Foreign Precedents and the US Supreme Court

Foreign Precedents and the US Supreme Court



With many thanks to Alice Dong of Legal Affairs for the following worthwhile tip:



"I think you might be interested in a forum just published in Legal Affairs magazine between Richard Posner and Vicki Jackson about the Supreme Court and international law.



Here's Posner's piece:

http://www.legalaffairs.org/issues/July-August-2004/feature_posner_julaug04.html



Here's Jackson's:

http://www.legalaffairs.org/issues/July-August-2004/feature_jackson_julaug04.html".



Indeed, the Legal Affairs pieces referred to by Alice present excellent counterposed analyses of the pros and cons of this increasingly recurring modern jurisprudential question.



Posner identifies the issue as follows:



"THE QUESTION FOR THIS DEBATE is: "Should foreign or international legal decisions ever be considered relevant to United States Supreme Court rulings?" Alternatively but equivalently: "In what circumstances, if any, should the United States Supreme Court cite a decision by an international or other foreign court?"



Jackson writes pro, e.g.:



"Legal education is just beginning to recognize the importance of offering training in understanding foreign and international law."



Posner writes contra, e.g.:



"The problem is not learning from abroad; it is treating foreign judicial decisions as authorities in U.S. cases, as if the world were a single legal community."



The issues discussed are not merely theoretical legal exercises, but reflect the ongoing and surely inevitable globalization of the world. A great read.

Detainee Cases Decided by US Supreme Court

Detainee Cases Decided by US Supreme Court



See SCOTUSBlog for a discussion of and links to news media reports on the recent US Supreme Court decisions in the detainee cases (1, 2 and 3, 4).