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Benjamin G. Davis, Associate Professor of Law, University of Toledo College of Law, Advocates for U.S. Torture Prosecutions “Everything must change, so that everything stays the same.” Il Gattopardo (The Leopard), Giuseppe di Lampedusa Case in point. ” In contrast to…

Benjamin G. Davis, Associate Professor of Law, University of Toledo College of Law, Advocates for US Torture Prosecutions From what I heard of the meeting, among other things, Committee member Mohdvig from Denmark asked the United States Government delegation about accountability for senior US officials and the lawyers with regard…

Benjamin G. Davis, Associate Professor of Law, University of Toledo College of Law, Advocates for US Torture Prosecutions We may be witnessing the dismantling of the peremptory norm against torture. Later today, the United States periodic report will be reviewed by the UN Committee Against Torture.  We shall see whether…

Benjamin G. Davis, University of Toledo College of Law, AdvCoates for US Torture Prosecutions Where is Dick Cheney filling my television with his defene of the enhanced interrogation program that we all know is torture. This week of the UN Committee Against Torture review – first since 2006 – can…

Benjamin G. Davis, Associate Professor of Law, University of Toledo College of Law, Advocates for US Torture Prosecutions I go to my usual national security blog sites and see a silence about the UN Committee Against Torture deliberations. On television there is a local angle blurb on Michael Brown’s family…

Benjamin G. Davis, Associate Professor of Law, University of Toledo College of Law, Advcoated for US Torture Prosecutions In the week of the UN Committee Against Torture review of the United States for the first time since 2006, President Obama is out of the country, George Bush has a book…

By Benjamin G. Davis, Associate Professor of Law, University of Toledo College of Law, Advocates for U.S. Torture Prosecutions In preparing for next week’s periodic review of the United States before the UN Committee Against Torture, I noted that Harold Hongju Koh has weighed in…

Benjamin G. Davis, Associate Professor of Law, University of Toledo College of Law, Advocates for US Torture Prosecutions John  Bellinger (Lawfareblog.com –http://www.lawfareblog.com/2014/10/the-convention-against-torture-extraterritorial-application-and-application-to-military-operations/), Beth van Schaak (Just Security.org http://justsecurity.org/16560/convention-torture/), and Jack Goldsmith (again at Lawfareblog.com – http://www.lawfareblog.com/2014/10/a-bit-more-on-the-debate-about-the-extraterritorial-scope-of-the-torture-conventions-provisions-on-cruelty/ ) have weighed in on the CAT and extraterritoriality. Charlie Savage…

 By Justin Hansford The thing about jail is there is nothing to do. The novelty wears off after about five minutes. My cell was maybe 10-feet long and 8-feet wide, with a toilet, a faucet, and a sink. On the right was a metal bunk bed, and on…

By Benjamin G Davis, Associate Professor of Law, University of Toledo College of Law, Advocates for US Torture Prosecutions Charlie Savage recently reported on two points in the interagency on cruel inhuman and degrading treatment (CID).  The first is on the extent the provisions of the Convention Against Torture apply…

 by SpearIt For students of religion and students of revolution, the upcoming dialogue between Cornel West and Bob Avakian should be a valuable lesson. Taking place at Riverside Church in New York City, this meeting of the minds has tremendous potential to advance understanding on the relationship between…

by Marjorie Cohn For many years after the Vietnam War, we enjoyed the “Vietnam syndrome,” in which US presidents hesitated to launch substantial military attacks on other countries. They feared intense opposition akin to the powerful movement that helped bring an end to the war in Vietnam. But in…

Benjamin G. Davis, Associate Professor of Law, University of Toledo College of Law Dear Colleagues, Guide my feet Lord, while I run this race. Guide my feet Lord, while I run this race. Guide my feet Lord, while I run this race. ’cause I don’t want…

 by SpearIt 9/11 is the critical date in American Muslim history, and it may become increasingly important for Latinos as well. The word “critical” as used here aims to convey a sense of “crisis.” Arguably, the highpoint of crisis in modern Muslim history was the assassination of Malcolm X in…

The 2014 Biennial SALT Teaching Conference and SALT / LatCrit Faculty Development Workshop Successfully Wrapped Up in Las Vegas Click here for Participants and Workshops in the SALT LatCrit FDW and Teaching Conference Program OCT 9-11 Information from Presentations and Handouts  Participants and presenters in the…

 By Sahar Aziz The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has captured international attention as the world witnesses in horror its brutality. Notwithstanding that most of ISIL’s victims are Muslim, its atrocities are reinforcing false stereotypes that something is inherently violent about Islam. As a…

By Marjorie Cohn Last summer, Tariq Khdeir, a 15-year-old American citizen from Baltimore, accompanied his parents to the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Shuafat for a six-week visit with relatives. The first friend Tariq made when he arrived was his cousin, Muhammad Abu Khdeir, whom Tariq had not seen since…

Benjamin G. Davis, Associate Prodessor of Law, University of Toledo College of Law Dear Colleagues, (Update sent to the Volokh Conspiracy, Lawfareblog, Just Security, Opiniojuris.org, Jurist.org, and War is a Crime.org – Volokh declined as they do not generally put these things up. So made a comment there and at…

By Olympia Duhart As the American Bar Association considers lifting the ban on paid externships, a simple truth bears repeating: Money changes everything. Under the current standards, law students cannot be compensated for work they do for school credit. This policy should remain in place because separating compensation and…

By Marjorie Cohn President Barack Obama escalated the drone war he has conducted for the past five and a half years by declaring his intention to “degrade and ultimately destroy” the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, or ISIL. Since August 8, Obama has mounted at least 154 airstrikes in…