Other Law Suit Possibilities

Start conversations with peace and justice groups about law suits they can file themselves, with your help. This past May 13th, the Rutgers/Newark Constitutional Litigation Clinic in New Jersey filed suit in the Federal District Court in Newark on behalf of New Jersey Peace Action against President Bush over the War in Iraq. The Complaint seeks a Declaratory Judgment that the President's decision to launch a preemptive war against a sovereign nation violated Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, which assigns to Congress the power to declare war.

Elizabeth de la Vega tells me there is a procedure called Qui Tam in the federal false claims act that allows individuals to sue if the government spends money fraudulently. This could potentially include not just fraudulent contracts to Halliburton but nonfraudulent contracts in a fraudulent war and a war begun secretly with funds appropriated for other things.

We also haven't talked about suing contractors for torture, but such suits are underway. We need to look into all such possibilities with attorneys and organizations in our states and our circle of contacts.