Martial law

Martial law

Martial law is defined by (Nunn 2020) as the displacement of civilians’ authority by the military. This form of authority displacement has been earlier employed in the United States, hence the possibility of its implementation even in the future. The federal and state law has also evidenced the application of martial law in the course of United States’ history as outlined by. Despite of its application in various instances, the martial law concept has never been clearly understood by the United States’ citizens.

From the article by (Nunn 2020), it is declared that the President does not have the authority to declare martial law. In some instances, the congress may give the President the power to declare martial law. However, this policy has not yet been conclusively decided, hence the President is still limited. However, some occasions have emerged where the United States’ President has overlooked the laws, taking power into their own hands, hence declaring martial law. For instance, “Cornell Law School,” outlines that in 1965, the President authorized the troops and delegated local guardsmen to involve in a civil rights protest. On the other hand, the state officials have the authority to declare martial law, their actions being limited to strictly abiding by the United States constitution, and subject to review in a federal court.

From the understanding in the reading, it is apparent that the martial law regulations are complicated and have no clear conclusion. Therefore, the exercise of the executive power in regards to martial law is mainly based on the earlier Supreme Court rulings. This poses a huge limitation in the exercise of power by the executive.