U.S. Courts

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Elena Kagan, onetime dean of Harvard Law School and current US solicitor general, is a less than perfect candidate to sit on the Supreme Court.
She’s weak on free speech, but doesn’t deserve her ‘Seinfeld moment’
By EDITORIAL | May 14, 2010

Elena Kagan’s shaky record

As a potential Obama nominee for Supreme Court justice, Elena Kagan has liberal bona fides and the likely support of the right. But if her record is any indication, she’s more likely to side with the conservative bloc on matters of executive power and wa
What a Kagan appointment to the Supreme Court could mean for civil liberties
By HARVEY SILVERGLATE AND KYLE SMEALLIE | April 23, 2010

Judicial ups and downs

It was about time that Rogeriee Thompson was finally confirmed (unanimously, we might add) by the United States Senate for what amounts to an historic spot on the Federal Court of Appeals.
Plus poppy hypocrisy, pressuring the Pope, and even more ‘Buttercup’ trivia
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | March 26, 2010

The US Supreme Court has saved us from financial ruin

There has been powerful criticism of the recent US Supreme Court ruling that corporations are truly people, and deserve all the rights people have, including the right to spend as much as they wish to support or oppose candidates in elections.
Not a modest proposal
By JEFF INGLIS | February 12, 2010

Impeach John Roberts

It is time for an enterprising and courageous member of the US House of Representatives to file articles of impeachment against the chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, John Roberts. The charge: lying under oath.
The Chief Justice lied
By EDITORIAL | February 05, 2010

Corrections disobeys another federal court order

For decades, as it has with other court orders, the Maine Department of Corrections has apparently been breaching a 1973 federal court’s decree that forbids disciplinary solitary confinement at the Maine State Prison beyond 10 days for minor offenses, or
Solitary Confinement
By LANCE TAPLEY | December 18, 2009

Catching up with FairPoint’s decline

We've been telling you for ages how bad the FairPoint deal was for residents of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
On the Ropes Dept.
By JEFF INGLIS | November 27, 2009

Jews and Latinos get cozy

While US Senate Republicans dropped politically prudent bombshells on Sonia Sotomayor during her Supreme Court–nomination hearings this week, watchdogs from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Latino Professional Network (LPN) kept extra close ears
ADL + LPN 4EVA
By CHRIS FARAONE | July 17, 2009

The 12th Annual Muzzle Awards

With the era of repression and secrecy fostered by George W. Bush and Dick Cheney finally over, this should be the best of times for freedom of expression, open government, and civil liberties. Yet change comes slowly.
A look at the dishonorable enemies of free speech and personal liberty in New England.
By DAN KENNEDY | July 10, 2009

Jailed HIV-positive pregnant woman released - for now

Quinta Layin Tuleh, the HIV-positive pregnant woman a federal judge in Bangor, Maine, ordered jailed until her baby was delivered, has been released on bail while her appeal of her sentence makes its way through the courts.
Judicial Discretion
By JEFF INGLIS | June 26, 2009

Guilty until proven guilty

The US Supreme Court's June 18 decision denying prisoners access to DNA testing — a procedure that could reliably prove innocence — adds to the high court's decades-long shameful record on criminal-justice issues.
Freedom Watch
By HARVEY SILVERGLATE | June 26, 2009

Supreme court

Next month, Congress will begin confirmation hearings to decide the fate of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, the 55-year-old Bronx native whom President Barack Obama nominated last month to fill retiring Justice David Souter's spot on the nine-memb
Maine senators playing major role in Sotomayor confirmation
By DEIRDRE FULTON | June 19, 2009

Federal judge: more rights for the unborn

A federal judge in Bangor, Maine, has recognized a new right of fetuses that could become a key element in the nation's ongoing abortion debate.
Fetal Obligations
By JEFF INGLIS | June 12, 2009

Robojudge

Judge Stephen Breyer, Bill Clinton's latest pick for the Supreme Court, has attracted support so broad that it spans ideological and political differences.
Stephen Breyer may be the right man at the wrong time
By HARVEY SILVERGLATE | June 05, 2009

Judging the judge

Women may not yet have full equality, but Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the US Supreme Court proves we can compete with the big guys now. It also means that women accepting patronage (and every political appointment is patronage) have an equal shot at
Facing the facts of the Sotomayor nomination
By Mary Ann Sorrentino | June 05, 2009

Battle over open space in North Providence

Will the last large piece of open space in North Providence turn into the site of 47 single family homes? That decision currently rests with the Rhode Island General Assembly and the Rhode Island Supreme Court. The outcome could jeopardize open space p
Real estate
By STEVEN STYCOS | May 29, 2009

On Sotomayor

There is a pleasing symmetry to President Obama's nomination of federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court.
A noble pick that highlights a political flash point. Plus, California's shame.
By EDITORIAL | May 29, 2009

ACLU and Irons: Strange political bedfellows

Politics has seldom made stranger bedfellows than those exposed when the RI ACLU hopped into the sack with former state senator William Irons.
LegalWatch
By MARY ANN SORRENTINO | May 08, 2009

A great little performer

If this doesn't convince you that no one with lotsa bucks plays by the rules, and that insider trading is rife on Wall Street, along with obscene bonuses collected by what are essentially crooks, with no morals, at most big lending institutions, how wou
Obama administration stubs its toe with the tax-challenged
By PHILLIPPE AND JORGE | February 04, 2009

Providence lawyer plays pioneering role in suing terrorists

The use of Predator drones and covert Special Forces teams is bound to be satisfying for many victims of terrorism.
National Security
By BILL RODRIGUEZ | January 21, 2009

The Impeachinator

From Caligula to Bush...er Obama: Bruce Fein watches them all.
Watchdog Fein
By HARVEY SILVERGLATE | November 19, 2008

Dictator McCain?

The only thing standing in the way of Republican John McCain assuming the powers and prerogatives of a dictator should he be elected president is the vote of a single Supreme Court justice.
Don’t laugh: if the Arizona ‘maverick’ is elected, he’ll complete the job Bush started
By EDITORIAL | October 22, 2008

A step forward

The nation’s understandable preoccupation with the unfolding economic crisis has overshadowed a significant victory in the battle for same-sex marriage: the Connecticut Supreme Court, on October 10, ruled that gay and lesbian couples have a constitutiona
Why the Connecticut Supreme Court got it right. Plus, ominous noises from the right wing.
By EDITORIAL | October 16, 2008

Since Harvard came out

It was a typical Harvard alumni event, but not a typical, self-congratulatory Crimson “glory days” fest.
Freedom watch
By HARVEY SILVERGLATE | October 02, 2008

No rules

The state of Maine doesn’t give away money. Except for the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Economic Development, and the state treasurer.
Politics and other mistakes
By AL DIAMON | September 25, 2008

Palin: The plain truth

In selecting Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential candidate, Republican nominee John McCain pulled a Clarence Thomas.
Don’t be fooled by the Tina Fey styling, McCain’s vice-presidential pick is a menace
By EDITORIAL | September 03, 2008

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