Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Alan Neff
Congress Can Curb Abuse of the Presidential Pardon Power
As the new year begins, former President Donald Trump likely has a lot on his mind. He is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for the Oval Office and faces federal and state criminal prosecutions related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Among the many legal and policy issues that a second Trump presidency raises is the pardon power, which he might again abuse to benefit friends, family, or political allies, including numerous January 6 defendants.
Trump’s Lawyers Face Sanctions, Discipline, and Indictment - How Should the Legal Profession Respond?
(Editor’s Note: Extended excerpts of the various legal proceedings cited in this piece can be read here.) In 2017, former President Donald Trump directed his White House Counsel Don McGahn to pressure then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to avoid recusing himself from overseeing the Department of Justice’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
John Roberts Takes Control on Voting Rights
For voting-rights advocates who strive to maximize participation in state and federal elections, the end of the Supreme Court’s October 2022 term in June brought both relief and cause for concern. In two critical decisions – Allen v. Milligan and Moore v. Harper – Chief Justice John Roberts showed that he is the final arbiter of voting-rights disputes at the Court, at least for now.
The Road to Fairer Congressional Districts Might Start with the States
Filed under: Congress, Constitution, constitutional law, Democracy, election law, elections, state governments, Supreme Court Next November, tens of millions of people across the country will head to the polls and cast their votes for their Representatives to Congress.
Dershowitz Screams About Miranda Warnings To Defend Trump
Alan Dershowitz told Sean Hannity that he has to give clients special Miranda warnings after a federal judge ruled prosecutors can pierce attorney-client protections under the Sean Hannity ran his usual segment defending Trump. Pam Bundy said she was glad Trump was fighting and then claimed there is no longer an attorney-client privilege exception. "What about attorney-client privilege," Hannity asked. Well, it's out the window now, right?" Bondy said.
Mike Lindell: 'We Have Been Winning Now For Quite A While'
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell declared that he is winning his battle to secure elections in the U.S. because "evil has overplayed its hand." During an interview with War Room host Steve Bannon on Saturday, Lindell revealed that he would speak at a campaign rally for Donald Trump in Waco later that afternoon to discuss his so-called Election Crime Bureau. "You've seen the effort to get Trump, right?" Bannon asked.
It’s Time for the Supreme Court to Take Ethics Seriously
There’s trouble at the Supreme Court, and it goes deeper than any single case the Justices will decide this year. In a months-long wave of news stories that crested in February, we learned all of this: A person or persons at the Court leaked the draft of the Dobbs decision that overturned the Roe and Caseydecisions long before it was issued.
Report: Special Counsel Claims Trump Deliberately Misled His Lawyers
Jack Smith's prosecutors have presented compelling preliminary evidence that Trump knowingly and deliberately misled his own attorneys about his retention of classified materials after leaving office, a former top federal judge wrote Friday in a sealed filing, according to ABC News.
AR To Build ‘Monument To The Unborn’ On Capitol Grounds
The state that ranks near the bottom for children’s well-being will create a memorial to fetuses aborted under Roe v. Wade. The fetus-fetishizing bill has passed the Arkansas state legislature and has been sent to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who will almost surely sign it. From VICE News: You have to wonder how many slaves Rep. Crawford has spoken with, but I digress. Fortunately, not all the Republicans think the monument is such a great idea. The Arkansas Advocate reported that Reps.
Mehdi Hasan Shreds Fox Liars For 'How Little Respect' They Have For Viewers
HASAN: Today, the sheer extent of Fox's hypocrisy laid bare in the pages of that new legal filing in the Dominion lawsuit, and that hypocrisy is clearer than it's ever been. But to understand it, you really need to hear what the star of the Republican party... I'm sorry, the stars of Fox are saying on TV versus what they were telling each other behind the scenes. Take the 8 pm host who is always concerned about conservative losing their jobs for speaking their mind.
ABC News Guest Marvels At 'Ecosystem' Bolstering The Big Lie
On ABC's This Week, The Powerhouse Roundtable were shocked by the revelations gained after a bevy of emails and texts were released by Dominion Voting Systems from Fox News executives and employees. "It's shocking, Martha, but once again maybe not surprising, the story of the Trump presidency, but really significant," Susan Glasser said. "I think that these were almost smoking-gun-type emails." "This is in some ways the most serious media scandal, I think, of recent memory," Glasser continued.
Eliminating the Judicial “Blue Slip”
The Just Security Podcast Eliminating the Judicial “Blue Slip” Feb 13, 2023 Episode 14 Just Security One of a President’s most important jobs is appointing federal judges. And it’s not just Supreme Court Justices that matter. Across the country, hundreds of federal judges decide cases that impact everything from environmental regulations to gun control to reproductive rights. But an obscure process called the “blue slip,” allows a single Senator to stop a judicial nomination in its tracks.
Dear Senator Durbin, It’s Time to End the “Blue Slip” for Judicial Nominees
Filed under: Barack Obama, Congress, Congressional Oversight, diversity, Donald Trump, Federal Courts, Joe Biden, Judicial Review, Litigation, Mar-a-Lago, Senate Judiciary Committee Greetings, Senator Durbin! Like you, we’re native Illnoisans – one of us is still a constituent – and we write to congratulate you on your two years of chairing the Senate Judiciary Committee, one of the most powerful Committees in all of Congress.
Trump Explodes Over Jack Smith Investigation For The Eleventy Bazillionth Time
Donald Trump didn't acknowledge Martin Luther King Day. Still, he did find time to send out an angry rant on his Truth Social platform to blast the FBI, special counsel Jack Smith who is investigating the former President on two fronts, the Jan. 6th insurrection at the Capitol and the rigged election that wasn't rigged.
Pay To Play At SCOTUS?
Both alarm and concern were expressed Saturday in response to new reporting about a charitable group with close ties to the U.S. Supreme Court that has been soliciting and accepting donations from corporate interests and far-right activists with cases before the court. The New York Timesexposé focused on the activities and fundraising of the Supreme Court Historical Society, a nonprofit that claims its mission is "dedicated to the collection and preservation" of the Court's history.
Supreme Court Ethics 101
The Just Security Podcast Supreme Court Ethics 101 Apr 21, 2023 Episode 23 Just Security The Supreme Court is back in the news and it's for all the wrong reasons. ProPublica reports that Justice Clarence Thomas has vacationed on private jets and superyachts all paid for by billionaire Harlan Crow. But Thomas didn’t disclose those trips. And his actions are just the Court’s latest ethics scandal. Last summer someone leaked the decision in Dobbs, the case that overturned Roe v. Wade.
At Least Ten Trump Pardon-ees Kept On Criming
Leave it to Donald Trump to turn the exercise of mercy into yet another demonstration of corruption. Trump pardoned or commuted sentences for 238 people during his time in the White House. ABC News now finds that at least 10 of them have since come under investigation or been charged with or convicted of a crime. That’s in stark contrast to former President Barack Obama’s 1,700 sentence commutations for federal drug offenders in 2014: By 2017, just three had reoffended.
It's Not Just Dobbs: The Other SCOTUS Decision Of Concern
By Alan Neff — December 19, 2022 By Alan Neff and Caroline Fredrickson For the past five months, including the recent midterm elections, much of the nation’s attention has been focused, understandably, on the legal, social, and political ramifications of the demolition of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court in the Dobbs case. However, another decision from the Court’s last term—West Virginia v. EPA—ought to alarm Americans who care about climate change, environmental protection, and democracy.
Good News For Midterms As U.S. GDP Grows In Third Quarter
Good news for the midterms! The economy grew at 2.6 percent in the third quarter -- the first increase in 2022 and a sharp turnaround after six months of contraction — despite lingering fears that the country is at risk of a recession.
A Legitimacy Crisis of the Supreme Court’s Own Making
Chief Justice John Roberts said at an event last week that he doesn’t understand current questions about the Supreme Court’s legitimacy. “The [Court’s] decisions have always been publicly criticized,” the chief justice said, but it is a “mistake” to view those critiques as questioning the Court’s legitimacy so long as the Court keeps doing its job, which is “to say what the law is.” But is the Supreme Court actually doing its job?
The Supreme Court ‘Shadow Docket,’ Explained
In June 2022, the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, the nearly 50-year-old landmark ruling that the Constitution provides a right to an abortion. While the decision was stunning in its own right, many Court watchers say the justices signaled the death of Roe months earlier when they refused to block a Texas law prohibiting abortions starting at six weeks of pregnancy — a clear violation of Roe. The decision in that case, Whole Woman’s Health v.
Here's What Passes For A GOP 'Moderate' On Abortion
I think both Republicans and the media are underestimating just how pissed off women are in the United States about the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, and apparently this is someone who is allowed to pass themselves off as a "moderate" within their ranks these days by our corporate media. AZ Gov.
Pregnant Woman Given Ticket For Driving In HOV Lane Claims Fetus Is A Person
When the sheriff looked around her car last month, he asked, “Is it just you?” "No, there’s two of us,’” Bottone said. ‘Well, where’s the other person?’” Bottone, who was 34 weeks pregnant at the time, pointed to her stomach Brandy Bottone argued that the state's penal code recognizes a fetus as a person and that she will fight the $215 ticket in court. Source: Washington Post A pregnant Texas woman who was ticketed for driving in the HOV lane is arguing that Roe v.
Pregnant Woman Given Ticket For Driving In HOV Lane Claims Fetus Is A Person
Brandy Bottone argued that the state's penal code recognizes a fetus as a person and that she will fight the $215 ticket in court.
Trump Talks About Drug Use 'In The White House'
Like us on Facebook
Trump White House Aide Testifies About Republicans Who Sought Pardons
In more explosive testimony from the January Select Committee, Cassidy Hutchinson detailed the Congressman who wanted pardons for their actions leading up to January 6 insurrection.
Texas GOP's New Party Platform: Full Repeal Of The Voting Rights Act Of 1965
Texas Republicans have truly gone off the deep end. Instead of fixing the numerous problems in their state, they are focused on doing awful things. They should concentrate on improving the state's power grid, but instead, they want to secede. In a way, it's not the worst thing that could happen. But then they thought that wasn't crazy enough, so the GOP's new party platform also calls for full repeal of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. That act was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson.
Here's One Way To Fight Anti-Abortion Laws
By Alan Neff — June 18, 2022 By Alan Neff and Caroline Fredrickson As the Supreme Court reportedly prepares to overrule Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey and “return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives,” we argue here that religious-liberty and free-speech rights under the U.S. Constitution—and other constitutionally-grounded arguments—could be raised to defend women’s right to control their bodies without interference from the State.
Could Better Technology Lead to Stronger 4th Amendment Privacy Protections?
Amendment IV The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Diversity in Federal Judicial Selection During the Biden Administration
Introduction President Biden entered office promising to diversify the federal judiciary. He vowed to nominate larger percentages of federal judges whose personal and professional backgrounds differ from judicial nominees historically appointed to the federal bench: by and large, white men from private corporate practice and state and federal prosecutors’ offices.
The Justices Have No Robes
The Supreme Court faces a rule-of-law crisis of its own making. In a late-night order in early September, the Court allowed a Texas law to go into effect that prohibits the vast majority of abortions. The law is enforced by individuals authorized to sue anyone who helps with a banned abortion. Doctors, friends who pay, and even Uber or Lyft drivers who drop pregnant people off at clinics are at risk.
Addressing Insider Threats in Elections
Election officials were some of the biggest heroes of the 2020 election. After a grueling year that saw a pandemic, unprecedented disinformation efforts, and the highest turnout in over a century, they stood up to pressure from political actors seeking to overturn or cast doubt on the election results in key states. This collective, bipartisan effort helped avoid a constitutional crisis last year.
Checking the President’s Sanctions Powers
There are more than 120 statutory powers that the president can invoke when declaring a national emergency, but the vast majority of the emergencies declared since the National Emergencies Act (NEA) was enacted in 1976 rely on just one of these. That power is the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which has been the sole or primary statutory authority invoked in 65 of the 71 emergency declarations made during this period.
How Voter Suppression Laws Impede Religious Liberty: The Next Frontier of Litigation
More than 159 million people voted in the 2020 federal election and 2021 Senate runoffs, giving Democrats “trifecta” leadership of the White House, Senate, and House. Since then, Republican-controlled state legislatures around the country have teed up hundreds of bills aimed at making it harder to vote.
There Are No Extraordinary Powers a President Can Use to Reverse an Election
In the weeks leading up to President Biden’s inauguration, Donald Trump’s supporters urged him to take various drastic measures to overturn the election results, including declaring a national emergency, invoking the Insurrection Act, imposing martial law, and “temporarily suspending the Constitution”.
Top 10 Best RV Resorts For The Class A Lifestyle
Top 10 Best RV Resorts For The Class A Lifestyle So many great RV resorts, so little time. It’s a daunting task trying to hit all the upscale RV resorts across the US. We know…we’ve been trying for the last 15 years! We’ve criss-crossed the country and stayed at almost all of them. Where do you start? How long do you stay? What kind of amenities should we expect? Can we list all of them in the Top 10? Nope.
newsletters
Our Impeachment Coverage After months of zig-zagging in The People’s House, we have finally boarded the Great Impeachment Train To Somewhere. Here at Rule Of Law, we’ll cover this not-so-magical mystery tour wherever it travels, but not exhaustively/exhaustingly. Each week, expect to find a selection of under-reported events, sources, documents, and explainers to help you navigate impeachment until it ends in Congress with a bang and/or whimper.
Mueller's 8 Minutes On TV Burst The Conservative Media Bubble
Here's the lead story at Jim Hoft's Gateway Pundit right now: (Emphasis in original.) In the hermetically sealed world of one of the most slavishly pro-Trump websites, this is apparently news.
Questions for Judge Kavanaugh on his Disqualification from Certain Cases Involving the Powers and Immunities of the President
In due course, Judge Brett Kavanaugh will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee for questioning by Senators on his nomination by President Trump to the Supreme Court.
From Russia With Love: More Questions for Congress (Part II – Mueller Probe) | ACS
The first release, “Unclassified 1st Installment in Russia Report, Updated Recommendations on Election Security, by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) complements the majority and minority reports of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI). Together, these sources explicitly raise or indicate important questions that Congress should continue to investigate and address.
From Russia With Love: More Questions for Congress (Part I – Election Security) | ACS
From Russia With Love: More Questions for Congress (Part I – Election Security) After recent document dumps related to the probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, there is a growing list of questions for congressional investigators. In May, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) issued its “Unclassified 1st Installment in Russia Report, Updated Recommendations on Election Security.
The Curious History of ‘What Did the President Know, and When Did He Know It?’
The Washington Post wants to know. So does the New York Times. So too do The New Yorker, USA Today, The Nation and Salon. What all these outlets want to know is the same question last asked in another presidential corruption scandal, Watergate, 45 years ago: “What did the president know, and when did he know it?” The simple inquiry became world famous.
Letter to the editor: Not happy with WNMU president
5 Share This Story!Let friends in your social network know what you are reading aboutLetter to the editor: Not happy with WNMU presidentStop with the public relations concerning Mr. Shepard, president of Western New Mexico University. I don’t care about his new pool, etc. I care that he is impolite, I.E., not returning correspondence concerning rude professors.Sent!A link has been sent to your friend's email address.Posted!A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.
Americans must unite for liberty
May 1970 saw this country during a war that divided us as a people. As citizens gathered in the nation’s capital to protest the Cambodian incursion and the events at Kent State and the University at Buffalo, units of the 2nd Marine Division stood at ready south of the Potomac. In both ranks north and south of the river were men that carried the scars of combat in a war fallen from favor. South of the river few, if any, relished taking up arms against their fellow citizens.
Show appreciation while you can, by Alan Neff - SentinelSource.com: Letters To The Editor
If you or your household receives a 7 day home delivery subscription to The Keene Sentinel, you are entitled to FREE access to the premium subscription services on SentinelSource.com PLUS access to FREE archived content. To activate your online subscription, please follow the instructions presented. This is a one-time only process. If you are unsure about the type of account you have, please contact the Circulation Department at 603-352-1234, ext.
A Proposal for a Foreign Environmental" by Alan Neff
Alan Neff, Not in Their Backyards, Either: A Proposal for a Foreign Environmental Practices Act, 17 Ecology L.Q. (1990). Available at: http://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/elq/vol17/iss3/2
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Alan
Contact Alan, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack