Andrew P. Napolitano
Articles by Andrew P. Napolitano
The government has no right to determine what goods, services or venues are essential
Some of us are willing to take chances and even do "nonessential" things. The essence of the freedoms for which we have fought since 1776 is the liberty to be ourselves. Published May 27, 2020
What if the U.S. government has it all wrong about the COVID-19 pandemic?
What if the government has it wrong -- on the medicine and the law? What if face masks can't stop the COVID-19 virus? What if quarantining the healthy makes no medical sense? What if staying at home for months reduces immunity? Published May 20, 2020
Why Americans must stop acting like sheep and tell the government to take a hike
Does the government work for us or do we work for the government? Formally, it works for us. We elect officials because we trust their judgment. Published May 13, 2020
U.S. Constitution shredded by dangerous elected officials during COVID-19 pandemic
The current interferences with the exercise of rights protected by the Bill of Rights devolve around travel, assembly, interstate commercial activities and the exercise of religious beliefs. Published May 6, 2020
In COVID-19 America, freedom is a privilege subject to government permission slips
All elected state governors in power today have nullified the freedom-protecting clauses of the Constitution. If those clauses can be nullified, then of what value are they? Published April 29, 2020
During COVID-19 pandemic, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy blatantly ignores the Constitution
Mr. Murphy is unfit for office for violating his solemn public oath and the public trust and for trampling human freedom. Published April 22, 2020
Do governors have the right to decide which human activities are essential?
During the past month, as Americans have been terrified of the coronavirus, another demon has been lurking ready to pounce. It is a demon of our own creation. It is the now amply manifested inability of elected officials to resist the temptation of totalitarianism. Published April 15, 2020
During these dark days, government must protect freedom and not assault it
Like the colonists who fought the oppression of the king, we the living can achieve our hopes only if we have freedom. And that requires a government that protects freedom, not one that assaults it. Published April 8, 2020
Taking constitutional rights seriously during COVID-19 pandemic
Unless we follow the Constitution, crisis produces fear, and fear produces madness, and madness produces those who become a law unto themselves. Published April 1, 2020
What good are constitutional rights if they are violated when Americans get sick?
You want to bring the family to visit grandma? You want to go to work? You want to celebrate Mass? These are all now prohibited in one-third of the United States. Published March 25, 2020
Draconian coronavirus closures of restaurants threatens due process granted by Constitution
The coronavirus pandemic, which ravaged portions of China and Italy, has arrived in the United States and our central planners have panicked. Published March 18, 2020
Can the American government forcibly quarantine to protect the public from the coronavirus?
The issue of whether government in America can quarantine persons against their will, ostensibly for their own health and that of others with whom they may come in contact, requires a dual analysis -- one of the powers of the federal government and the other of the powers of the states. Published March 11, 2020
Repeal the Patriot Act: Legislation repugnant to the American Revolution and Constitution
Both 215 and 505 of the Patriot Act are weapons of mass surveillance and should be repealed. They are instruments of a totalitarian government, not of free people. Published March 4, 2020
Trump administration punishing the free speech of Julian Assange
Regrettably, the Trump administration is pretending the Pentagon Papers Case does not exist. It is manifesting that pretense in its criminal pursuit of international gadfly and journalist Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. Published February 26, 2020
The curious case of Roger Stone
Roger Stone is a gifted political consultant known for going the distance for his clients. He has worked for such marquee names as Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Tom Kean and Donald Trump In that process, he has made enemies, some of whom have sought to destroy him. Published February 19, 2020
Section 215 of the Patriot Act permits the government to assault our mos
While we were all consumed by impeachment, a pernicious piece of legislation was slowly and silently making its way through Congress. It is a renewal of Section 215 of the Patriot Act. Published February 12, 2020
President Trump acquitted but not exonerated
The Senate trial of President Trump ended not with a bang but a whimper. What different outcome could one expect from a trial without so much as a single witness, a single document, any cross-examination or a defendant respectful enough to show up? Published February 5, 2020
President’s lawyers misrepresented separation of powers in Trump’s impeachment trial
The president's lawyers have misrepresented the separation of powers by arguing that when Congress and the president are at loggerheads over congressional demands for documents or testimony, it becomes the duty of Congress to turn to the courts. Published January 29, 2020
President Trump’s trial is not a charade but deadly serious business based on constitutional norms
I don't blame President Trump for his angst and bitterness over his impeachment by the House of Representatives. In his mind, he has done "nothing wrong" and not acted outside the constitutional powers vested in him, and so his impeachment should not have come to pass. Published January 22, 2020
Shifting justification for the killing of Soleimani persists
When witnesses testify in a courtroom and offer varying, contradictory or even unlawful explanations of the events under scrutiny, juries tend not to believe them. The same is now happening with the Trump administration's defense of its killing Iranian Qassem Soleimani. Published January 15, 2020
