The Washington Independent

Posts Tagged scotus

Mitch McConnell Vows Fair Treatment of Kagan

By | 05.10.10 | 10:19 am

The Senate Minority Leader just issued his statement:

“I congratulate Elena Kagan on her nomination,” he said. “As we did with Justice Sotomayor last year, Senate Republicans will treat Ms. Kagan fairly.”

She has been nominated for a lifetime appointment on the nation’s highest court, and we will carefully review

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A Legislative Fix to Citizens United

By | 01.26.10 | 10:30 am

Since last week’s Supreme Court decision freeing corporations to spend unlimited sums to influence elections, there’s been a great deal of debate about what Congress, short of amending the Constitution, could do to prevent the nation’s big businesses from buying even more influence in Washington than they’ve already More…

The Constitution Project vs. Obama’s Indefinite Detention Decision

By | 01.22.10 | 12:38 pm

In reaction to the Obama administration’s Guantanamo Bay task force recommending that about 50 detainees at Guantanamo be indefinitely detained without trial, the Constitution Project, a prominent civil-libertarian advocacy group, released the following statement:

“Even if the Obama administration continues to work to close Guantánamo, by pursuing a policy

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If You Thought Big Business Ran This Town Before …

By | 01.21.10 | 12:00 pm

As Dave just mentioned, the Supreme Court this morning freed corporations to make unlimited donations to candidates for the White House or Congress. The decision hinges largely on two theories: (1) That a corporation, legally, is a person as it pertains to free-speech rights, and (2) More…

In Victory for Right, Supreme Court Strikes Down Campaign Finance Regulations

By | 01.21.10 | 10:43 am

The Supreme Court has issued a 5-4 decision in the case of Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, which effectively unspools three decades of campaign finance legislation. It overturns the regulation of corporate spending on elections and removes limits on independent expenditures for candidates.

Read the entire decision after More…

NYT Supports Nadler Legislation to Restore Court Access

By | 12.22.09 | 11:07 am

The New York Times’ editorial board weighs in today in favor of Rep. Jerrold Nadler’s (D-N.Y.) proposed legislation to effectively overturn two recent Supreme Court cases that significantly narrowed the ability of many victims to have their day in court.

Congress has held two More…

Untested Military Commissions Face Challenges

By | 12.22.09 | 6:00 am

In February 2004, Ubrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi was charged with conspiring with al Qaeda in Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere to attack and murder civilians and destroy property. The government claimed that al Qosi was an armed guard and driver for Osama bin Laden going back More…

Has the Supreme Court Undermined Civil Rights Enforcement?

By | 12.17.09 | 8:54 am

Does a House bill about legal civil procedures provide a way to restore the protection of civil rights in America, or is it an unwarranted gift to trial lawyers that could be “paralyzing if not deadly” to the federal government?

That’s the question a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee More…

White House Peddles Misinformation on Gitmo

By | 12.16.09 | 4:07 pm

Here’s a nice catch by Dafna Linzer at ProPublica. At yesterday’s press conference, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs made two statements about the Obama administration’s connection to the more than 200 Guantanamo detainees left at the prison camp.

First, Gibbs told reporters that more transfers of Guantanamo detainees More…

Supreme Court Rejects Key Torture Case

By | 12.14.09 | 11:55 am

The Supreme Court today issued a blow to victims of abuse by U.S. officials during the “war on terror.” The high court this morning refused to review a federal appeals court ruling that dismissed a lawsuit by four British citizens who claimed they were wrongly arrested More…