Hon. William Wagner (Ret)

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Join date: Jan 23, 2023

About

William Wagner’s prior public service includes serving as a federal judge in the United States Courts, legal counsel in the U.S. Senate, senior assistant United States attorney in the Department of Justice, and as an American diplomat, and Senior Advisor for Global Criminal Justice at the Department of State. He currently holds the academic rank of Distinguished Professor Emeritus after a teaching career in both secular and religious universities. His writing is published in numerous journals and books.

Posts (116)

Feb 16, 2026 ∙ 25 min

Triumph Over Transnational Constitutionalism

Separation of Powers, Sovereignty, and National Security Abstract At the beginning of the twenty-first century, a growing movement in American legal thought urged courts to align constitutional interpretation with evolving international norms. Foreign judicial decisions, international declarations, and global “consensus” were increasingly cited in domestic adjudication. Some federal courts expanded the use of customary international law as a source of enforceable federal claims. To many...

Feb 12, 2026 ∙ 9 min

When the State Replaces Parents .......

The Constitutional Doctrine of Standing in the Context of Parental Rights Across our nation, a quiet but profound constitutional conflict is unfolding. It is not confined to distant federal agencies or obscure regulatory codes. It is happening in families. In living rooms. In conversations between mothers and daughters, fathers and sons. It is unfolding in the deeply personal, often painful moments when parents seek to guide their children through adolescence, identity struggles, and...

Jan 30, 2026 ∙ 5 min

Iran, Human Rights, and the Convergence of Law, Conscience, and National Security

By the Hon. William Wagner (Ret) The reported impending execution of a 19-year-old Iranian wrestling champion, allegedly for participation in peaceful anti-government protests, is more than a tragic human rights crisis. It is also a window into the growing convergence of international human rights law, U.S. statutory sanctions policy, and an increasingly tense national security posture toward the Islamic Republic of Iran. The U.S. State Department’s public demand that Iran halt such...