “stretch” to say that such lies inherently violate a president's duty to faithfully executive the laws. But he said it could play into an obstruction case.

An op-ed by Alex Whiting. Although President Trump confidently declared that he is willing to speak to special counsel Robert Mueller under oath, and is even “looking forward to it,” his principal lawyer advising him on the investigation, Ty Cobb, has darkly warned of a “perjury trap.” That “concern” has now been echoed by Trump supporters Roger Stone and Rush Limbaugh, who have both cautioned Trump about speaking with Mueller. So, is Mueller really laying a trap for Trump? No.

President Trump reportedly ordered the dismissal of special counsel Robert Mueller last June, but backed down after White House counsel Don McGahn said he would quit rather than carry out the order, according to The New York Times and others. In Davos, the president dismissed the report as "fake news." John Yang reports and Judy Woodruff talks to Jack Goldsmith of Harvard Law School.

An op-ed by fellow Yasser Latif Hamdani. The Kasur incident is too horrific to write about. Nor does one wish to get into the controversies about the victim’s father and his conduct or that of the Government of Punjab. It has been a painful ordeal for everyone in Pakistan and indeed all around the world. What is sad though is this damnable attempt to politicize this issue.

Dozens of Harvard affiliates remain uncertain about their futures after government officials announced earlier this month that changes to the Temporary Protected Status program will end protections for nearly 200,000 Salvadorans...“We are deeply concerned about the administration’s recent withdrawal of TPS for those from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan and the impact it could have on members of the community,” University spokesperson Melodie L. Jackson wrote in an emailed statement...Jackson wrote that the University is working closely with the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program, Harvard Human Resources, and student affairs offices to provide support services as needed for University affiliates who may be affected by the policy changes...At the clinic, attorneys and students at Harvard Law School provide immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers with free legal consultations about TPS and other immigration concerns like Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. HIRC also offers social services during walk-in hours at Cabot Science Library on Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 4:30 pm.

...First, Trump’s failed attempt to fire Mueller was apparently known to many individuals, indicating both a lack of discipline on Trump’s part (what else did he say to these people?) and possible waiver of the any privilege...Second, “Attempted obstruction is obstruction even when the perpetrator backs down after failing to get his consigliere to do the deed for him,” constitutional lawyer Larry Tribe emails me. “In addition, it’s part of a persistent pattern of obstruction. And it’s also strong evidence of consciousness of guilt.”

When Donald F. McGahn II, the White House counsel, moved into his corner office on the West Wing’s second floor last January, he chose not to decorate its walls or fill its glass-paneled shelving with personal items...Now, Mr. McGahn has been thrust squarely into the public eye by the disclosure that in June he threatened to resign in order to stop President Trump from firing Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel leading the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and into whether Mr. Trump committed obstruction of justice...Jack Goldsmith, a Harvard Law School professor and a former top Justice Department official in the George W. Bush administration, wrote last year on the Lawfare blog that Mr. McGahn was either incompetent or ineffective — giving bad advice, or advice that his client ignored. Mr. Goldsmith said on Friday that there were too many unanswered questions about what happened in June to judge what it means for Mr. McGahn. He might “have acted to protect the president, or himself, or both, from legal trouble,” Mr. Goldsmith said.

An op-ed by Hugh Simons and Paola Cecchi-Dimeglio. It’s perplexing. Women comprise 45 percent of Big Law associates but only 22 percent of partners. Why are they leaving in such numbers? Are they underperforming and thus being outplaced? Are they ineffective at the profession’s upper echelons? A comparison of how female and male partners move laterally answers these questions with a resounding “No!” The data show women partners are less likely to depart involuntarily, are more successful when they move to higher profitability firms and are more effective as senior partners.

Trump returns to U.S. amid bombshell report he tried to fire Mueller. Harvard Constitutional Law Professor Laurence Tribe on why that firing would be a “crime” and whether Trump could now be indicted for obstructing justice.

The saga of Donald Trump and Robert Mueller took a dramatic new turn on Thursday night when the New York Times first reported that the president had ordered the special counsel to be fired in June last year...We asked legal experts whether they think Mueller now has enough evidence to pursue obstruction of justice charges against the president, or if a different outcome is more likely...[Laurence Tribe]: The president’s foiled effort to rid himself of the Mueller investigation in June 2017, and his now-exposed invention of patently phony excuses for doing so—much as he had invented fake reasons for firing Comey before admitting his actual Russia-related reason on national television—eliminates any possible defense that Trump was clueless about the relevant rules...[Alan Dershowitz]: A president cannot be accused of obstruction for merely exercising his constitutional authority regardless of his motive...[Alex Whiting]: In an obstruction case against President Trump, it is unlikely that there will be a single piece of smoking-gun evidence.

It wasn't until 1979 that the term "sexual harrassment" was recognised as a legal concept. Julian Marshall speaks to the woman who made it possible to challenge abuse in the workplace - Professor Catharine MacKinnon.

An essay by Jeannie Suk Gersen. A performative contradiction is a statement whose effect goes against its intended meaning. A canonical example is Donald Trump’s January 6th tweet in which he insisted that he is a “very stable genius.” Speaking last week about the President’s first physical exam in office, Ronny L. Jackson, the White House physician, stated that he “found no reason whatsoever to think the President has any issues whatsoever with his thought processes.”

An op-ed by Cass Sunstein. Special counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly seeking testimony from President Donald Trump, who recently said that “he would love to” testify and that he would do so under oath – though he needs to speak with his lawyers. The qualification is important and wise. For any high-level public official, testimony under oath comes with serious risks. For the commander-in-chief, the risks are multiplied, not only because of the overriding importance of his office, but also because foolish steps, establishing precedents, could have long-term effects on future presidents as well.

Montana’s Medicaid program requirements are blocking hepatitis C patients from treatment, according to a national report released Thursday...Robert Greenwald, clinical professor of law at Harvard Law School and the director of the school’s health law center, agreed that the state’s rules around patient sobriety is “medically unfounded” and said it puts others at risk. “Even though the opioid crisis is exacerbating the hepatitis C epidemic, Montana is preventing patients who have used drugs in the past six months, the population most likely to spread this highly communicable disease, from accessing a cure,” Greenwald said.

An op-ed by Bruce Schneier. For over a decade, civil libertarians have been fighting government mass surveillance of innocent Americans over the Internet. We’ve just lost an important battle. On Jan. 18, when President Trump signed the renewal of Section 702, domestic mass surveillance became effectively a permanent part of U.S. law.

An interview with Jack Goldsmith. The Harvard law professor shares his perspective on the state of American institutions during the Trump presidency.

When you miss deadlines in tax matters, the consequences vary. Sometimes it is "no harm, no foul", sometimes there is a mild financial penalty, sometimes there is a severe financial penalty. And then there is the Tax Court. If you miss the initial Tax Court deadline for filing petition, that's it...A lot of pro se litigants miss the deadlines. That led to an amicus brief by Linda Jean Matuszak. Ms. Matuszak was tripped up in a similar manner. The brief was prepared by Carlton Smith and Professor T. Keith Fogg, Director Harvard Federal Tax Clinic, which gives students at Harvard Law School the opportunity to do some tax litigation for the other 95%. They are making a push on the deadline issue.

In its determination to reverse a two-decade slump in U.S. stock listings, a regulator might offer companies an extreme incentive to go public: the ability to bar aggrieved shareholders from suing. The Securities and Exchange Commission in its long history has never allowed companies to sell shares in initial public offerings while also letting them ban investors from seeking big financial damages through class-action lawsuits...“The question is who is going to be the first company because they’re going to be the lightening rod of criticism,” said Hal Scott, a professor at Harvard Law School who has long argued that shareholder lawsuits should be reined in. “It would definitely be controversial, there’s no doubt about it. But, it’s something they should endure the controversy over because it’s worth it.”