7/31/18  //  Commentary

Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s supporters claimed that his nomination would mean a sharp right turn for the Court; but since his nominated, they have promised he will review cases as they come.

7/3/18  //  Daily Update

Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen says his “first loyalty” is to his family. Anti-Muslim attacks and animus are undermining years of work to build cooperation and civil rights protections for American Muslims. Senator Collins should not trust Justice Gorsuch to rule against overturning Roe v. Wade. The investigation into Facebook-fueled election interference by Cambridge Analytica is broadening. EPA head Scott Pruitt’s conduct may have violated federal rules of official conduct. President Trump is being wooed — effectively — by super PAC America First.

7/2/18  //  Daily Update

Thousands marching in nationwide protests call for end to family separation policies and Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy. The number of people who fall under the travel ban is more than 135 million. President Trump admits his Supreme Court pick may overturn or undermine Roe v. Wade. George Papadopoulos’s sentencing is scheduled for September. North Korea is unlikely to denuclearize and hopes to trick the United States into thinking otherwise. Despite close elections, Republicans have an ever-increasing grip on all branches of government. Rupert Murdoch is selling a big chunk of his media empire.

6/5/18  //  Daily Update

The president wrote on Twitter that he can pardon himself for any crime. The Supreme Court gave the federal government a narrow win in Garza, the unaccompanied immigrant minor abortion case, while sidestepping sanctions for ACLU attorneys. In Masterpiece Cakeshop, the Court held that the application of the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act to the baker violated the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause because it was “inconsistent with the State’s obligation of religious neutrality.” The Trump White House disinvited the Philadelphia Eagles from a presidential visit over national anthem protests. Paul Manafort tried to contact witnesses against him, the special counsel wrote in a filing requesting that Manafort’s bail be revoked or revised.

6/4/18  //  Daily Update

In a secret letter to the Mueller investigation, lawyers for President Trump argue that he has broad power to terminate and otherwise influence investigations; issue pardons in connection with those investigations; and cannot be subpoenaed by Mueller in connection with the investigation. Kneeling during the national anthem is a form of protest with roots in religion. Justice Department says it didn’t need Congressional approval for the April strike on Syria. Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the U.S.’s trade tariffs “insulting and unacceptable.”

5/21/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

Announcing a database of articles addressing impeachment in Age of Trump

5/8/18  //  Daily Update

President Trump attacks Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, says “there is no” obstruction of justice: “[I]t’s called fighting back.” The Trump Administration is implementing a “zero tolerance” policy on migrants trying to enter the United States illegally, who will now be sent to detention centers awaiting trial while their children are separated from them and taken into custody. A set of travel documents show EPA officials taking “extreme” measures to insulate Scott Pruitt from the public eye. President Trump says he will have an announcement on the Iran nuclear deal on Tuesday. An increase in impeachment talk has made it more difficult to use the power against presidents whose actions merit it.

5/2/18  //  Daily Update

President Trump responded to oral argument in Hawaii v. Trump by explicitly stating that he does not apologize for his campaign statements calling for a “Muslim Ban.” The Trump administration proposes making disability a “heavily weighted negative" factor in determining whether to grant an immigrant a visa or permanent residency. A list of questions that Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel investigating Russia’s election interference, would like to ask President Trump was obtained by The New York Times. Seventeen states are suing to challenge the EPA’s decision to ease car-emission regulations.

3/23/18  //  Quick Reactions

Federal prosecutors who seek the death penalty in cases where no death results are inviting a constitutional challenge they’re likely to lose.

3/22/18  //  Daily Update

The federal Office of Women’s Health removes information about health for lesbian and bisexual women from its website. The Fed raises interest rates to their highest level in a decade. The Trump administration has only submitted 4 of the 13 national security reports required by the National Defense Authorization Act. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is pushing ahead with a plan to “pause” an Obama rule intended to ensure children from certain minority backgrounds aren’t overrepresented in special education. The President congratulated Putin on his latest election win despite an explicit briefing telling him not to. Evidence already in the public record strongly suggests Cambridge Analytica “knowingly used Russian disinformation to help the Trump campaign win the 2016 election.”

3/9/18  //  Daily Update

President Trump says he will meet North Korea’s Kim Jong-un in the next two months. Eliminating the individual mandate, along with other changes to the ACA, will cause health insurance rates to rise 35 to 94 percent in the next three years, according to a new report. In EEOC challenge, the Sixth Circuit holds that discrimination on the basis of transgender and transitioning status is discrimination on the basis of sex. Paul Manafort pleaded not guilty on Thursday to fraud charges brought against him by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. British court finds anti-Muslim extremists, retweeted by President Trump in November, guilty of hate crimes.

3/6/18  //  Daily Update

ICE is separating children from parents at the border. To Mueller subpoena, former Trump aide Sam Nunberg says “screw that,” “let him arrest me.” Arkansas gets the go-ahead to impose work requirements on recipients of Medicaid. Unfavorable court decisions could deter would-be whistleblowers from exposing wrongdoing at America’s intelligence agencies. FCC Director Ajit Pai’s proposal to dramatically restructure an internet subsidy to impoverished people is drawing criticism from all sides.

1/17/18  //  Daily Update

The Department of Justice will ask that the Supreme Court immediately review a district court ruling that required the government to continue the DACA program. In light of the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, commentators reflected on the President’s legacy on issues of race. The Office for Civil Rights within the Department of Education is rejecting discrimination complaints from transgender students. 22 state attorneys general have filed suit to enjoin the FCC’s repeal of net neutrality. A military doctor claims Trump got a perfect score on a test designed to identify cognitive impairment, concluding the president “does not suffer from mental issues that prevent him from functioning in office.”

10/31/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

The stakes are high for defendants awaiting the Supreme Court's decision in Sessions v. Dimaya.

10/26/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

DOJ now argues that people who are in prison based on mistaken understandings of criminal statutes must stay there. The Supreme Court should consider granting certiorari to correct its mistake (and the Eleventh and Tenth Circuits’).