Meritless

But reformers counter that, the Garcia case aside, judges often are reluctant to exercise their power to throw out meritless lawsuits. In fact, many judges prefer to give people their day in court - and then are hesitant to alter or wipe out a jury decision.

In listening especially carefully to well-known people, or to people at well-known schools, followers are generally behaving rationally, because such people are unusually likely to be interesting or correct, simply as a statistical matter. But there are no guarantees here, and hence arguments can be amplified even if they are meritless.

The claim is meritless: The president retains the power to repatriate detainees to foreign countries, but Congress determines whether to fund prisoner transfers and who qualifies for entry into the U.S.