Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts Legal Blinkers, Moral Hazards
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Jan 31, 2026 Joseph Margulies, a Cornell professor and civil-rights litigator who worked on post-9/11 Guantanamo cases, warns about legal language replacing moral judgment. He discusses how memos can justify torture and other abuses. He connects post-9/11 law to demonization, border expansion, and the criminalizing of dissent. He urges pairing law with popular moral pressure to prevent state overreach.
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Law Shouldn't Replace Moral Judgment
- Joseph Margulies warns that legal reasoning can silence moral judgment and enable atrocities when law replaces moral discourse.
- He urges that questions about state conduct should ask "Is that right?" not just "Is it lawful?".
Legality Equals Rightness Myth
- Margulies argues Americans equate legality with rightness, weakening our moral muscles.
- That substitution lets lawyers' memos justify grotesque practices while crowding out plain moral condemnation.
Mobilize Moral Movements Before Litigation
- Use popular moral movements to drive legal change rather than relying on lawyers alone.
- Combine grassroots moral voice with legal translation to achieve lasting reform.
