A five year old boy shot and killed his two year old sister in Kentucky with a rifle given to him by his grandmother. I suppose we should take some small comfort from the fact that the NRA did not suggest that in the future all two year olds should...

Woody Allen once said that the worst punishment that could be inflicted upon anyone was being sentenced to 30 days solitary confinement with an insurance salesman. However, I believe that I have found one even more devilish and more likely to drive one insane-----waiting for someone in a mall and...

This is not my usual area of discussion, but I could not miss the opportunity of sharing this. In lieu of receiving a check for a tax refund, the Commonwealth of Virginia sent me an unwanted and unrequested debit card. It listed and extolled all of the benefits of the...

The Boston bombing is so horrific, and the evidence of guilt apparently so overwhelming, that the country might wish to go straight to the punishment stage, but that is not how our system of justice functions. The decision to temporarily withhold Miranda warnings in the Boston Marathon bombing case may...

Requiring a super-majority in the Senate means that a mini-minority is running the country. Giving every state two senators irrespective of population, by its very nature, gives greater representation to some and less to others. However, that discrepancy was much discussed and intended by the founding fathers. The founding fathers...

The Supreme Court in hearing argument in the same-sex marriage cases posed two questions that I doubt were ever asked before:

• When did something become unconstitutional? (Justice Scalia)
• Shouldn't there being a waiting period before deciding constitutionality? (Justice Alito).

Justice Scalia, in insisting that counsel specify a date...

The New York Times describes Brian S. Brown as "the nation's leading opponent of same-sex marriage", who is spreading his message around the world. He is the father of eight, and I can envision his children asking him: "Daddy, what did you do with your life?", and his...

As technology improves, there is a rising tide of exonerations. A large number facing the death penalty have been freed, and that is mainly attributable to respected and dedicated law firms and Innocence Projects delving into their cases and providing superior representation. Not all facing the death penalty are so...

Fifty years after the landmark decision in Gideon v. Wainwright, the right to counsel for persons charged with crimes apparently exists in principle but not in practice. According to an article about to be published in the Yale Law Journal, by Stephen B. Bright, one of the country's most respected...

When it came to torture (pleasantly known as enhanced interrogation), Dick Cheney insisted that it produced results, and therefore that it was justified. The movie, Zero Dark Thirty seems to imply a similar message. Now we are discussing targeted killings in the same way. They are justified on the basis...

We teach our children that bullying is wrong. It never occurred to me that we would have to bar them from watching C-Span. In order to find out what is wrong with the country one need look no further than the reaction to Hillary Clinton's illness and her subsequent testimony...

As incredulous as it may seem, thanks to Congress, gun victims and their families cannot sue gun manufacturers, but the shooter could if his gun did not work properly. So if history is any predictor of the future, the talk of new gun control legislation by Congress is likely to...

Is there anything more delicious than gun owners urging that a right guaranteed under the Constitution should be subject to reasonable regulation if the failure to do so causes harm? They want limitations -- but not on the Second Amendment right to bear arms but rather the First Amendment right...

Bill Maher insists that Republicans live in a bubble -- that they divorce themselves from reality. I find it impossible to account for their incredible ironies. Think about the harm that befalls families on a street when an unmarried gay couple moves in. And think of the transformation that happens...

All of the anti-judiciary slogans emanate from the Republicans: "soft on crime, activist judges, thwarting the will of the majority, legislating from the bench" are all conservative labels starting way back with "Impeach Earl Warren." But for a long while we could take some comfort from the old nursery rhyme:...

I received a letter from a dear old friend, a Republican, for whom I have the greatest affection and respect. He found it somewhat incredible that I continued to be an Obama supporter and sent me a number of articles questioning and criticizing the President's programs. I thought it fair...

It seems that Republicans have taken the Hypocritic Oath of Office. Unlike doctors, their motto seems to be: "Do Some Harm." They advocate less government, but impose more government when it meets their needs. They decry government interference in the economy and demand to know why President Obama hasn't done...

Well, not exactly. You may remember that the conservatives forewarned that if the government could require you to buy health insurance (the dreaded mandate) then it could force you to buy broccoli or require you to purchase anything else the government deemed was good for you. Justice Scalia picked up...

Every time Mitt Romney is asked to comment on some scurrilous remark made by a member of his own party, he responds with some mealy-mouthed platitude. When Rush Limbaugh called Sandra Fluke "a slut," Romney said that was "not the language I would have used." When a woman recently called...

In his Senate hearing Chief Justice Roberts said: "I will remember that it's my job to call balls and strikes and not to pitch or bat." In upholding the Obama health care legislation he didn't hit a home run, but he bunted in the win. In doing so, many claim...