In ruling that the U.S. government may kidnap criminal suspects from a foreign country, the Supreme Court not only supported an action that violates domestic and international law, but also endorsed a "reckless policy likely to endanger American lives, liberty and property," according to Michael J. Glennon, a law professor at UC Davis. Glennon, who recently testified on the decision before the House Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights, says that the United States is prohibited from engaging in forced abductions on a number of levels. International law prohibits a country, unless it has permission to the contrary, from exercising its power in the territory of another country, and the Constitution and previous Supreme Court decisions do not allow the president, acting alone, to violate international law. Forced abductions also are prohibited by several international treaties and charters. A former legal counsel to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Glennon says that forcible abductions undermine U.S. security interests by jeopardizing Americans in foreign countries and opening the door for reciprocal abductions in the United States. "When government is a law violator, the law is undermined, and an example is set for other individuals and governments to follow," he says.