When John F. Kennedy ran for president, scare tactics were used to frighten voters by suggesting that he would take directions from the Pope. He publicly denounced such claims and assured voters that he would accept no directions on policy from the Catholic Church. Apparently Providence's Bishop Tobin believes otherwise....

Say what you will about the Republicans being obstructionists and the party of "No", they do have their convictions, and it would be inconceivable to me that they would ever support an amendment allowing gay marriage in the nation in order to pass some legislation which they considered to be...

Cook County prosecutors continue in their relentless attempt to discredit the work of the students of Medill Innocence Project in their efforts to exonerate Anthony McKinney, whom they believe to be innocent. The prosecutor initially subpoenaed the personal records of the students on the grounds that the students were more...

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Arar v. Ashcroft, through a series of machinations declaring certain claims insufficiently pleaded, others bifurcated, and the law permitting government agents to be sued not applicable, has dismissed the claims of Maher Arar. The vote of the Court en banc...

How many of us have said while watching TV: "It's better than actually being there!"? Diehard fans might dispute that contention, but everyone has to admit that television coverage of sports is remarkable, and coverage of the World Series was extraordinary. But, why, why, why the endless close-ups of faces...

In our family when there were important decisions to be made, such as where to eat or what movie to see (very infrequent events in those days), we were told "the majority rules." I expect that the average citizen thinks that Congress does and should act in the same fashion....

No matter how trivial or innocent the conduct, conservatives find a way to criticize President Obama. Bill Maher ends his programs Real Time with "New Rules" suggesting how certain matters should be handled differently. I thought I might adopt that format to submit a compilation, but just a smattering, of...

I am always offended and annoyed with the labeling of some recent conduct or person with Nazism or Hitler or drawing analogies with the Holocaust and thereby belittling those horrific events in our history with some current less appalling and even minor occurrences. But I truly believe that the

The David Letterman case has caused a great deal of discussion about blackmail, and whether the alleged circumstances of his particular case should constitute a crime. But it raises another important issue for me. I can imagine Andy Rooney (of 60 Minutes) saying:

"Do you ever wonder why so many...

As Senators mull the qualifications for United States judges, should they not be required to display some minimal understanding of the process before undertaking this important task? The Judiciary Committee's ranking Republican, Sen. Jeff Sessions seems unable to distinguish between a lawyer's role as an advocate and the impartiality required...

The Supreme Court has heard argument in a case (Padilla v. Kentucky) in which a defendant who pled guilty claims that he was improperly advised by his lawyer that he would not be deported, notwithstanding that deportation was virtually certain as the result of his plea. The defendant had lived...

The raging debate now about Afghanistan is whether or not we should send more troops, and if so, how many. But the real question that no one is willing to articulate: How many more dead and wounded American soldiers and Afghan civilians are we willing to sacrifice and tolerate to...

The Supreme Court is struggling with the question of whether the depiction of certain dog-fighting can be prohibited under the First Amendment. Frequently protecting freedom of speech brings us some unwanted results. It brought us advertising by lawyers. The first time I saw a TV advertisement showing a portly man...

In an obvious and blatant attempt to intimidate the victim, the lawyer for Joel Halderman, the person who allegedly blackmailed David Letterman, "asserted that he would put forward evidence that Mr. Letterman had engaged in sexual harassment of his staff members." Mr. Shargel justified his threats by asserting that...

When I hear that a man has raped and murdered a young child, terrorists have killed innocent women and children, a store keeper dies during a petty robbery, a man has kidnapped and repeatedly raped a teenage girl or a political leader has committed mass genocide, I want the perpetrators...

One can certainly understand why friends and colleagues of Roman Polanski would be upset by his arrest and possible extradition after all of these years, but the opponents of his arrest have merged arguments against his extradition with those that should be made if and when he is extradited and...

Two recurring news stories always mystify me: Terror alerts and locations that are vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Today (9/23/09) the Associated Press reports that the, "Government expanded a terrorist warning from transit systems to U.S. stadiums, hotels and entertainment complexes," apparently leaving us comfort zones in bars (although "places of...

Schoolchildren, particularly those of you who were warned of the dire consequences of hearing the President of the United States urge you to study hard and stay in school, learn this: Calling the President a "liar" is a great way to raise funds for a political campaign.

People who...

When high level bank executives swindled the public and nearly destroyed our economy, Congress gave the banking industry 750 billion dollars. When 3 or 4 low level employees of Acorn engaged in misconduct, Congress withdrew their federal funding. I know nothing about Acorn---whether or not it is a corrupt organization...

After Republican Senators sought repeated assurances from Justice Sotomayor that she would follow the law, the Constitution and precedent (stare decisis), we are about to find out whether Republican appointees to the Supreme Court likewise feel bound to carry out that same commitment. At issue in the Citizens United case...