Presidential Power and the Rule of Law

The presidency is one of the most powerful offices in the world—but it was deliberately designed not to be all-powerful. This presentation explores how the Framers of the Constitution created the presidency, why they rejected both monarchy and weak executive government, and the structural safeguards they built into the Constitution to limit presidential authority. The program also examines the vital role the Supreme Court has played in defining and enforcing those limits through landmark decisions spanning more than two centuries. Through historical examples, attendees will gain a deeper understanding of how the Constitution, the courts, and informed citizens help preserve the balance of power at the heart of our constitutional system.

Building on the themes introduced in the first session, this program takes a deeper look at three constitutional questions that continue to shape American government today. First, it examines the doctrine of judicial review—the Supreme Court’s power to declare acts of government unconstitutional—including its origins, purpose, and central role in our system of checks and balances. Second, it explores how the Framers divided military authority between Congress and the President to prevent the concentration of war-making power in a single individual, and how the Supreme Court has addressed that division of authority over time. Finally, the program discusses the Supreme Court’s 2024 presidential immunity decision and what it tells us about the relationship between presidential power, accountability, and the rule of law.

Peter C. Cohen is a retired attorney with over 40 years of first-chair experience in civil litigation during which he developed deep expertise in the jurisprudence of the United States Supreme Court. Over the course of his career, Mr. Cohen has studied, analyzed, and applied hundreds of Supreme Court decisions across a wide range of constitutional issues — addressing them in thousands of legal briefs filed in courts at every level of the judiciary.
Mr. Cohen also served for several years as an adjunct professor of law, where he taught landmark Supreme Court decisions to both American and international law students. His courses covered foundational topics including the origins of the Constitution, separation of powers, due process, and the rule of law, as well as key cases addressing presidential authority — many of which form the basis of his book, In the Supreme Court’s Own Words: First Principles for Checking Presidential Power and Preserving the Republic.”
The presenter appeared on April 17, 2026 at the Robert H. Jackson Center, which was broadcast nationally by C-SPAN’s American History TV.