Crossing the Rubicon

For today’ s episode, Tom discusses the origins of the phrase “Crossing the Rubicon” and how it has appeared in the legal world. He distinguishes that there was no law in Rome that Julius Caesar could not cross the Rubicon River. Rather, it had to do with Imperium, which prohibited Roman generals to return to that area of Italy without disbanding their army. When Caesar crossed the Rubicon, he and his army became outlaws subject to death—essentially reaching the point of no return. In American law, this connects to the idea that federal troops can’t be deployed on American soil with weapons. Listen to Tom explain the exception to this rule and how it is allowed to exist.