After I graduated from law school in 2015, I went to work as a clerk at Alberta’s superior trial court. The Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta, or “QB” as court staff, students, and judges affectionately call it, is sometimes described as a “Section 96 court”—so named for the section of the Constitution Act, 1867 that prevents these courts of inherent jurisdiction…
Last year, the New York State Bar Association Journal picked up an article I wrote on the Trump Administration’s barrage of assaults against the rule of law. Except you wouldn’t know it. Before publication, the editors decided to remove my references to specific events demonstrating the President’s clear and present disregard for that unassailable maxim, which posits that any exercise of public power must be grounded in a legal rule;…
When Pixar’s animated film Finding Nemo premiered in 2003, a forgetful blue reef fish voiced by Ellen DeGeneres stole the show. “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming,” Dory sung in her characteristically chipper tone. Her devil-may-care attitude endeared her to audiences and other fish in the sea. But Dory’s short-term memory loss did not give her much choice. For her, repetition meant survival. Since…
Move over, Batman. Statman has arrived—and not a moment too soon. What do Aquaman, Batman, Cyborg, the Flash, Superman, and Wonder Woman all have in common? None can save the world alone. Turns out, the same is true for the rule of law. The superheroes star in Justice League, Warner Bros.’ new film based on the DC Comics series of the same name.…
