Outside the Beltway

Was Marbury v. Madison a mistake?

It’s easy if you try.

A trip through comparative democratic reform.

One weird trick could save us from Trump.

Good news with a cautionary note.

The late Chief Justice was right; his successors are wrong.

Is it time to call the whole thing off?

Who should have the final say on the law of the land?

Doing nothing is still a choice, and the legitimacy crisis is here, like it or not.

A few observations on Whole Woman’s Health, et al., Applicants v. Austin Reeve Jackson, Judge, et al.

Two rulings greatly expand the ability to evade the law for on Free Exercise grounds.

A 7-2 decision by the highest court in the land is less decisive than the numbers suggest.

The Supreme Court took up the DACA issue today. No matter what it decides, this will likely become a big issue in the 2020 elections.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered a huge and historic loss in the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.

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.

Another court loss for Trump and his border wall.

In a clear defeat for the Trump Administration, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that the Federal Government could not ask about citizenship on the 2020 Census.

Despite appearing to have emerged from April’s election as the winner, Benjamin Netanyahu was unable to form a government. This means that Israel will have to hold new elections in September.

A longstanding legal question may finally come to a head.

Institutions matter. (No, seriously, they really, really matter).

Justice Clarence Thomas argues that a 55-year-old precedent should be overturned.

Tip O’Neill was famous for once having advised his fellow Democrats that “all politics is local.” That’s not true anymore, and that’s unfortunate.

The current discussion about SCOTUS is a good excuse to look at how other countries handle these things.

We may finally get a ruling applying the Excessive Fine Clause to the states and limiting the ability of police to confiscate property.

Republicans on Capitol Hill and in positions of power are slavishly backing their President over their country. They should be ashamed.

Presidents are much more constrained in issuing and rolling back regulations than they or the public think.

Federal Appeals Court Judge Alex Kozinski is resigning immediately after a barrage of sexual harassment allegations.

Big developments in the Russia investigation that could start making President Trump deeply uncomfortable.

The Administration suffers another defeat in defense of its effort to ban Muslim immigrants.

A Federal Judge has dismissed a lawsuit that tried to make an end-run around the Senate and put Merrick Garland on the Supreme Court.

Governor Abbott may claim he seeks to restore the constitutional order, but in fact his proposals have a lot in common with those who opposed the documents ratification in the first place.

Republican Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is continuing his absurd and dangerous war on the Supreme Court.

Ted Cruz and Steve King think the Court should be prevented from hearing any case involving same-sex marriage. Because they know they’re losing.

The House of Representatives has filed its lawsuit against the President. As expected, it doesn’t amount to much.

Mandatory quarantines are a massive violation of personal liberty. We ought to be careful in how, when, and why we impose them and who they are directed toward.

It’s been three months, but there’s been no action on the lawsuit that the House of Representatives said it was filing against President Obama.

A Federal Judge has dismissed lawsuits filed by Tea Party groups over the IRS targeting scandal.

A big setback for Mississippi’s erstwhile Tea Party candidate for Senate.

That ball is in your court, Congress.

John Boehner’s latest political move is designed mostly to appease the GOP base, but it’s likely a non-starter from a legal point of view.

The right to fly can’t be denied on mere whim.

The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments next week in an important First Amendment case.

Prism ain’t got nothin’ on the Hemisphere Project.

The events of the last week in Egypt raise a whole host of questions.

The Supreme Court’s handling of standing in the two same-sex marriage cases likely seems contradictory to many outside observers.

Once again, national security wins and privacy loses.

A Federal Judge has stepped into a Culture War minefield, but that doesn’t mean he’s wrong.

A federal judge has ruled National Security Letters violate the First Amendment’s free speech guarantees.

The Obama Administration has given us a peek at its legal arguments for targeted killings and they are troubling to say the least.