A Fresh Start for a New Administration: Reforming Law and Justice Policies
Moderator, Ronald Klain; William Yeomans,
Deborah Pearlstein, Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar,
and Sally Katzen
Representative Donna Edwards, United States
House of Representatives (D-MD)
Now that the 2008 Presidential election is over, Americans can begin to focus on the policy changes the new administration can and should make. The inauguration of the Forty-Fourth President and installation of a new Administration will bring an opportunity for a fresh evaluation of federal law and policy in every area. It is therefore important and timely to offer ideas and recommendations for a new Administration to consider as it undertakes this important task.
On October 16th and October 30th, ACS released a package of proposals for a new Administration – of either party – and hosted a panel discussion on the topics they address. The proposals, contained in two dozen papers, cover a range of law and justice policy areas, including:
- The Department of Justice's role in civil rights enforcement, criminal justice, and legal advice to the President;
- Liberty, security and the rule of law in the post-911 era;
- Environmental policy;
- Workplace fairness;
- Government transparency;
- The regulatory process.
- Human Rights at Home.
In the papers included here, leading experts in these fields – past and present United States Senators, a former Attorney General and other high-ranking executive branch officials, distinguished scholars, and prominent advocates – offer their ideas for reforming federal law and policy. The views they offer are their own, as ACS takes no position on particular legal or policy initiatives.
ACS is pleased to offer this collection of thoughtful proposals in the hope that they will prompt lively discussion among policymakers, advocates and the public at large, and that they will receive careful attention from the next Administration when it takes office next year.
All of the papers are available at the links below.
Video of the events is available here and here.
I. The Department of Justice
Janet Reno and Geoffrey M. Klineberg
What Would Jackson Do? Some Old Advice for the New Attorney General
Senator Edward M. Kennedy
Restoring the Civil Rights Division
James K. Robinson
Restoring Public Confidence in the Fairness of the Department of Justice's Criminal Justice Function
Dawn E. Johnsen
All the President's Lawyers: How to Avoid Another "Torture Opinion" Debacle
Margaret Colgate Love
Reinventing the President's Pardon Power
II. Liberty and Security in the Post 9/11 Era
P.J. Crowley
Homeland Security and the Upcoming Transition: What the Next Administration Should Do to Make Us Safe at Home
Devon Chaffee
Rehabilitating the U.S. Ban on Torture: A Call for Transparent Treatment Policy
Ahilan Arulanantham
A Hungry Child Knows No Politics: A Proposal to Reform Laws Governing Humanitarian Relief and 'Material Support' of Terrorism
Amanda Frost and Justin Florence
Reforming the State Secrets Privilege
Peter P. Swire and Cassandra Q. Butts
The ID Divide: Addressing the Challenges of Identification and Authentication in American Society
Deborah N. Pearlstein
National Intelligence and the Rule of Law
Louise Richardson
Restoration, Education, and Coordination: Three Principles to Guide U.S. Counterterrorism Efforts Over the Next Five Years
Stephen J. Schulhofer
Prosecuting Suspected Terrorists: The Role of the Civilian Courts
Hady Amr and Peter W. Singer
Engaging the Muslim World: How to Win the War of Idea
III. The Environment
Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar
Running Aground: The Hidden Environmental and Regulatory Implications of Homeland Security
Lois J. Schiffer and Richard J. Lazarus
The Environment and Natural Resources Division of the United States Department of Justice: Planning for the Transition to the Next Administration
Timothy E. Wirth
A Way Forward on Climate Change
IV. Workplace Fairness
Anne Marie Lofaso
September Massacre: The Latest Battle in the War on Workers' Rights Under the National Labor Relations Act
Cyrus Mehri and Ellen Eardley
21st Century Tools for Advancing Equal Opportunity: Recommendations for the Next Administration
David Uhlmann
Prosecuting Worker Endangerment: The Need for Stronger Criminal Penalties for Violations of the OSH Act
V. Government Transparency
Geoffrey R. Stone
On Secrecy and Transparency: Thoughts for Congress and a New Administration
Meredith Fuchs
The White House: Off Limits to Historians?
VI. The Regulatory Agencies
David C. Vladeck
The Emerging Threat of Regulatory Preemption
Elaine Kaplan and Tim Hannapel
Reinvigorating the U.S. Office of Special Counsel
Sally Katzen
Letting Government Agencies Do What They Were Created To Do
VII. Human Rights at Home
Catherine Powell
Human Rights at Home: A Domestic Policy Blueprint for the New Administration (summary)
