Outside the Beltway

A death penalty case from Alabama raises First Amendment issues that the Supreme Court chose to brush aside.

Critics on both the Left and the Right rightly see an injustice here but the US Supreme Court allowed it to happen.

Late last night, the Supreme Court blocked a Louisiana abortion law from going into effect, the first significant abortion rights ruling since Justice Kavanaugh took the bench.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has warned the President against using a national emergency to fund his border wall.

The way we elect Presidents make it unlikely that a third-party candidate like Howard Schultz could ever actually win the the Presidency.

Many people are wondering how CNN knew to be at Roger Stone’s house in Florida this morning. It turns out that it was good old-fashioned reporting.

Roger Stone, who worked with the Trump campaign in an official and unofficial capacity throughout the campaign, has been indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

The situation in Venezuela entered a new stage yesterday as opposition leader Juan Guaidó claimed the nation’s Presidency.

For the first tine in nearly ten years, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving Second Amendment rights.

There’s a way that Congress and the President could make future government shutdowns impossible, but they probably won’t do it.

In what amounts to a setback, the Supreme Court has lifted an injunction barring the Trump Administration’s ban on transgender service in the military to go forward pending further legal proceedings.

A Chicago police officer convicted of second-degree murder has been sentenced to seven years in prison, but could be out in as little as three-and-a-half.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in a case that could make it easier for consumers to buy and ship wine and other adult beverages across state lines.

A new blockbuster report implicates the President in no less than five Federal crimes.

Tulsi Gabbard was born in American Samoa, an American territory whose residents are generally not American citizens from birth. However, she is nonetheless a “natural born citizen.”

A Federal Judge has blocked the Trump Administration from going forward with a plan to put a question about citizenship on the 2020 Census.

The confirmation hearing for President Trump’s nominee for Attorney General appeared to go very well, making confirmation essentially a certainty.

Tomorrow the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in a case that could make it easier to order and ship wine from out-of-state retailers.

Florida’s New Governor has removed the Sheriff of Broward County over his officer’s lack of response before and during the Parkland shooting.

Washington State has a problem with people stealing “Mile 420” signs, so they’ve come up with a solution.

Doctors have declared Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg cancer free but she is still expected to miss one more week of oral argument as she recovers from her surgery in December.

President Trump appears to be backing away from the idea of declaring a national emergency to get his wall built. But the other options he’s considering aren’t much better.

The government shutdown has now entered historic territory, and the Trump Administration is moving closer to a “national emergency” or other extra-legal means to get money for his wall.

Paul Manafort’s attorneys reveal in a pleading that their client provided insider campaign data to Russian intelligence sources, something that seems an awful lot like collusion.

The Supreme Court is taking up the issue of partisan gerrymandering. This time, though, they’re likely to reach the merits of the cases rather than punting like they did last year.

President Trump is claiming that he could use authority to declare a “national emergency” to build his wall even if Congress doesn’t authorize it.

For the first time in her twenty-five years on the Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is missing oral argument this morning.

Washington has become the latest state to ban the sale of semiautomatic assault rifles to persons under 21.

Nancy Pelosi is Speaker of The House again after eight years out of power, but there’s little time for her to celebrate.

A new law set to take effect in Utah before the New Year will lower the BAC limit for drunk driving by 40% to .05. Will the rest of the nation follow?

Good news for Notorious RBG.

The Supreme Court has rejected an attempt by the Trump Administration to have an injunction against its new asylum policy lifted.

The damage done for Mickey Mouse in the name of Sony Bono is finally coming to an end.

A preliminary report from Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan found at least 500 Catholic Priests whose abuse of children had been covered up by Church officials.

One of the strongest climate regulations in the country is almost certainly unconstitutional.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg underwent surgery to remove cancerous nodes from a lung, but reports seem to point to a quick recovery.

A Federal Judge has ruled that neither the Sheriff’s Office nor the School Board had a specific duty to protect individual students during the shooting last February in Parkland, Florida.

The Senate overwhelmingly passed major reforms in Federal sentencing and related laws. As the name of the bill implies, it’s a first step, but a good first step.

The mystery surrounding a secret proceeding in Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation has at least partly been solved.

Under fire from the New York Attorney General, Donald Trump’s questionable charitable foundation is shutting down.

As expected, the Justice Department has issued a new rule banning bump stocks. However, it is likely to face legal challenges.

Republicans scored a win in Court last week, but it seems likely to lead to a political loss in the long-term.

Mystery continues to surround a proceeding that has been making its way through the Federal Courts in Washington, D.C.

Eight years after it was signed into law, a Federal Judge has ruled the Affordable Care Act to be unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor contends that a recent change in tax law unravels the basis for the Supreme Court’s upholding of Obamacare.

A particularly appalling case of press censorship from Australia.

The publisher of the National Enquirer admits that it made payments to a Playboy model for the purpose of protecting Donald Trump’s campaign for President.

The President’s former lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen has been sentenced to three years in prison for his role in assisting the President in various scandals and cover-ups.

The Supreme Court declined to hear a case involving state laws banning Medicaid reimbursement for non-abortion services provided by Planned Parenthood.

Senator Mitch McConnell and others are blocking a criminal justice reform bill currently pending in the Senate.