New England Law | Boston Professor and noted constitutional law expert Lawrence Friedman recently signed on to two amicus briefs at the forefront of U.S. constitutional law.
The first is in the case U.S. v. Arpaio, in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. This case involves the Arizona sheriff found to be in contempt of court for ignoring a federal injunction; he was later pardoned by President Trump, and he then claimed that the pardon also erased his conviction. The amicus brief argues that there are limits on the pardon power and that the President’s pardon in this case should receive constitutional scrutiny.
In the U.S. v. Arpaio amicus brief, Professor Friedman joins organizations including MoveOn, Republicans for the Rule of Law, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Free Speech for People, the Protect Democracy Project, and the Roderick and Solange Macarthur Justice Center in Support of the Special Counsel and Affirmance, as well as Professors Laurence H. Tribe of Harvard Law, Martin H. Redish of Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, and William D. Rich of the University of Akron School of Law.
The second case is League of Women Voters of Wisconsin v. Evers, in the Supreme Court of Wisconsin. This case involves a challenge to an extraordinary session of the Wisconsin legislature in which the outgoing Republican majority sought to change the rules to limit the authority of the incoming Democratic administration. The amicus brief argues that the extraordinary session was unconstitutional under the Wisconsin Constitution. Professor Friedman join eleven other law school professors in signing the amicus brief. The Supreme Court of Wisconsin will hold oral arguments for the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin v. Evers case on May 15, 2019.
Learn more about Professor Friedman and his constitutional law scholarship.