OUR BLOG
Trump Chooses Sessions
Donald Trump has chosen Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions as the 84th Attorney General of the United States. In 1986, Sessions was nominated to be a judge of the U.S. District Court. Coretta Scott King, the widow of Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote to the Senate Judiciary...
Marrying Outside of One’s Religion
In the United States, it is not uncommon for people to marry outside of their religion. However, Indonesia is one of about two dozen countries with no provision for civil marriages. Others include Israel and almost all of the Arab states. In these countries, only...
Chief Justice Roberts and Institutional Legitimacy
Chief Justice John Marshall sought to build the legitimacy of the Supreme Court by reaching unanimous decisions by ruling narrowly on issues before the Court. According to Jeffrey Rosen, the President and CEO of the National Constitution Center, current Chief Justice...
Does a person need to be human?
Lawyer Steve Wise works for the Nonhuman Rights Project. He has filed lawsuits seeking formal recognition that chimpanzees are “persons,” possessing legal rights to bodily liberty previously reserved for humans. The lawsuits argue that personhood derives from...
Appellate Court Rules Against Trump
A federal appeals court has ruled to continue blocking enforcement of President Trump’s travel ban. On Twitter, Trump denounced the "so-called judge" who issued a temporary restraining order against his immigration policy. Then, as the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals...
Trump’s Choice
Last March, President Obama nominated Merrick Garland to replace deceased justice Antonin Scalia. The Republicans refused to consider the nomination during an election year and took the position that the next president should be allowed to fill the vacancy. President...
The Judge Who Defied Trump
James Robart, the federal judge who halted President Trump's immigration ban, spent more than thirty years in private practice before taking the bench. He gave up a lucrative career representing breweries, energy companies and Southeast Asian immigrants. Trump, after...
The Election of 1800
As contentious as the election season of 2016 has been, it doesn't hold a candle to the election of 1800. In that election, the incumbent, John Adams, contested against his fellow collaborator in the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson. Once...
The Iron Nun
Sister Madonna Buder, 86, has been running Ironman triathlons for more than 30 years and says "the only failure is not to try." She has competed in more than 40 Ironman triathlons. Each triathlon consists of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and a 26.2 mile run....