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John Q. Barrett

@johnqbarrett

Benjamin N. Cardozo Professor of Law, St. John's University, NYC. Robert H. Jackson Center. Jackson biographer. Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure, Legal History, Nuremberg, SCOTUS. Iran-Contra & DOJ alum. Wisconsin native. #JacksonList

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Latest posts by John Q. Barrett @johnqbarrett

Kristi Noem’s seeming crimes are more domestic than international. So maybe not a Nuremberg. But maybe state prosecution, in Minnesota, for instance. And maybe, soon enough, U.S. prosecution by a reconstructed Department of Justice.

06.03.2026 19:17 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Envoy Noem needs to consult now, for 2029 if not soon, a good criminal defense lawyer.

05.03.2026 20:01 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I think that line, or something like it, was Jack Nicholson's in "A Few Good Men."

05.03.2026 19:52 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
"From Controversy to Conversation" Talking the Hard History of Baltimore's "Confederate Monuments," March 5

A great success story: @marthasjones.bsky.social on Baltimoreans putting what once was a block that elevated Chief Justice Roger B. Taney to much higher uses.
#DredScott #slavery #equality #liberty
open.substack.com/pub/hardhist...

05.03.2026 14:05 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
March 4, 1933: Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes administering the presidential oath to Franklin D. Roosevelt.

March 4, 1933: Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes administering the presidential oath to Franklin D. Roosevelt.

March 4, 1933, United States greatness:
Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes administers the presidential oath to Franklin D. Roosevelt.
@scotushistory.bsky.social
@rooseveltinstitute.org

04.03.2026 16:26 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Bad: Lawyers who still work law firms that capitulated to Trump administration threats.

Worse: U.S. Department of Justice lawyers who are following political ordersβ€”on/off/on againβ€”to defend illegal attacks on non-capitulating law firms.

(And great: Those stand-up law firms/lawyers.)

04.03.2026 12:52 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I recall 1976, dimly, as β€œHere we are/aren’t we great to be this old?!/look at all this red, white, and blue.”
It would be better this time, 2026, to study, teach, and debate 1776 and U.S. history sinceβ€”what have β€œwe” been to what are we now. Use this anniversary as an opportunity to become smarter.

04.03.2026 11:54 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I worked in a SCIF for seven yearsβ€”locks, guards, walls, no windows, very controlled access,… real national security.

03.03.2026 11:03 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
214. The Court's (Selective) Impatience is a Vice The only theme uniting Monday night's twin grants of emergency relief is the Republican appointees' willingness to upend long-settled limits on the Court's power when, but only when, they *want* to.

As I explain via the latest β€œOne First,” the only theme that unites the Supreme Court’s (unrelated) grants of emergency relief Monday night in the California transgender student and New York redistricting cases is what might be called β€œselective judicial impatience.”

And that’s *not* a good thing:

03.03.2026 02:57 πŸ‘ 1063 πŸ” 303 πŸ’¬ 24 πŸ“Œ 16

And ugly.

02.03.2026 20:36 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Super, factual, important brief.

02.03.2026 05:12 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Post image Post image

Yesterday I filed an #AmicusCuriae brief at #SCOTUS in the birthright citizenship case. It presents stories of 3 families of Japanese ancestry--w/o legal allegiance to the USA--to show citizenship derives from birth on US soil, not parental loyalties.
#lawsky #skystorians
tinyurl.com/3hy76638

27.02.2026 14:07 πŸ‘ 208 πŸ” 63 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 4

POOR-im

02.03.2026 05:05 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

In 1945-1946, the United States & allied nations, prosecuting Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg, established that military aggression was an international crime.

This evening, the 2025 U.S. film "Nuremberg" was to be shown at Arasbaran Cultural Center in Tehran, Iran.

Now canceled?--websites down.

01.03.2026 17:59 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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01.03.2026 12:53 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Under U.S. law plus historical practice, this is basis for a serious national security crimes investigation. It appears to be probable cause for arrest.

But now it’s just Friday night.

01.03.2026 12:07 πŸ‘ 27 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

At least β€œThis part of my job is painful.”

26.02.2026 12:07 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

No creature, including a person or a dog, should be hanged. But cameras do sometimes capture something that looks to be an ashamed, β€œhangdog look.”

26.02.2026 12:06 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Bang up job by the DOJ lawyer here

Court: So you can drop them off wherever and as long as you don't know someone is literally standing there waiting to shoot, that's fine?

Defense counsel: "In short, yes."

25.02.2026 19:53 πŸ‘ 896 πŸ” 252 πŸ’¬ 10 πŸ“Œ 9
Preview
Epstein Files Are Missing Records About Woman Who Made Claim Against Trump

We seem to be nearing the heart of the story, and a lot will depend on the nerve of the journalists--NPR, the NYT, etc--to stay on this story relentlessly. Will they give it the same kind of coverage they gave Biden's age--i.e., full bore, around the clock, 50 opeds?
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/25/u...

25.02.2026 18:13 πŸ‘ 468 πŸ” 170 πŸ’¬ 17 πŸ“Œ 11

Deep condolences to you and to all who had her in their lives.

25.02.2026 18:10 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
The 22nd Annual Robert H. Jackson Lecture on the Supreme Court of the United States β€” Michael Dreeben - Chautauqua Institution Welcome to Chautauqua Institution! We are a community of artists, educators, thinkers, faith leaders and friends dedicated to exploring the best in humanity.

Monday, July 27, 2026:
Michael Dreeben, superb U.S. lawyer and U.S. Supreme Court advocate, will give Chautauqua Institution's 22nd annual Robert H. Jackson Lecture on the Supreme Court of the United States.
Click below for details and ticket info.
@chq1874.bsky.social
www.chq.org/event/the-22...

24.02.2026 16:03 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Who can forget FBI Director William Webster doing this in Lake Placid in 1980 after the β€œmiracle on ice?”

23.02.2026 01:27 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

This vandalism β€” all of it β€” must not stand. Learn, speak, teach, resist, vote, win, serve, repair.

19.02.2026 23:33 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Racist talk. Another racist moment. Seems to be a high racism person.

19.02.2026 22:14 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Thanks, CUNY @thegraduatecenter.bsky.social.

This will be a great conference. Please do join us!

19.02.2026 18:26 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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King Charles the impressive:
I am not the head of a crime family.

19.02.2026 14:37 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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A Pause to Refresh And a few notes on the state of the stack

Amidst all of his great work as economist & public commentator (and non-golfer, pfew), Prof. Paul Krugman mentioned a major norm/rule/best practice in academia:
Our writing (papers, articles, books) should include attribution.
@paulkrugman.substack.com.web.brid.gy
open.substack.com/pub/paulkrug...

19.02.2026 11:47 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Then-Prince Andrew gave zero cooperation to U.S. law enforcement investigating Jeffrey Epstein & Ghislaine Maxwell.

Maybe now ex-prince Andrew, under arrest, will reassess and talk fully to U.K. law enforcement. It looks like it still is, unlike U.S. DOJ, on the case(s).

19.02.2026 11:00 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

β€œNo person should be above the law” is a value judgment, a belief in human equality. It was made in Magna Carta, by a King. It was made in North America, in the Declaration of Independence, & then in the U.S. Constitution. It’s part of U.K. self-governanceβ€”see the arrest of the former Prince Andrew.

19.02.2026 10:55 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0