Constitutional Law

“If democracy is to survive, though, it must be because the illegal and unconstitutional acts of the Trump administration are stopped,” writes Dean Erwin Chemerinsky. “That requires that those targeted fight back.”

John Yoo joins podcast Studio 2 to weigh in on the question, “Are we headed for a Constitutional crisis?”

“The Constitution is based on checks and balances,” writes Dean Erwin Chemerinsky. “President Trump is claiming unprecedented authority to control federal spending without any checks or limits. Courts must continue to deem this unconstitutional and stop it.”

Jeremy Fogel, a retired federal judge, said no judge in the nation’s history has been removed “because of dissatisfaction with his or her rulings.” But threats of impeachment “contribute to a toxic environment that increases the difficulty of an already difficult job,” said Fogel, who now leads the Berkeley Judicial Institute.

Here & Now‘s Scott Tong talks with Dean Erwin Chemerinsky about what would happen if President Trump defies the courts.

Dean Erwin Chemerinsky joins LA Times Today host Lisa McRee to discuss expansion of presidential power.

What if Trump defies court decisions that go against him? Dean Erwin Chemerinsky weighs in.

“Trump’s statements, his executive order and his actions against Khalil show a profound disregard of the 1st Amendment,” writes Dean Erwin Chemerinksy. “All in the United States — citizen and noncitizen — have freedom of speech. No one can be punished under the law, including by deportation, for the ideas they express.”

“It is not hyperbole to say that the future of American constitutional democracy now rests on a single question: Will President Trump and his administration defy court orders?,” writes Dean Erwin Chemerinsky.

“Hopefully, the pushback in the form of lawsuits like this will show that there are legal boundaries that should not be crossed,” said Laura Riley, director of the Clinical Program at Berkeley Law. “What exactly those are; we have to wait to see what the courts do. But I do think it shows that municipalities can’t criminalize homelessness in a way that’s unchecked.”