Anna Berlinrut — Yesterday we (NJ Peace Action, Paula Rogovin of the Bergen County, NJ Chapter of MFSO, and yours truly) filed suit against George Bush in Federal Court for his unconstitutional war! Frank Askin, our attorney with the Rutgers Constitutional Law Clinic plans to appeal our case up to the Supreme Court, if necessary. The goal of the suit is that never again shall a president take our nation to war without a Declaration of War from the Congress.

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From Law.com — An anti-war activist group sued President Bush in U.S. District Court in Newark on Tuesday, seeking a declaratory judgment that the war in Iraq is illegal and unconstitutional.

The suit, New Jersey Peace Action et al. v. Bush, represented by the Constitutional Law Clinic at Rutgers University Law School-Newark, alleges that the war violates article I, section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, which assigns to Congress the authority to declare war.

Clinic director Frank Askin said the framers at the 1787 constitutional convention denied war-making powers to the president except in response to sudden attacks when Congress might not have time to react quickly.

“The founders were very clear that only Congress could make that awesome decision,” he said in a statement. “They [members of Congress] were not permitted to delegate that power to the president and thus be able later to disclaim responsibility for a decision gone bad.”

The lead plaintiff in the suit, New Jersey Peace Action, is a nonprofit advocacy group that says it promotes peaceful alternatives to war. Other plaintiffs are Paula Rogovin of Teaneck and Anna Berlinrut of Maplewood, N.J., each of whom has a son in military service.

The plaintiffs seek a declaration that the president’s unilateral decision to launch a full-scale invasion without congressional approval is “capable of repetition.” Askin pointed to suggestions that the Bush administration is considering some type of military action against Iran because of allegations that country is attempting to build nuclear weapons.

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See Also: http://www.impeachthem.com/?q=node/1899

Peace,

Anna Berlinrut

MFSO Essex County, NJ Chapter