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Media, Law & Policy

‘Martial Law Would Sweep the Country Into a Great Legal Unknown’

Wednesday, April 15, 2020, By News Staff
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College of Law
man in suit

William C. Banks

William C. Banks is professor of law emeritus in the College of Law, as well as professor of public administration and international affairs in the Maxwell School.

He co-wrote an op-ed in The Atlantic—with Stephen Dycus, professor of law at Vermont Law School—on the hypothetical risks of invoking martial law in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the March 27 essay, they write that if martial law was invoked, “the government would be conducted ad hoc by the president or a military commander based entirely on his or her opinion of what was needed to meet the emergency, unbound by any laws and with no transparency or public participation, and probably no accountability afterward.”

To read Banks and Dycus’ opinion piece in its entirety, visit The Atlantic website.

Syracuse University media relations team members work regularly with the campus community to secure placements of op-eds. Anyone interested in writing an op-ed should first review the University’s op-ed guidelines and email media@syr.edu.

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