Letters From Our Readers - Fall 2026
Power separation
Dean Erwin Chemerinsky’s excellent article, “A Test of Time” (Summer, page 36), is slightly diminished by selecting President Donald Trump’s use of executive orders as the sole example of a potential departure from separation-of-powers principles—particularly given that such use is neither unprecedented nor uniformly regarded as constitutionally problematic.
For balance, the discussion might have acknowledged other more contested assertions of institutional power. Examples include the U.S. Supreme Court’s exercise of judicial authority in Roe v. Wade, which critics have long argued displaced legislative policymaking, as well as repeated actions by Congress and the Department of Justice throughout Trump’s first term that some view as efforts to countermand “the People[’s]” choice of executive.
Roger Cook
Sonoma, California
I enjoyed the ABA Journal’s coverage of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence from British rule.
The articles were well done and for the most part accurate and interesting.
However, I was disappointed that the editors of the Journal did not at least mention that this year is not the 250th anniversary of the declaration.
This is the 249th anniversary. I fail to understand why officials and scholars of the United States of America seem unable to count. July 1776 was not the end of the first year after the Declaration of Independence was approved by the delegates present at the Continental Congress. It was the zeroth year. Just as the year 2000 was not the first year of the 21st century but was the last year of the 20th century. This same error is made all the time by government officials, newspaper editors and just about everyone. A decade begins with year zero and ends with year 10. The next decade begins with 1777, not 1776.
Ret. Army Maj.Gerald Thomas Richards
Rodeo, California
Next up: Mickey Mantle
Instead of a dry-as-dust recapitulation of Sen. Estes Kefauver’s hearings on organized crime (“Kefauver’s TV Mob Hearings,” Summer, page 72), the ABA Journal would have been better off reminding us of what transpired at his 1958 hearings on baseball’s antitrust exemption, which may the only aspect of antitrust of interest to anyone not a practitioner in that arcane legal field.
The subcommittee called Casey Stengel to testify, and he gave a classic performance in “Stengelese,” rambling hither and yon for 45 minutes about his many years in organized baseball. When they finally got him off the stand, the next witness called was Mickey Mantle:
Sen. Kefauver: “Mr. Mantle, do you have any observations with reference to the applicability of the antitrust laws to baseball?”
Mr. Mantle: “My views are just about the same as Casey’s.” [laughter]
Robert Kantowitz
Lawrence, New York
Love language
Bravo to the Hon. David D. Weinzweig for writing Zen and the Art of Persuasive Writing (“Mindful Prose” by Shirley Henderson, Summer, page 23). I also believe that legal writers should be more clear and concise.
Two things that struck me while reading the interview. First, journalists are great writers. In fact, I tend to prefer books (e.g., science books) written by journalists to those written by experts in the field. Second, in my area of law (patents), when I have a strong argument, I need only a couple of sentences to express it. (If my argument is long, well …) Many thanks for the insightful interview!
Keiko Ichiye
Dripping Springs, Texas
Changes Coming to Your ABA Journal
The ABA Journal print magazine is moving to a once-yearly publication schedule after this issue. The decision is made in light of changing readership habits and preferences, particularly for receiving Journal content digitally.
The Journal will continue to distribute our high-quality Weekly Newsletter every Friday via email, along with the Tech Monthly Newsletter that focuses on legal technology issues.
And as always, you can still read all your favorite Journal content online 24/7 at ABAJournal.com.
Your next print Journal magazine will arrive in fall 2027.
Letters to the Editor
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