ABA rolls out new fact check website to help separate legal fact from fiction

The American Bar Association has launched a new web-based fact check service to help the public find dependable answers to swirling and sometimes confusing legal questions.

The site, ABA Legal Fact Check, is the first focusing exclusively on legal matters. The project is one of several initiatives launched by Hilarie Bass, who became the new ABA president on Tuesday at the close of the ABA Annual Meeting in New York.

“In a world with multiple sources of information, it is often difficult to distinguish between fact and opinion,” Bass said. “Through our new ABA Legal Fact Check, the American Bar Association will use case and statutory law and other legal precedents to help set the record straight by providing the real facts about the law.”

ABA Legal Fact Check will explore widely disseminated legal assertions. Initial postings examine whether individuals can be punished for burning the American flag, explore who has the constitutional authority to redraw U.S. Circuit Courts and offer explanations on the power of presidential pardons and hate speech, among other topics.

The URL for the new site is www.abalegalfactcheck.com.