Good Law | Bad Law - Why Can’t Soldiers Sue? A Conversation w/ Andrew Popper
02/07/20 • 62 min
Why can’t members of the military sue the government for their injuries?
Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast, Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Professor Andrew Popper, of American University, Washington College of Law, to discuss democracy, the notion of “sovereign immunity,” and the way in which basic civil liberties are being denied to our country’s military service members.
In today’s episode, Aaron and Andy are talking about what is known as the Feres Doctrine. Stemming from a 1950 Supreme Court decision, the Feres Doctrine significantly limits the civil rights of U.S. military members and their abilities to pursue justice as average citizens otherwise could. Andy and Aaron explain the ins and outs of the case while also explaining how and why this law came to be. Andy illustrates his recommendation for overturning the law, providing examples of instances in which Feres has caused extreme suffering, frustration and unfairness. Throughout today’s conversation, Aaron and Andy talk about the effectiveness of our military, the fear of undermining authority, chain-of-command, agent orange, Camp Lejeune, judicial activism and more.
A veteran himself, Professor Popper is the Bronfman Distinguished Professor of Law and Government, teaching torts, administrative law, government litigation, and advanced administrative law. Andy is the recipient of American Bar Association awards for excellence in both tort and administrative law and has received American University’s highest faculty award, Scholar/Teacher of the year. He has served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and for nearly two decades has chaired the law school admissions committee.
In addition to his other works, Andy is also a successful fiction writer, having been the recipient of the Maryland Writer’s Association First Place Award for mainstream fiction. He has served as a consumer rights advocate and pro bono counsel for the Consumers Union of America, testified before more than 40 states and federal congressional committees, and authored amicus curiae briefs before the United States Supreme Court. Prior to coming to the Washington College of Law, he held an endowed chair at the University of Denver, School of Law, and before that practiced law in Washington, D.C.
To learn more about Professor Popper, please visit his bio page here.
To read Professor Popper’s article, “Rethinking Feres: Granting Access to Justice for Service Members,” please click here.
To learn more about Feres v. United States, please click here.
To explore the collection of Professor Popper’s literary works, please visit his Amazon page here.
Host: Aaron Freiwald
Guest: Andrew Popper
Follow Good Law | Bad Law:
YouTube: Good Law | Bad Law
Facebook: @GOODLAWBADLAW
Instagram: @GoodLawBadLaw
Website: https://www.law-podcast.com
Why can’t members of the military sue the government for their injuries?
Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast, Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Professor Andrew Popper, of American University, Washington College of Law, to discuss democracy, the notion of “sovereign immunity,” and the way in which basic civil liberties are being denied to our country’s military service members.
In today’s episode, Aaron and Andy are talking about what is known as the Feres Doctrine. Stemming from a 1950 Supreme Court decision, the Feres Doctrine significantly limits the civil rights of U.S. military members and their abilities to pursue justice as average citizens otherwise could. Andy and Aaron explain the ins and outs of the case while also explaining how and why this law came to be. Andy illustrates his recommendation for overturning the law, providing examples of instances in which Feres has caused extreme suffering, frustration and unfairness. Throughout today’s conversation, Aaron and Andy talk about the effectiveness of our military, the fear of undermining authority, chain-of-command, agent orange, Camp Lejeune, judicial activism and more.
A veteran himself, Professor Popper is the Bronfman Distinguished Professor of Law and Government, teaching torts, administrative law, government litigation, and advanced administrative law. Andy is the recipient of American Bar Association awards for excellence in both tort and administrative law and has received American University’s highest faculty award, Scholar/Teacher of the year. He has served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and for nearly two decades has chaired the law school admissions committee.
In addition to his other works, Andy is also a successful fiction writer, having been the recipient of the Maryland Writer’s Association First Place Award for mainstream fiction. He has served as a consumer rights advocate and pro bono counsel for the Consumers Union of America, testified before more than 40 states and federal congressional committees, and authored amicus curiae briefs before the United States Supreme Court. Prior to coming to the Washington College of Law, he held an endowed chair at the University of Denver, School of Law, and before that practiced law in Washington, D.C.
To learn more about Professor Popper, please visit his bio page here.
To read Professor Popper’s article, “Rethinking Feres: Granting Access to Justice for Service Members,” please click here.
To learn more about Feres v. United States, please click here.
To explore the collection of Professor Popper’s literary works, please visit his Amazon page here.
Host: Aaron Freiwald
Guest: Andrew Popper
Follow Good Law | Bad Law:
YouTube: Good Law | Bad Law
Facebook: @GOODLAWBADLAW
Instagram: @GoodLawBadLaw
Website: https://www.law-podcast.com
Previous Episode
Good Law | Bad Law - Can We Survive 2020? A Conversation w/ Rick Hasen
Can American Democracy survive the 2020 elections and beyond?
Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast, Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Professor Richard L. Hasen, of the University of California, Irvine School of Law, to discuss his latest book, Election Meltdown: Dirty Tricks, Distrust, and the Threat to American Democracy. In today’s conversation, Aaron and Richard are talking about the integrity of our voting system, the health of our democracy, and the biggest reasons why Americans increasingly distrust the voting process.
As the presidential campaign begins to take shape, Americans on both sides of the political aisle are worrying about how the 2020 elections will shake out. Richard and Aaron breakdown why this is, what there is to worry about, and why it is we have seen such a decline in trust. A leading expert in election law, Richard illustrates the four principle reasons for this increasing mistrust and explains how we got here while offering bipartisan solutions. Throughout today’s episode, Aaron and Richard talk about voter suppression, heightened suspicion, inflammatory rhetoric, incompetence in election administration, cyber security, the myth of voter fraud, and more.
Dr. Richard Hasen is Chancellor’s Professor of Law and Political Science at UC Irvine, and is a nationally recognized expert in election law and campaign finance regulation, writing as well in the areas of legislation and statutory interpretation, remedies, and torts. From 2001-2010 he served as founding co-editor of the quarterly peer-reviewed publication, Election Law Journal and is the co-author of leading casebooks in election law and remedies. Richard is also the author of over 100 articles on election law issues, published in numerous journals including the Harvard Law Review, Stanford Law Review, and Supreme Court Review. He was elected to The American Law Institute in 2009 and serves as Reporter on the ALI’s law reform project: Restatement (Third) of Torts: Remedies and is an adviser on the Restatement (Third) of Torts: Concluding Provisions.
A graduate of both UCLA and Berkeley, Professor Hasen was named one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America by The National Law Journal in 2013, and one of the Top 100 lawyers in California in 2005 and 2016 by the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journal. His op-eds and commentaries have appeared in many publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico, and Slate.
What if a blackout happens on election day in one of the country’s swing states? Or what if there was a mistake when calculating electronic ballots? Listen in as Richard and Aaron contemplate these terrifying scenarios and others as they discuss the principle dangers that could threaten the 2020 elections, as well as our voting system as a whole.
To learn more about Richard, please visit his bio page at UCI Law here.
To check out Richard’s book, Election Meltdown: Dirty Tricks, Distrust, and the Threat to American Democracy, please click here.
You can check out Richard’s blog, Election Law Blog, here.
To find more information about Richard’s book and his upcoming book tour, please click here.
Host: Aaron Freiwald
Guest: Richard L. Hasen
Follow Good Law | Bad Law:
YouTube: Good Law | Bad Law
Facebook: @GOODLAWBADLAW
Instagram: @GoodLawBadLaw
Website: https://www.law-podcast.com
Next Episode
Good Law | Bad Law - Abortion Roadblocks: A Conversation w/ David Cohen
Why is it so hard – and getting harder – to get an abortion in the U.S. today?
Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast, Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Professor David Cohen, of Drexel University’s Kline School of law, to discuss accessibility of abortion. David’s new co-authored book on the topic, Obstacle Course: The Everyday Struggle to Get an Abortion in America, tells the story of abortion in our country and captures a disturbing reality of insurmountable barriers people face when trying to exercise their legal rights to medical services.
Despite the controversy surrounding this issue, it is a constitutional right that women have access to abortion. Yet getting an abortion can be a monumental challenge in many places throughout the United States, forcing some to risk their lives and livelihoods in the process. Aaron and David dive into these obstacles and their implications, discussing restrictions, fake clinics, health care coverage, protestors and more. David explains his approach to the book and reasons for working on it while talking about state legislation, upcoming Supreme Court cases, and how the law tries to interfere with women’s rights and autonomy.
A graduate of Columbia Law, Professor Cohen’s scholarship explores the intersection of constitutional law and gender, emphasizing how the law impacts abortion provision, including violence against abortion providers, as well as sex segregation and masculinity. In addition to his most recent book, David is also the co-author of Living in the Crosshairs: The Untold Stories of Anti-Abortion Terrorism. Published in 2015, “Living in the Crosshairs” examines how abortion providers are targeted by anti-abortion extremists and how law can better respond.
Professor Cohen has published articles in the Harvard Journal of Law and Gender, Columbia Journal of Gender and Law, University of Pennsylvania Law Review Online, George Washington Law Review, and others. Before coming to Drexel, David was a lecturer-in-law at the University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law and held adjunct professor positions at Penn and Long Island University. He currently serves on the board of directors for the Women’s Law Project in Philadelphia and the National Abortion Care Network. Professor Cohen also continues to work on pro bono cases affecting abortion access and LGBT rights.
To learn more about Professor Cohen, please visit his bio page at Drexel here.
To check out Professor Cohen’s new book, Obstacle Course: The Everyday Struggle to Get an Abortion in America, please click here.
Host: Aaron Freiwald
Guest: David Cohen
Follow Good Law | Bad Law:
YouTube: Good Law | Bad Law
Facebook: @GOODLAWBADLAW
Instagram: @GoodLawBadLaw
Website: https://www.law-podcast.com
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