Contact: Professor Frank Askin, (973) 353-5687.
Madelyn Hoffman, New Jersey Peace Action, (973) 744-3263
New Jersey Military Mothers Sue President Bush Over Iraq War
FOR RELEASE: Tuesday, May 13, 2008, 11 AM
CONTACT:
Professor Frank Askin, (973) 353-5687.
Madelyn Hoffman, New Jersey Peace Action, (973) 744-3263
RUTGERS CLINIC SUES PRESIDENT BUSH OVER IRAQ WAR
NEWARK, May 13 - The Rutgers/Newark Constitutional Litigation Clinic field suit today in the Federal District Court in Newark against President Bush over the War in Iraq. The Complaint seeks a Declaratory Judgment that the President’s decision to launch a preemptive war against a sovereign nation in 2003 violated Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution, which assigns to Congress the power to Declare War.
According to Professor Frank Askin, founding director of the Clinic and attorney for the Plaintiffs in New Jersey Peace Action v. George W. Bush, six law students worked with him through much of the academic year studying the issues and preparing the law suit.
The unusual 20-page Complaint relies very heavily on the annals of the 1787 Constitutional Convention, at which the Founders deliberately denied to the president the power to wage war except in response to a sudden attack when Congress did not have time to act. “The Founders were very clear,” said Askin “that only Congress could make that awesome decision. They were not permitted to delegate that power to the president and thus be able later to disclaim responsibility for a decision gone bad. It was that momentous decision that allowed Thomas Jefferson to proclaim that the Convention had ‘chained the dog of war.’”
The complaint also cites 19th Century Supreme Court rulings holding that an all-out, or “perfect,” war could only be declared by Congress, whereas Congress could authorize the president to wage a quasi, or “imperfect,” war under strict limits as to scope and duration without a full-scale Declaration.
Askin also noted that while several law suits challenging U.S. military actions without a Congressional Declaration since the end of World War II have failed, most of those were dismissed by lower courts on procedural grounds. The Supreme Court has never held that the president may wage an all-out war against a sovereign nation in the absence of such a Declaration. “In any event,” Askin added, “The Constitution may not be amended by penitent violation.”
The suit does not seek coercive relief. It does point to persistent threats by the Bush Administration of military action against Iran, and seeks a Declaration that such actions violate Article I, Section 8, asserting that this is an issue “capable of repetition yet persistently evading review.”
Askin noted that the case was greatly aided by research done by Rutgers Professor Emeritus Alfred Blumrosen, who has prepared a manuscript, along with his lawyer son Steven, about the Constitutional Convention and the origins of the “Declare War” clause.
New Jersey Peace Action, the lead plaintiff in the suit, has worked for more than half a century to promote peaceful alternatives to war. It has been vocally opposed to the war in Iraq since its inception. Peace Action was represented at the press conference at Rutgers Law School in Newark by its executive director Madelyn Hoffman.
The other named plaintiffs, Anna Berlinrut of Maplewood, and Paula Rogovin of Teaneck, are New Jersey spokespersons for Military Families Speak Out. Ms Berlinrut has a Marine son who has already done two tours in Iraq and is scheduled to be redeployed there in May. Ms Rogovin also has a son in the Marine Corps who she believes was redeployed to Iraq in March after previously serving a tour of duty there.
