Jack Fruchtman
DACA and the court
On Nov. 12, an ideologically divided Supreme Court considered President Trump’s authority to cancel the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that President...
The impeachment inquiry
“Legislative in the Congress, yet checked by negative of the executive. Executive in the President, yet checked by impeachment of Congress.” — Alexander...
The Supreme Court in session
The Supreme Court, by law, began its new term on the first Monday in October. We can look forward to a bare majority of...
History and memory
For several weeks this past spring, letters galore appeared in the MV Times about two plaques honoring Confederate soldiers placed in 1925 in Ocean...
British and American constitutionalism, explained
Americans are watching the slow, steady meltdown of the British government under Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has been in office since July and...
Who is an American?
Like many in this country, I have been thinking about who is an American. This is especially true since we have long been discussing...
Time out
In 1729, the great English satirist Jonathan Swift published “A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People from Being a Burthen ...
The relevance of the Declaration of Independence
Parades, flags, fireworks, parties, outdoor picnics, all are part of Fourth of July celebrations. In some places, the Declaration is read aloud. In others,...
Is felony murder fair and just?
Consider this scenario.Two people plan a bank robbery. One sits outside in the getaway car while the other one gets the money, but also...
Will Roe be preserved?
Suddenly, abortion and abortion rights are back in the center of discussion. Lost for the moment are local worries like the destruction of the...
The citizenship question and the census
“Though the law itself be fair on its face, and impartial in appearance, yet, if it is applied and administered by public authority with...
The Mueller report, William Barr … and us
Do we want or need to know what is in the 300-plus pages of the report that Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III filed...
What’s with the Green New Deal?
Last month, to great fanfare and some derision, Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York unveiled their ambitious plans...
On indicting and prosecuting a sitting president
As Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III, according to all accounts, releases his report to the new Attorney General William P. Barr, a key...
When rights and liberties clash
The Constitution guarantees us rights and liberties indispensable to a democracy. Are some more important than others? What if the First Amendment’s religious liberty...
Bipartisanship, ever?
The last week of 2018 and the first three of 2019 have demonstrated little to no movement in transforming Congress into a governing institution....
Looking backward and … forward
At this time of year, we should assess how things are going. From my perspective, I am somewhat hopeful. Here’s how.I am hopeful that...
Is ranked-choice voting in our future?
One of the most interesting features of the election season was the emergence of Maine’s statewide ranked-choice voting system, a first in the nation....
Now what?
The midterm elections have ended, the Republicans have held onto the Senate, and the Democrats will take over the House in January. The bluest...
Why did she do it?
For most of the year, pundits pounded their view that the blue wave was so powerful among those in anti-Trump America that the Democrats...