Prof. Jill Hasday Quoted by Reuters on Suit Challenging Federal Takeover of D.C. Police Department

Professor Jill Hasday, Distinguished McKnight University Professor and Centennial Professor in Law, was quoted by Reuters on suit challenging federal takeover of the Washington, D.C. Police Department. The U.S. Justice Department agreed on Friday to scale back President Donald Trump’s unprecedented attempted takeover of the District of Columbia’s police force, in a deal negotiated with city officials at the urging of a federal judge. Under the accord presented by the two sides to U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, Trump administration lawyers conceded that D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s appointed police chief, Pamela Smith, would remain in command of the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department. Some legal experts said Trump exceeded his authority, arguing the text of the 1973 Home Rule Act that established self-governance for the district does not authorize a complete presidential takeover of the police force. However, the U.S. Supreme Court has in some cases endorsed broad assertions of presidential authority. Prof. Hasday said, “Historically, courts have been very deferential, for better or worse, to presidential declarations of emergency.”