Before Sen. Kay Hagan's election to the U.S. Senate in 2008, the word in places like Raleigh and Chapel Hill was that if you needed help with a problem in Washington, call Sen. Richard Burr. He could cut through red tape, intervene with intransigent bureaucrats and help move things along....
"The founders realized there has to be someplace where being right is more important than being popular or powerful, and where fairness trumps strength. And in our country, that place is supposed to be the courtroom."
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor
Federal News and Releases
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee was scheduled to take up Thursday the nomination of a Mississippi lawyer to the federal bench. The nomination of Jackson attorney Carlton W. Reeves to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi was among another a dozen on...
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama on Wednesday nominated Laredo lawyer Marina Garcia Marmolejo to be a federal judge in the U.S. Southern Judicial District of Texas. Marmolejo is the second candidate nominated by Obama for two open federal judicial seats in Laredo. The president also selected U.S. magistrate Judge Diana Saldaa...
Ever since the Supreme Court struck down a law that restricted corporate and union spending on campaign advertisements, observers have feared a flood of undisclosed political donations that could tip the scales in November. The Disclose Act, the Democrats effort to stem that tide, passed the House in June but...
PHOENIX I am disappointed by Judge Susan Boltons ruling enjoining several provisions of The Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act SB 1070; though I am heartened by some findings including the ban on sanctuary cities. This fight is far from over. In fact, it is just the beginning,...
Reaction is starting to come in to a judge's last-minute decision to put the most controversial aspects of the Arizona immigration law on hold, among them requirements that law enforcement must check a person's immigration status in certain situations and that immigrants carry their identification papers in public. Incredibly, even...
A federal judge in Arizona on Wednesday broadly vindicated the Obama administrations high-stakes move to challenge that states tough immigration law and to assert the primary authority of the federal government over state lawmakers in immigration matters. The ruling by Judge Susan R. Bolton, in a lawsuit against Arizona brought...
The judge didn't strike down the entire law. So what does it mean? U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton struck down every section the Obama administration cared about: a complete victory says CBS News chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford. She has ruled that the power to regulate immigration lies exclusively with...
A federal judge has enjoined the most controversial sections of Arizona’s new immigration law from taking effect. Check out Gavel Grab for details.
A federal judge in Phoenix on Wednesday blocked key provisions of Arizona's controversial immigration law from taking effect as scheduled Thursday, granting in part an injunction requested by the Obama administration. U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton ruled that the injunction would apply to the portion of the state law that...
The Justice at Stake Campaign has signed a letter with other groups opposing a blanket ban on transfers of Guantanamo detainees to the United States. See details in Gavel Grab.
With a campaign-spending disclosure bill blocked in the Senate, voters may need to prepare for a "high-spending mud fight" this fall, an editorial warned. Learn more in Gavel Grab.
President Barack Obama called on the Senate today to vote on long-stalled nominees for the federal judiciary -- dipping a toe into an issue that has appeared relatively low among his priorities. In remarks at the White House, Obama said he wants to work with Republicans to fill judicial vacancies....
The White Houses opposition to unlimited spending by corporations and unions in elections is a popular stance. But, the presidents efforts notwithstanding, it seems doubtful that campaign finance reform will be much of a priority to voters in November. The Senate debates a campaign finance bill today that is in...
Midterm elections loomed large as the Senate derailed a campaign-finance bill this year on straight party lines. Changing the rules of the political game is always a heavy lift on Capitol Hill, but especially in a highly volatile election season that could flip control of the Congress. Not even a...
