United States v. McNutt

“[H]ard cases, it is said, make bad law.”1 This frequently quoted observation has served as a warning for over 300 years to judges on courts of law who would modify or reject a rule of law for the benefit of an individual cause, rather than reach a result they deem equitably unattractive. Despite this warning, the majority rejects decades of military practice and precedent to reach the result they deem equitable — a result that may seem fair but may also qualify as the outcome Lord Argyll warned against.

We profess to be a Nation that adheres to the rule of law. Because I believe that to be…