Faculty and Administration Profiles

John C. Dehn

About

Professor Dehn joined the Loyola faculty in the fall of 2013 after serving over 23 years in the U.S. Army.  Upon graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point, Professor Dehn served at Fort Bragg, North Carolina as an airborne artillery and logistics officer with certifications as a parachutist, jumpmaster and aerial delivery officer.  After a successful early career that included participation in Hurricane Andrew relief and the 1994 Haiti operations, Professor Dehn was selected to attend law school at government expense.

After graduating from law school with highest honors, Professor Dehn served for over fifteen additional years as an Army judge advocate in positions ranging from chief prosecutor for a military installation to faculty member at West Point.  He also served as a military magistrate, detainee abuse prosecutor and in several other capacities. He earned two Master of Laws (LLM) degrees, one from Columbia Law School where he was a James Kent Scholar.

While at West Point, Professor Dehn taught courses in international, constitutional and military (including criminal) law, served as an honors thesis advisor, coordinated legal training for all academy programs, coached the Jean-Pictet International Humanitarian Law Competition team, and lectured in courses on the military profession.  In 2010, he was appointed the Distinguished Visiting Lecturer in American Public Policy and Practice at Hamilton College and taught a seminar on war powers. 

Degrees

LLM – Columbia Law School
LLM – The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School, U.S. Army
JD (with highest honors) – University of Oklahoma College of Law
BS – United States Military Academy, West Point, NY     

Program Areas

Criminal Law
Criminal Procedure I: Investigations
International Law
Military Law
National Security Law

Research Interests

Professor Dehn's research primarily examines the relationship of international to U.S. law in the areas of military, criminal and national security law. He is also examining developments in international law related to threats posed by non-state actors. His scholarship includes comparative and interdisciplinary work.

Professional & Community Affiliations

Member, Editorial Committee, Journal of International Criminal Justice
Editorial Board, Public Integrity

Selected Publications

War is More Than a Political Question: Reestablishing Original Constitutional Norms, 51 Loyola U. Chi. L. J. __ (20xx)

Transnational Self-Defense and Liberal Values: Replacing Law with Flawed Policy ion the 'Obama Doctrine' in Using Law to Fight Terror: Legal Approaches to Combating Violent Non-State and State-Sponsored Actors (Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2019)

Why a President Cannot Authorize the Military to Violate (Most of) the Laws of War, 59 William & Mary Law Review 813 (2018)

Customary International Law, the Separation of Powers, and the Choice of Law in Armed Conflicts and Wars 37 Cardozo Law Review 2089 (2016)

Whither International Martial Law: Human Rights as Sword and Shield in Transnational Self-Defense, in The Theoretical Boundaries of Armed Conflict and Human Rights (Cambridge University Press, 2016).

The Moral Dimension of Security Outsourcing, in The Foundations of Organizational Evil (2012)[with Dr. Frank Anechiarico]

The Commander-in-Chief and the Necessities of War: A Conceptual Framework, 83 Temple L. Rev. 599 (2011)

Targeted Killing: The Case of Anwar Al-Aulaqi, 159 U. Pa. L. Rev. PENNumbra 175 (2011) [debate with Kevin Jon Heller]

Institutional Advocacy, Constitutional Obligations and Professional Responsibilities: Arguments for Government Lawyering Without Glasses, 110 Colum. L. Rev. Sidebar 73 (2010); Response to:  Trevor W. Morrison, Stare Decisis in the Office of Legal Counsel, 110 Colum. L. Rev. 1448 (2010)

The Hamdan Case and the Application of a Municipal Offence: The Common Law Origins of ‘Murder in Violation of the Law of War’, 7 J. Int’l Crim. Just. 63 (2009)

Permissible Perfidy? Analysing the Colombian Hostage Rescue, the Capture of Rebel Leaders and the World’s Reaction, 6 J. Int’l Crim. Just. 627 (2008)

Why Article 5 Status Determinations are not ‘Required’ at Guantánamo, 6 J. Int’l Crim. Just. 371 (2008)