Outside the Beltway

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has once again upheld a local ordinance banning assault weapons.

House Democrats are set to investigate the payoffs made to Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels in advance of the 2016 election.

A wedding venue in Mississippi is citing religious beliefs in support of its decision not to allow an interracial couple to utilize their facilities.

Another nonsense ruling on an issue that doesn’t belong in court to begin with.

From the State of Alabama we get a perfect example of the reason why, at times, the law is an ass.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that states cannot punish electors who fail to follow the will of the majority of voters n their state or state laws purporting to direct how they should vote.

An Oklahoma state court Judge has handed down what many are hailing as a landmark ruling related to the opioid crisis, but there’s reason to be skeptical about his conclusions.

A Florida jury has convicted a man involved in an argument over a parking space of manslaughter, rejecting his attempt to invoke the state’s ‘stand your ground’ law

We may have the first known case of a crime committed in space.

Tom Brady tried to trademark the nickname “Tom Terrific.” It didn’t go so well.

Donald Trump isn’t just admiring dictators now, he’s acting like one.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg underwent three weeks of cancer treatment earlier this summer. The second such treatment in a year, and the fourth in the last twenty years.

More than five years after the fact, the NYPD officer who applied an illegal chokehold that resulted in the death of Eric Garner has finally been fired.

A defense of a modest philosophy of judicial interpretation.

An incident this week in Arkansas is just the latest example of a depressing and dangerous trend.

Confirming the original diagnosis, Jeffrey Epstein’s death last weekend has been ruled a suicide.

Another poll in the wake of this month’s mass shootings shows increased support for several gun control measures. That doesn’t mean Congress will act, though.

Protests in Hong Kong have been going on for nine weeks now, but they are reaching a point where the patience of the leaders in Beijing is being tested.

A Federal Court has ruled once again in favor of a transgender student in Virginia who was prevented from using the bathroom conforming to their gender identity.

President Trump says he’s thinking about commuting the sentenced of Rod Blagojevich, who has served seven years of the fourteen-year sentence he received for public corruption.

Jeffrey Epstein’s death by suicide has led to many legitimate questions that should be investigated. It has also led to the rise of a number of baseless conspiracy theories.

The Trump campaign and several other parties have filed lawsuits challenging California’s new law requiring candidates for President to release copies of their tax returns.

Jeffrey Epstein, the billionaire financier who was arrested earlier this summer on sex trafficking and abuse charges, has died of what appears to be a suicide in his jail cell.

While Democrats debated among themselves about health care plans that will likely never become law, Republicans were pushing forward with judicial confirmations.

In a unanimous decision, a three-judge panel from the Second Circuit has reinstated Sarah Palin’s defamation lawsuit against The New York Times.

Beijing is warning protesters in Hong Kong that it’s restraint in the face of protests is not without limit. However, it has few realistic options when it comes to how far it can go.

Cesar Sayoc, the man who started a panic in October when he sent apparent explosive devices to a number of President Trump’s critics, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison

A Federal Judge in Washington has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the DNC alleging a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election.

Less than twelve hours after the mass shooting in Texas, another one occurred overnight in Dayton, Ohio.

Another day, another mass shooting and, as is becoming all too common in this country, this one appears to have been racially motivated.

Justice Ginsburg has some kind words for her two newest co-workers, perhaps to the surprise of many of Ginsburg’s own supporters.

Once again, President Trump can’t help but make something meant to recognize real American heroes all about himself.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg isn’t very impressed by the proposals made by several liberal politicians lately to increase the size of the Supreme Court to counterbalance the conservative tilt created by the Gorsuch and Kavanaugh confirmations.

The House Judiciary Committee is seeking to obtain the material presented to a Federal Grand Jury by former Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Tulsi Gabbard has filed a seemingly frivolous lawsuit against Google due to a temporary suspension of her advertising account.

A Federal Judge has dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by a Kentucky teenager alleging he had been defamed by the coverage of his confrontation with a Native American man in January.

The Supreme Court handed the President a victory last night, ruling that the Plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging his funding of the border wall did not have standing to challenge his diversion of Defense Department funds. This may only be a temporary victory, though.

While much of the talk about Robert Mueller’s testimony has focused on the Trump campaign, there was another part to his testimony that brings attention to a far more serious threat.

The evidence is clear that Russia interfered in the election in 2016 and intends to do so again. Despite this, Mitch McConnell is blocking legislation designed to enhance election security.

Robert Mueller didn’t provide a smoking gun yesterday, but the President and his supporters are wrong to claim that the hearing vindicated the President.

Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit seeking to block a New York State law that would allow Congress to obtain copies of his state tax returns.

Starting at 8:30 a.m. this morning, the eyes and ears of Washington and much of the nation will be focus on one thing, the testimony of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

On Wednesday, much of official Washington, and likely a good part of the country itself, will pause to watch what are likely to biggest hearings since the late 1980s.

A strangely under-publicized story.

An Army appellate court has rejected an appeal filed by Bowe Bergdahl that argued that the President’s attacks on him while a candidate unfairly influenced his court martial.

California’s legislature has passed a law purporting to require candidates for President to release copies of their tax returns, but it’s likely to face legal challenges if it becomes law.

The legal and political showdown between Congress and the White House has entered into a new stage.

Increased focus on conservative efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade appears to be rallying public support for abortion rights.

Just over nine years after retiring from the Supreme Court, former Associate Justice John Paul Stevens has passed away at the age of 99.

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is being sued for blocking people on Twitter. She’s likely to lose the lawsuits.