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Presidential Constitutionalism in Perilous Times | Scott Matheson | Talks at Google

1,355 views · Published 30 June 2009 · 1:01:44 · Indexed 20 September 2026

Channel: Talks at Google · 2009 · News & Politics

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Scott Matheson visits Google's Mountain View, CA headquarters to discuss his book "Presidential Constitutionalism in Perilous Times." This event took place on June 24, 2009, as part of the Authors@Google series. 

From the Constitutions adoption, presidents, Congress, judges, scholars, the press, and the public have debated the appropriate scope of presidential power during a crisis, especially when presidents see bending or breaking the rules as necessary to protect the country from serious, even irreparable, harm.

Presidential Constitutionalism in Perilous Times examines this quandary, from Abraham Lincolns suspension of the writ of habeas corpus during the Civil War, Woodrow Wilsons enforcement of the Espionage Act of 1917 during World War I, Franklin D. Roosevelts evacuation and internment of West Coast Japanese during World War II, Harry S. Trumans seizure of the steel mills during the Korean War to George W. Bushs torture, surveillance, and detention programs following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Presidents have exercised extraordinary power to protect the nation in ways that raised serious constitutional concerns about individual liberties and separation of powers. By looking at these examples through different constitutional perspectives, Scott Matheson achieves a deeper understanding of wartime presidential power in general and of President Bushs assertions of executive power in particular. America can function more effectively as a constitutional democracy in an unsafe world, he argues, if our leaders embrace an approach to presidential power that he calls executive constitutionalism.

Professor Matheson joined the faculty of the SJ Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah in 1985 following four years as an associate at the Washington, D.C. firm of Williams & Connolly. He was associate dean for academic affairs from 1990 to 1993, and dean from 1998 to 2006. During 1988-89, he served as deputy county attorney for Salt Lake County as part of a faculty exchange program, and he was visiting associate professor in the Frank Stanton Chair on the First Amendment at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University during 1989-90. He served as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah from 1993 to 1997. He managed successful gubernatorial campaigns in 1976 and 1980, and served as a legislative assistant for a U.S. congressman. Professor Matheson served as a Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson  International Center for Scholars during the 2006-07 academic year. The Wilson Center, located in Washington, D.C., is a highly regarded nonpartisan research institute that foster[s] research, study, discussion, and collaboration among individuals concerned with policy and scholarship in national and world affairs. Professor Matheson has published in the areas of civil procedure and constitutional law.

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