Senator Rand Paul has come out forcefully against Professor Ditherton Wiggleroom’s attempt to appoint fellow Professor David Barron to the bench:
Last year, the president nominated Barron to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and a vote on his nomination is expected this week. I am going to fight this nomination, because I believe Barron has disqualified himself from serving as a federal judge.
I’ve read the Barron memos concerning the legal justification for killing an American citizen overseas without a trial or legal representation. While the president forbids me from discussing what is in the memos, I can tell you what is not in the memos.
There is no valid legal precedent to justify the killing of an American citizen not engaged in combat. In fact, one can surmise as much because the legal question at hand has never been adjudicated.
The courts have examined due process rights of individuals actually captured on a battlefield, but no court has ever reviewed whether an American citizen can be killed without legal representation or a trial. That is precisely why I cannot support placing professor Barron on the appellate court.
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