David Cole
NY Review of Books
Washington, DC, United States
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Past articles by David:
Equal Protection on the Docket
At least three times in its history, the Supreme Court has invoked the Constitution in order to frustrate efforts to protect the vulnerable. In the → Read More
Egregiously Wrong: The Supreme Court’s Unprecedented Turn
Over the course of the Supreme Court’s 232-year history, 110 men and six women have served as justices. Just a small handful of them have been → Read More
“Egregiously Wrong”: The Supreme Court’s Unprecedented Turn
Over the course of the Supreme Court’s 232-year history, 110 men and six women have served as justices. Just a small handful of them have been → Read More
The Supreme Court embraces originalism — and all its flaws
A blind adherence to history is no way to rule on the very different circumstances of the present. → Read More
Georgetown Law did the right thing on Ilya Shapiro
The law school's dean chose a more difficult route of standing up to cancel culture and endorsing free speech. → Read More
The ACLU Never Stopped Defending Free Speech
And, contrary to what you may have read, we’re not stopping now. → Read More
The Alito opinion would be like Plessy overturning Brown v. Board of Education
The doctrine of stare decisis acknowledges the importance of respecting settled expectations — and especially of not taking away rights that people have come to rely on. → Read More
Why the ACLU supports a Christian flag flying at Boston City Hall
Free speech in a government-sponsored public forum does not violate the separation of church and state. → Read More
The Legacy of Radical Lawyer Michael Ratner
His posthumous memoir, just released, is a powerful account of holding the powerful to account. → Read More
Republican Cancel Culture: State Laws to Suppress Activism
Republicans in 33 states have introduced bills to make protesting a crime. → Read More
This is the Supreme Court’s tipping point
One justice’s vote has made the difference on many of our nation’s most contested issues. → Read More
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 1933–2020
She entered the law at a time when men wielded virtually all political and economic power, women were barely taken seriously in the legal profession or by the law itself, and the statute books were shot through with sex-based laws. She used her skills to elevate the status of women in the United States forever. The world she has left behind was transformed by her work. But at every turn, she… → Read More
The Supreme Court justices are misusing the ‘shadow docket’
In a much less visible area of its work, commonly known as the “shadow docket,” the court has increasingly split along party lines. → Read More
Why We Need Postal Democracy
In the coronavirus pandemic, Republicans may have discovered the ultimate voter suppression tactic. For years they have sought to erect obstacles to voting, imposing strict voter identification requirements, limiting registration opportunities, purging voter rolls, and opposing early voting—all ostensibly in the name of fighting in-person “voter fraud,” even though there is virtually no evidence… → Read More
How John Paul Stevens Surprised Us
Stevens was precisely the kind of justice that neither side wants appointed: a pragmatist, skeptical of rigid doctrinal tests. → Read More
The Long and Grim Road to ‘Plessy v. Ferguson’
Steven Luxenberg’s new book offers a vivid account of the events that led to the ruling. → Read More
The Mueller Report: An Indictment in All But Name
Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s long-awaited report, released to the public in a redacted version on April 18, lays out in meticulous detail both a blatantly illegal effort by Russia to throw the 2016 presidential election to Donald Trump and repeated efforts by President Trump to end, limit, or impede Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference. | By David Cole → Read More
Betsy DeVos is pushing a terrible double standard on college campuses
She’s willing to overhaul regulations for discrimination based on sex but not on race. Why? → Read More
Why the Decision Declaring Obamacare Unconstitutional Will Be Reversed
The only immediate effect of Judge Reed O’Connor’s fundamentally flawed ruling will be to underscore Republicans’ political weakness. → Read More
Jeff Sessions leaves a dark mark on the Justice Department
And yet, we can’t celebrate his departure. → Read More