Jack Fruchtman
Tsarnaev and the death penalty’s future
Anyone convicted of a capital crime in Massachusetts faces life in prison without parole, although for the past two years, some legislators have attempted...
The Texas abortion law has no legs
Massachusetts law allows a woman to have an abortion in consultation with her physician, nurse practitioner, or licensed midwife up to 24 weeks of...
August’s four critical news stories
Martha’s Vineyard Times readers should be aware of how four crucial reports, released last month, relate to one another. They are: 1. the Martha’s...
Rule by the minority
When voting is not only mistrusted but threatened, a democratic order may well fail. That seems to be the goal of many people who...
Reforming the Supreme Court?
A little-noticed action by the Biden administration, but one with potentially sweeping consequences, was the formation last April of a 36-member bipartisan commission to...
What to make of the heat
In New England back in the day, driving around in summertime with the windows down, the air was cool despite a hot sun. Maybe...
Who owns history?
As a Harvard professor of moral philosophy in the early 20th century, George Santayana memorably noted, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned...
More immigration — now
The United States needs more people. Here’s why.
In early May, President Biden increased the refugee admissions cap to 62,500 from the historically low Trump...
The government and the rule of law
Three years ago, in 2018, the Supreme Court, ruling 8 to 1 in Pereira v. Session, determined that immigration officials failed to properly inform...
Student speech: Free, or not so much?
School administrators, staff, and faculty have a legal and moral obligation to act as surrogate parents while children are in school. The legal principle...
Immigration reform: Long overdue
“Remember, remember always that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.”
–Franklin Delano Roosevelt, addressing the Daughters of...
Whom does the Senate represent?
The above question is incorrectly framed. We ought to ask not who but what does the Senate represent. The answer is the 50 states....
Comparing 1861 and 2021
An astonishing and eerie chain of events chillingly links the pre-Inauguration days of two presidents-elect: Abraham Lincoln in 1861 and Joe Biden this year....
The arc of time
The passage of time is a continuum, and it is relentless. After a year of the spread of a deadly disease, shootings of unarmed...
The persistence of a paranoid style
A standard definition of paranoia is when a person experiences a deep, anxious fear of threats or conspiracies founded on delusion and irrationality. In...
The new Congress, the next president
In the days before the next Congress convenes on Jan. 3 and the inauguration of the new president, 17 days later, the House and...
Violating law and principle
As of now, the Trump campaign has lost more than 30 lawsuits, and won two on minor technical grounds, with no impact on the...
Americans and the rule of law
For over 40 years, I told my classes that Americans were not a particularly revolutionary people. By and large, they accepted the vote of...
Some lessons from Judge Barrett’s confirmation hearing
During her confirmation hearing, like most nominees to the Supreme Court since 1987, Judge Amy Coney Barrett declined to set forth her views on...
An election with, without the president
The worst-case scenario concerning President Trump’s recent bout with COVID-19 is unthinkable, even though his doctors released him to return to the White House...