Outside the Beltway

When the facts make for a poor defense, attack the process.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court held oral argument in a series of cases asking it to decide if existing civil rights laws cover discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Eighteen years after the September 11th attacks, it’s becoming harder to remember what the world used to be like.

A Federal Judge in Virginia has found the terrorist watch list unconstitutional.

David Koch, one-half of the Koch Brothers and the head of a wide-ranging business empire who also went on to have a huge impact on politics and cultural philanthropy, has died at the age of 79.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

Another case where the cruelty is the point?

Detroit shows how modern technology can lead to a virtual police state.

Another court loss for Trump and his border wall.

In the wake of an adverse Supreme Court ruling, the Trump Administration has decided not to include a citizenship question on the 2020 Census.

Three new polls show significant changes in the Democratic race in the wake of last week’s debates.

The ongoing protests in Hong Kong over controversial extradition legislation have taken a violent turn.

The Supreme Court ruled that a World War One memorial that had been on public grounds for 70 years can stay where it is.

Congress is considering a bill that would establish a commission to examine the issue of reparations for slavery.;

If Hong Kong’s leaders thought protesters would be satisfied with relatively minor concessions, they have significantly miscalculated the situation.

In the wake of massive protests, Hong Kong’s government begins to back away from support for a controversial extradition bill.

The United States and Mexico reached a last-minute deal to avert tariffs that would have gone into effect on Monday. Whether the deal accomplishes anything substantive remains to be seen.

Former Vice-President Biden has come under fire for his longtime support for the Hyde Amendment.

A Federal Judge in Washington, D.C. dismissed a lawsuit against Trump “national emergency” to fund the border wall, but his ruling did not reach the merits of the lawsuit’s claim.

The Supreme Court let a ruling against students opposed to a school district policy allowing transgender students to use the bathroom corresponding to their gender identity stand.

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against Alabama’s patently unconstitutional abortion law.

A Federal Judge has put at least a partial hold on President’s Trump’s effort to use a “national emergency” to fund his border wall.

A longstanding legal question may finally come to a head.

A panel of three Federal Judges has found Ohio’s Congressional District map to be unconstitutional, but a case currently pending before the Supreme Court could mute the impact of this decision.

A Virginia Judge has ruled that automated license plate collection systems violate state law.

The House of Representatives is asking a Federal Judge to block the President’s emergency declaration to fund his border wall.

Looking to OTB readers for insights into an argument with which I’m struggling.

The Supreme Court appears to be leaning toward letting a war memorial on public property stay in place.

The Supreme Court is set to hear oral argument in a case involving a World War I Memorial in the form of a cross on public land in Suburban Maryland.

A student in Florida has been charged with creating a disturbance after declining to recite the Pledge Of Allegiance in class.

The American Civil Liberties Union has joined the list of groups with lawsuits against the President’s declaration of a “national emergency” at the southern border.

The lawsuits against President Trump’s “national emergency” have begun. Except more.

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.

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

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.

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

An effort by the Federal Government to prosecute Wikileaks founder Julian Assange raises serious First Amendment issues.

A Federal Judge has ruled that the Trump Administration’s efforts to limit the ability of migrants to claim asylum violates Federal law.

The White House and CNN have settled the dispute over Jim Acosta’s press pass, but future conflict between this Administration and the press corps seems inevitable.

Trump, Scott, and their allies are not doing America any favors.

There’s a new church/state separation case on the Supreme Court’s docket.

President Trump has fired his Attorney General, a move than many are interpreting as the precursor to a move against Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Florida voters approved an amendment to the state’s Constitution that will restore the voting rights of as many as 1.2 million ex-felons and make it easier for future released felons to get their civil rights back.

The Supreme Court is set to consider whether to take a case involving employment discrimination based on gender identity.