World News Center
Trying Conrad Black again won't be easy: Experts
July 29, 2010CHICAGO -- Once Conrad Black leaves a federal prison in Florida, free on bail pending an appeal of his conviction for defrauding investors, prosecutors could have a hard time if they have to prove their case against the former newspaper magnate a second time, legal experts say.
Clashing views, votes on Kagan
July 29, 2010She???s a liar, a political hack and unprepared. Reduced to the most basic elements, that's essentially what Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) said about Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan during the Senate Judiciary Committee???s vote this morning. Take, for example, this Sessions offering: ???The nominee lacks the experience, the intellectual rigor that you develop from the full time practice of law or from serving as a judge. She???s had neither of those experiences. And I think it showed in her testimony. You may not agree. In my opinion her testimony lacked the clarity, the strict intellectual honesty that I think we should look for in a nomination to the Supreme Court.??? As Seth Myers of Saturday Night Live might say, ???Really? Really?" Did Sessions and I watch the same proceedings? I don???t understand how he can say with a straight face that Kagan performed poorly at the hearings. She tap danced around answers the way every modern nominee does, but she showed a mastery of the subject matter, whether discussing the First Amendment, executive power or the commerce clause. And she provided significant insight on how she would approach the job of judging. But Kagan could have hit a grand slam, completed a hat trick, and performed in a manner worthy of every sports metaphor known to man and Sessions probably would have voted against her. Why? Because he doesn???t want a (likely) liberal on the court. It???s that simple. (The final Judiciary Committee vote was 13-6, with every Republican voting no except for South Carolina???s Lindsey Graham.) Now, contrast Session???s near-ad hominems with the critique by Graham, who praised Kagan as smart, funny and well-qualified. Graham made clear that Kagan would not have been his choice had he been asked to pick a successor to retired Justice John Paul Stevens. For starters, Graham said, she???s a liberal; what else would you expect from a Democratic president? But he voted for her anyway. Like it or not, he said, elections have consequences, and the person who wins the right to occupy the White House also wins the right to name justices to the high court. The Senate should confirm these nominees unless they display a serious professional or ethical infirmity and senators have no business voting against a nominee because of her judicial philosophy unless it lies far, far outside of the mainstream. While ???judicial activism??? became a buzzword during the hearings, Graham raised the possibility that lawmakers had become ???legislative activists??? by trying to usurp the president???s prerogatives in choosing nominees that reflect his judicial philosophy. And this ???activism??? cuts both ways. Just wait until a Republican regains the White House and watch how quickly Democrats change their tune.
Obama hails Senate committee vote approving Kagan
July 29, 2010 WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is calling Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan's approval by the Senate Judiciary Committee a "bipartisan affirmation of her strong performance" in confirmation hearings.
Wis. justices uphold ex-Jesuit priest's conviction
July 29, 2010MADISON, Wis. -- The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the sexual abuse conviction of a once-prominent Jesuit priest who insisted he was unfairly prosecuted for acts dating to the 1960s.
Democrats retake lead in generic ballot
July 29, 20101. A week removed from an internecine fight about whether or not control of the House is up for grabs this fall (it is), Democrats got some welcome news this morning as the party re-took the lead in Gallup's generic congressional ballot question.
Today in History
July 29, 2010-- Today is Tuesday, July 20, the 201st day of 2010. There are 164 days left in the year.
Guantanamo detainee Naji sent back to Algeria against his will
July 29, 2010 The Obama administration has for the first time sent a detainee at Guantanamo Bay back home against his will.
D.C. jury finds Maryland man guilty in 1990 slaying
July 29, 2010A D.C. Superior Court jury took less than two hours Monday to find a Silver Spring man guilty of second-degree murder in the 1990 shooting of the son of a retired District homicide detective in a case of road rage.
Obituaries
July 29, 2010The June 28 obituary of Martin D. Ginsburg, a Georgetown University professor of tax law and the husband of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, misspelled the name of the Long Island community where he grew up. It is Rockville Centre, N.Y. Also, a photo credit with the obituary misspelled the last name of Annie Groer, who took the photograph.
Hospital experts debate wisdom of using stun guns to control violent patients
July 29, 2010Police officers in many jurisdictions use stun guns to incapacitate suspects, but the weapons have started to show up in hospital settings as well, a migration that has raised some concerns.
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