The Washington Independent

Posts Tagged Judiciary Committee

Colorado House Democrats call for full vote on civil unions

By | 03.30.11 | 9:20 am | More from The Colorado Independent

Activists, lobbyists and citizens this week have been pressing for at least one of six Republican members of the state House Judiciary Committee to vote in favor of sending Pat Steadman’s same-sex civil unions bill to the House floor for debate. On Tuesday, the House Democratic caucus officially joined More…

Debate over civil unions in Colorado highlights divides among state conservatives

By | 03.28.11 | 7:30 pm | More from The Colorado Independent

Image by Matt MahurinThe coming debate in the Colorado House Judiciary Committee on same-sex civil unions bill SB 172 will center on Republican arguments for and against the legislation. The debate scheduled to take place under the Dome in Denver Thursday will underline the dynamics shaping the larger national debate on gay More…

Will a Republican House mean beefed-up immigration enforcement and more deportations?

By | 11.11.10 | 4:02 pm

With the GOP set to take over the House in January, I’ve been trying to pinpoint some immigration proposals — if any exist — that House Republicans, Senate Democrats and President Obama might agree on. Beyond mandating E-Verify and banning “sanctuary cities,” the next session might More…

Gutierrez: Dems Should Call Republicans’ Bluff on 14th Amendment

By | 08.04.10 | 5:52 pm

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) today joined the growing list of lawmakers who said they want Congressional hearings on the 14th Amendment, specifically its provisions for providing citizenship to anyone born in the U.S. — including children of illegal immigrants.

But Gutierrez, an outspoken supporter of immigrants’ rights, has More…

More Than 46,000 Pages of Kagan’s Clinton-Era Memos Released to the Public

By | 06.04.10 | 1:55 pm

Political reporters in Washington are preparing for a late night at work sifting through the National Archives’ just-released trove of memos and correspondence written by Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. The document release — available for public consumption here — is estimated to encompass about 46,500 pages, dating More…

Senate Votes for Cloture on Hamilton; Sessions Loses on Filibuster

By | 11.17.09 | 5:45 pm

The Senate just voted 70 – 29 for cloture, meaning the nomination of David Hamilton to the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit will receive an up-or-down vote. The vote for cloture was a victory for the Obama administration and Senate Democrats who sought to push the nomination forward, More…

Judges Aren’t the Only Confirmations Being Held Up

By | 10.16.09 | 12:17 pm

The Washington Post’s story today about liberals who are frustrated that the Obama administration isn’t pressing harder to win confirmation for liberal-leaning judges to the federal courts should also serve as a reminder that there are a whole lot of key Justice Department posts still not confirmed yet, More…

Justice Groups Press for ‘State Secrets’ Legislation

By | 09.24.09 | 3:31 pm

Seven major civil rights and open government organizations today sent a letter to leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees urging them to pass legislation to restrict the government’s ability to use the “state secrets” privilege to dismiss litigation charging government wrongdoing. Although the Obama administration yesterday announced a More…

Patriot Act Renewal Debate Kicks Off Over Party Lines

By | 09.23.09 | 6:00 am

Eight years after it was passed, the USA Patriot Act remains among the most controversial pieces of counterterrorism legislation in the so-called “war on terror.” On December 31 of this year, some of its more controversial provisions will expire, forcing Congress to revisit it More…

Democrats Lament Midnight Changes to Patriot Act

By | 09.22.09 | 2:00 pm

One of the highlights of today’s House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on the expiring provisions of the USA Patriot Act was Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers’ (D-Mich.) repeated lamentations about the sneaky way that the Patriot Act got passed in the first place, offering an interesting glimpse into the behind-the-scenes workings More…