Should the canon of constitutional avoidance, frequently cited in judicial decisions, be used as a method of statutory interpretation by the executive branch? In "The Canon of Constitutional Avoidance and Executive Branch Legal Interpretation in the War on Terror," Cornell Law Professor Trevor W. Morrison examines both the theoretical underpinnings of the canon and the context in which it has been cited by the Bush Administration. He asserts that executive branch use of the avoidance canon is not per se illegitimate, but notes that the canon is easily abused. Defining criteria by which to distinguish legitimate from illegitimate use of the canon, Professor Morrison proceeds to apply his framework to three specific examples of use of the canon by the executive branch in the war on terror: the Bybee Memorandum on torture; the President’s signing statements regarding the McCain Amendment to prohibit torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of detainees; and the Justice Department’s defense of the NSA Surveillance program. He concludes that “there are serious problems with each of the executive’s most prominent uses of avoidance in connection with the war on terror” and identifies them as “perfect examples of abusive avoidance.”