Recent Updates
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On Obama's Nobel Peace Prize and censorship
Legal News Feed 10/12/2009Read Street was a lively place for commenters last week, in the wake of President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize. And "lively" is an understatement. The comments were unusually vitriolic and polarized for this blog. They put me in the unusual role of cens...
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Obama, Democrats court women on health overhaul
Legal News Feed 10/09/2009The White House and top Democrats, intensifying their push to build support for their party's health overhaul proposals, are increasingly targeting women, a politically crucial group with strong opinions on health care that polls suggest has yet to b...
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SC gov asks court to keep ongoing probe secret
Legal News Feed 10/02/2009Lawyers representing South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford in an ethics investigation are asking the state Supreme Court to keep the report out of the hands of a Legislature expected to consider impeaching him.Sanford has been under pressure to quit since...
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NY court: Paterson can appoint lieutenant governor
Legal News Feed 09/22/2009New York's top court has upheld Gov. David Paterson's power to appoint a lieutenant governor, reversing a lower court's decision.The court ruling released Tuesday is a timely victory for Paterson, who is facing calls from national Democratic Party le...
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Obama administration improves openness
Legal News Feed 09/08/2009President Barack Obama's policies on secrecy get higher grades for openness than those of President George W. Bush, yet there's still room for improvement, says a coalition of public interest groups.In a report issued Tuesday, the coalition says the ...
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US judge nixes suit that split Obama. gays
Legal News Feed 08/26/2009A same-sex marriage lawsuit that created a public rift between President Barack Obama and his gay supporters was dismissed Monday on a technicality. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter ruled the case — the first of several pending challenges to the f...
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Gay legal groups want in on Calif court case
Legal News Feed 07/09/2009Three gay-friendly legal groups have asked to be part of a federal lawsuit challenging California's same-sex marriage ban — a request that drew an icy reception from the activists behind the case.After publicly questioning the wisdom of the suit and ...
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Court fails to decide on anti-Hillary movie
Legal News Feed 07/01/2009The Supreme Court has failed to decide on whether a scathing documentary about Hillary Rodham Clinton that was shown during the presidential race should be regulated as if it were a campaign ad. The court said Monday it will hear arguments in the cas...
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White firefighters win Supreme Court appeal
Legal News Feed 06/30/2009The Supreme Court ruled Monday that white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., were unfairly denied promotions because of their race, reversing a decision that high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed as an appeals court judge. The ruling could alter...
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High court rules narrowly in voting rights case
Legal News Feed 06/22/2009The Supreme Court ruled narrowly Monday in a challenge to the landmark Voting Rights Act, exempting a small Texas governing authority from a key provision of the civil rights law but side-stepping the larger constitutional issue. The court, with only...
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Sen. Jeff Sessions 'troubled' over Obama court picks
Legal News Feed 06/16/2009The top Republican on the Senate committee reviewing Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court said Monday that he is concerned President Obama is driving federal courts "far to the left" by choosing "activist" judges for the bench. Sen. Jeff...
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Hearing for Supreme Court nominee poses challenges
Legal News Feed 06/15/2009U.S. Senate Republicans are in a quandary over the Supreme Court nomination of Sonia Sotomayor, aiming to raise pointed questions about her record without angering increasingly influential Hispanic voters. Senator John Cornyn exemplifies the Republic...