The Constitution gives to Congress the exclusive right to declare war, while designating the President commander-in-chief of the military. How realistic is this division of power? In the country’s history, Congress has declared war just five times (most recently in World War II), while the President has deployed troops outside the US more than 200 times. In response to 9/11, President Bush has asserted an unprecedented array of rights to wage war, without the consent of Congress — even in spite of opposition of Congress. In waging war, what should be the proper balance between Congress and the President? What should be the balance between the Constitution and security in an age of terrorism?
Allan Ides graduated summa cum laude from Loyola Law Schol in 1979. He served as a law clerk to the Honorable Clement F. Haynsworth, Jr., Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 1979-80 and then clerked for the Honorable Byron R. White, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1980-81. Professor Ides joined the Loyola Law School faculty in the fall of 1982 and served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from 1984-87. From 1989-97, Professor Ides was a member of the law school faculty at Washington & Lee in Lexington, Virginia. He returned to Los Angeles and to Loyola in Fall 1997. He has written extensively in the areas of Constitutional Law and Civil Procedure and is actively involved in various public service projects, ranging from civil rights litigation to the representation of individuals in deportation proceedings.