Senate Judiciary Committee

Dear FCC, Please Don't Let Hollywood Break My TV

Gary Shapiro | Posted 11.12.2009 | Technology


Gary Shapiro

The MPAA is back -- this time, before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) -- asking permission to disable lawfully purchased HDTV-capable TVs.

"Justice Can't Wait:" Judicial Selection in the First 10 Months of the Obama Administration

Nan Aron | Posted 11.09.2009 | Politics


Nan Aron

Alliance for Justice has released a new report on judicial selection in the first ten months of the Obama administration.

Who's the CML Champ, Cheney or Gonzales?

Norm Stamper | Posted 11.04.2009 | Politics


Norm Stamper

Nobody listens to Alberto Gonzales in large part because, putting it charitably, he was not merely an unprincipled attorney general but an uninspired one. Of course, we also tune him out because we can't be sure he's telling the truth.

Senate, White House Reach Agreement On Reporter Protections Legislation

AP | JIM ABRAMS | Posted 11.01.2009 | Media


WASHINGTON — The White House, key senators and media representatives have reached a compromise on legislation to protect reporters from being fo...

Is Senator Jeff Sessions Qualified To Be on the Senate Judicary Committee?

Judge H. Lee Sarokin | Posted 10.20.2009 | Politics


Judge H. Lee Sarokin

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?

Patriot Act Redux

James Zogby | Posted 10.19.2009 | Politics


James Zogby

Civil libertarians of the right and left urged the Senate not to reauthorize the three provisions of the Patriot Act without providing new restraints on law enforcement and adequate protections.

Ryan Grim

House Vote On Insurance Industry Antitrust Exemption Coming

HuffingtonPost.com | Ryan Grim | Posted 10.19.2009 | Politics


The battle against the health insurance industry is steadily intensifying. House Democrats have formally scheduled a vote to revoke the industry's che...

Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Patriot Act Sections

AP | Posted 10.08.2009 | Politics


WASHINGTON — A divided Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved a revised version of the nation's major counterterrorism law, after intel...

Al Franken Trumps DOJ Official With The 4th Amendment

Washington Independent | Daphne Eviatar | Posted 11.23.2009 | Politics


Just in case he wasn't familiar with it, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) decided to read the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution to David Kris, assistant a...

Poisonous Atmosphere Keeping Obama From Appointing Judges

The New Yorker | Jeffrey Toobin | Posted 11.14.2009 | Politics


The Obama Administration wanted to send a message with the President's first nomination to a federal court. "There was a real conscious decision to us...

The Gonzales Cantata: Former AG Inspires Concert Opera

The Huffington Post | Posted 10.19.2009 | Politics


Anyone who thought the Alberto Gonzales' Senate Judiciary Committee hearings had a certain kind of repetitive poetry should head to Philadelphia this ...

Grassley 'Getting Reamed Out' By GOP On Health Care

Washington Post | Ezra Klein | Posted 09.26.2009 | Politics


Most of the commentary on Chuck Grassley's truculence and back-pedaling has focused on his potential primary challenge and fear of the Iowa electorate...

FLASHBACK: Ted Kennedy Vs. John Ashcroft (VIDEO)

Attackerman | Spencer Ackerman | Posted 09.26.2009 | Politics


As we dig through the latest rounds of torture disclosures, it's instructive to remember a moment from June of 2004. In the aftermath of the Abu Ghrai...

Washington Post: Nominations Roadblock In The Senate "Unconscionable"

washingtonpost.com | Posted 09.04.2009 | Politics


IT HAS BEEN almost six months since President Obama nominated Indiana law professor Dawn E. Johnsen to head the Justice Department's influential Offic...

Jason Linkins

Polls Show That People Don't Know What They Want But They Want It Right Now (And The Rest Of Your Scritti Politti)

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 08.30.2009 | Media


Sometimes, our political leaders are incoherent in their own unique ways. On other occasions, it's clear that they are just reflecting the incoherenc...

Watch: Franken and Klobuchar Speak Out at Senate Judiciary Committee Vote (Video)

David Doody | Posted 08.29.2009 | Home


David Doody

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Franken Blasts Supreme Court During Sotomayor Vote

The Minnesota Independent | Posted 08.28.2009 | Politics


Al Franken spewed fire and Amy Klobuchar threw brimstone this morning at the Senate Judiciary Committee's vote on Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the ...

Sotomayor Confirmation: Senate Judiciary Committee Votes: WATCH LIVE

Huffington Post | Posted 08.28.2009 | Politics


On Tuesday the Senate Judiciary Committee will convene to vote on the confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Sotomayor is expect...

Sessions To Vote Against Sotomayor

Associated Press | Posted 08.27.2009 | Politics


WASHINGTON (AP) -- The senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee says he'll vote against Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Alabama Sen...

Reflections on the Senate Confirmation Hearings, Part II - Duck, Duck, Goose

Judge H. Lee Sarokin | Posted 08.18.2009 | Politics


Judge H. Lee Sarokin

I agree that a nominee should not answer hypothetical questions on cases that may arise in the future, but I see no reason why nominees should not answer questions regarding existing court opinions.

Judging Sonia: In Defense of Judicial Activism and a Wise Latina

Arlene M. Roberts | Posted 08.17.2009 | Politics


Arlene M. Roberts

What is the role or expectation of a justice on the Supreme Court? An adherent of precedent? A policy maker? And just how did judicial activism garner such a tarnished reputation?

Empathy For The Devil

Michelle Schweiger Schecter | Posted 08.17.2009 | Politics


Michelle Schweiger Schecter

Hart Senate Office Building, Room 216 was the venue for a skirmish that at times got awfully mean. Judge Sonia came in earnest, her cards laid out on the table.

Sam Stein

Lugar Becomes First Republican To Announce Vote For Sotomayor

HuffingtonPost.com | Sam Stein | Posted 08.17.2009 | Politics


Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court seemed relatively pre-ordained following four days of somewhat news-less testimony before the ...

Judiciary Committee: Sharp Minds -- and Empty Suits

Rick Horowitz | Posted 08.16.2009 | Politics


Rick Horowitz

These Senators spend their precious minutes before the cameras posturing, except for when they're pandering. Except for when they're plodding.

Sotomayor Hearings are Political Bullsh*t

Miles Mogulescu | Posted 08.16.2009 | Politics


Miles Mogulescu

Senate confirmation hearings on judicial nominations are a form of Kabuki Theater in which everyone plays their assigned roles and no one tells the whole truth.