Professor Bainbridge...on law, politics, religion, culture & food

I am pretty much in agreement with Brian. The one thought I have is that if it becomes apparent that Yoo knew they were already torturing people and he was being asked to write an opinion justifying something he knew, or should have known, is illegal I would have second thoughts.

Steve

I disagreed with the Administration and Yoo over the torture policies.  It was wrong.  It was a foolish and counter productive decision. 

But Yoo has actually more to worry about than merely tenure:  http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/attytood/

While the thought of going after Bush Administration officials for war crimes might be yummy for the far left, it would be politically a very bad idea.

Who cares about tenure? Yoo should first be debarred and then placed behind bars. He is a disgrace to the legal profession and a war criminal.

God, it so hurts me to say so, but I agree, Leiter’s right here.

Luke, I think the word you’re looking for is “disbarred”, and I wonder, do you find being a nincompoop is any particular handicap in your daily life?

If the argument is that there are no doctrines so repugnant that a tenured professor can’t be fired for advocating them, I can’t agree.  When a community establishes an institution of higher education it surely has the right to decide what can and cannot be taught to students there.  Must a university history department tolerate a professor who teaches that the Holocaust never happened?  Must a biology department tolerate a professor who teaches that the theory of evolution is on a par with “intelligent design”?  Must a law school tolerate a professor who insists that the president has the right to authorize the torture of prisoners, despite the fact that the US has signed treaties prohibiting torture?  I think not.