Outside the Beltway

Some French politicians and intellectuals seem offended that Dominique Strauss-Kahn is being treated like a common criminal.

The debate over “enhanced interrogations” has been renewed by the bin Laden mission, but whether it “worked” or not isn’t the question.

Changing our relationship status to Complicated.

A major law firm has withdrawn from defending DOMA in Court, and a public controversy has erupted.

The Obama Administration has given up on the idea of trying the September 11th suspects in a civilian court. Considering how much that trial would have perverted the justice system, that’s a good thing.

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court has told prosecutors that they can get away with withholding evidence that clears an innocent defendant and never have to face the consequences of their action. That is an outrage.

Presenting photo identification is not an onerous requirement for voting. But there’s next to zero evidence that fraud is a problem.

Judge Roger Vinson stayed his own ruling in the Florida ObamaCare lawsuit today and acted to speed up the appellate process, but not by much.

A look at history reveals that President Obama’s decision to decline to defend Section Three of DOMA is hardly unprecedented.

Opposition to marriage equality is no longer the wedge issue it used to be.

President Obama’s decision to decline to defend Section Three of the Defense Of Marriage Act on appeal was a proper and appropriate exercise of his authority as President Of The United States.

Judge Gladys Kessler upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, but she did so by essentially ruling that the Interstate Commerce Clause means whatever Congress wants it to mean.

Huge news in the marriage equality debate today as the Obama Administration has decided not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court anymore.

Alaska Governor Sean Parnell says he won’t comply with any of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act, but his decision seems to rest of precarious legal ground.

The Obama Justice Department says it can look at phone records without warrants or judicial oversight.

Virginia will petition the Supreme Court to bypass the normal appellate process and hear the appeal of its lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act early.

Thomas Lowry fraudulently altered the date of an 1864 pardon from Abraham Lincoln to make it look like it was written on the date of his 1864 assassination.

Time for midterms.

A tragedy this afternoon in Tuscon

The lawyer who argued The Pentagon Papers case points out how Julian Assange is not Daniel Ellsberg, and how prosecuting him could have disastrous results for press freedom in the United States.

The reaction to President Obama’s recent recess appointments provide us with yet another example of bipartisan hypocrisy.

Despite yesterday’s victory for opponents of the Affordable Care Act, the prospects in the Supreme Court are not good.

There’s been much talk recently about treason charges in the Wikileaks case, an most of it has been entirely wrong.

A document uncovered in a Freedom of Information Act request demonstrates the extent to which Federal law enforcement works outside the requirements of the Constitution.

After 1 1/2 years in office, President Obama has yet to grant a single request for a pardon or clemency, continuing a thirty year trend in which the Presidential pardon power has nearly fallen in to disuse.

Tom DeLay is a sleazebag and has been found guilty by an Austin jury for skirting the law. But it may in fact be a miscarriage of justice despite the victim being as unsympathetic as it gets.

Another undercover sting nets a would-be terrorist.

California voters are two weeks away from possibly legalizing marijuana, but the Federal Government doesn’t care.

Only days after a Federal Court Judge issued an injunction preventing the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy from being enforced, Obama Administration has asked for a stay and announced that it will be appealing the case.

A Federal Judge in California has struck another blow to the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. Now, the ball is in President Obama’s court.

The Obama White House is asserting that the President has the authority to issue assassination orders against American citizens, and that no Court has the authority to review his decision. If that doesn’t worry you, it should.

Both Congress and the Obama Administration have stepped up enforcement of immigration laws–at immense cost to both the budget and the courts.

The 9th Circuit yesterday ruled that Stolen Valor laws violate the 1st Amendment and that there is a limited right to lie.

Again, despite the rhetoric of some, the US does continue to enforce laws relevant to the border and, indeed, enforcement has been on the rise.