Nathaniel Sobel

Nathaniel Sobel is a third-year student at Harvard Law School. He has worked on criminal justice, foreign policy, and election law issues and holds a B.A. from Yale.

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Impeachment

What Do Scholars Say About the Impeachment Power?

Patrick McDonnell, Jacques Singer-Emery, Nathaniel Sobel Tue, Oct 29, 2019, 10:35 AM

Then-Rep. Gerald Ford once defined an impeachable offense as “whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history.” But legal scholars have concluded that impeachment is considerably more law-governed, and constrained, than Ford suggested. They draw on clues from the Founders, the text and structure of the Constitution, and the history of presidential impeachments (and near-impeachments) to make varying arguments about the impeachment power and the range of impeachable offenses.

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OPM data breach

Recent Decision: D.C. Circuit Rules That OPM Breach Victims Have Standing to Sue

Nathaniel Sobel Fri, Sep 27, 2019, 10:27 AM

With data breach incidents on the rise, federal courts are grappling with the issue of standing in class action lawsuits arising from data breaches.

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Iran

One Year Into Trump’s Iran Strategy: Where Do Things Stand?

Hilary Hurd, Nathaniel Sobel Wed, Jun 5, 2019, 9:00 AM

In May 2018, President Trump withdrew the United States from the Iran nuclear deal—also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Shortly thereafter, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced a new U.S.

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Encryption

The Massachusetts High Court Rules That State Can Compel Password Decryption in Commonwealth v. Jones

Nathaniel Sobel Wed, Apr 24, 2019, 8:26 AM

According to the Pew Foundation, most Americans lock their cell phones, creating an obstacle for some law enforcement investigations—most notably, the FBI in its 2016 standoff with Apple over access to the San Bernardino attacker’s iPhone—and especially for state authorities, which have fewer resources than

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Israel

Breaking Down the Combating BDS Act of 2019 and First Amendment Challenges to State Anti-BDS Laws

Nathaniel Sobel Tue, Mar 19, 2019, 7:14 AM

On Feb. 5, the Senate passed a package of Middle East policy bills, including the Combating BDS Act of 2019. The act, which would affect laws on the books in 26 states that prevent state and local governments from doing business with entities that boycott Israel, has reignited debate over whether lawmakers’ efforts to stymie the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel violate the First Amendment.

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Cybersecurity: Legislation

The SEC and Cybersecurity Regulation

Nathaniel Sobel Mon, Nov 19, 2018, 9:00 AM

American companies are getting hacked, and the Securities and Exchange Commission wants corporate executives to do something about it. According to a White House Council of Economic Advisers report released earlier this year, malicious cyber activity cost the U.S. economy between $57 billion and $109 billion in 2016.

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U.S. Supreme Court

Four Months Later, How Are Courts Interpreting Carpenter?

Nathaniel Sobel Thu, Oct 18, 2018, 8:57 AM

Last June in a 5-4 ruling in Carpenter v. United States, the Supreme Court extended Fourth Amendment protections to an individual’s cell phone location data for the first time.

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