Decisions and Revisions: Israeli Nuclear Deterrence and War With Iran
“In a minute there is time For decisions and revisions which a minute/will reverse” —T.S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock Though much has been published about both military and legal elements of Israeli nuclear deterrence, not much has been written about the specific ways in which these core elements could conceivably intersect. [...]
Switzerland appeals court upholds 20-year prison sentence for former Liberian warlord
The Federal Criminal Court of Switzerland on Thursday upheld former Liberian warlord Alieu Kosiah’s 20-year prison sentence for war crimes and convicted him of crimes against humanity, the first such conviction in Switzerland. Kosiah was initially convicted and sentenced for war crimes by the Trial Chamber of First Instance in 2021. In confirming Kosiah’s 20-year sentence, the [...]
Switzerland court hands down first conviction relating to Liberia civil war
A Swiss court on Friday handed down the first conviction over Liberia’s 1989-1996 civil war, sentencing Alieu Kosiah to 20 years in jail for various crimes, including rape, ordering murders, and cruel treatment of civilians. The federal prosecutor alleged that Kosiah, 46, had committed 25 war crimes. He was found guilty of all but four [...]
President Biden and North Korea: Deterrence, Not Denuclearization, Is America's Only Realistic Goal
“Theory is a net. Only those who cast, can catch.” – Karl R. Popper, The Logic of Scientific Discovery (1934) During his March 25, 2021 press conference, US President Joe Biden declared “denuclearization” as America’s ultimate strategic goal for North Korea. Though such a declaration might first appear reasonable, it misrepresents what is plausible in [...]
What If Trump's Electoral Defeat Coincides with a Nuclear Crisis?
“The masses have followed the magicians again and again…Socrates and Plato were the first to take up the struggle against them in clear awareness of what was at stake.” – Karl Jaspers, Reason and Anti-Reason in our Time (1952) On absolutely all matters of existential survival, individual or collective, candor is indispensable. In connection with [...]
Fair Disclosure: An Antidote to Wrongful Prosecution in Indian Criminal Legal System
Recently, public interest litigation (PIL), Yash Giri v. Union of India, was filed in the Supreme Court of India to formulate a law to compensate the victims of wrongful incarceration. Instances of wrongful prosecution are not a rarity in the Indian criminal legal system. The arena of wrongful prosecution due to absence of fair disclosure [...]
Federal appeals court allows Ohio to move forward with execution after failed attempt
The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on Tuesday denied Ohio death row inmate Romell Broom’s request for habeas relief and held that a second execution attempt would not constitute cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment. Ohio had previously tried to execute Broom by lethal injection in 2009, but officials were [...]
Marijuana is illegal in the US under a variety of federal statutes that criminalize the production, distribution and possession of the substance for any purpose. Regardless, laws in 23 states, the District of Columbia and Guam permit for some legal...
Public understanding of the shape and direction of affirmative action has been influenced primarily by US Supreme Court decisions. However, affirmative action litigation decided in state courts and federal courts other than the Supreme Court has also had a lasting...
JURIST Columnist Charles C. Jalloh of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law examines the role of Alternate Judge El Hadji Malick Sow in Charles Taylor's trial and recent conviction and discusses the implications of Sow's decision to publicly disagree...
