Law

A smoker snuffs out a cigarette at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif.

U.S. Imposes Nationwide Ban On Smoking In All Public Housing

5:48pm November 30, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

The Obama administration has issued a sweeping final rule banning smoking in all public housing units nationwide, extending a smoke-free environment to nearly a million units.

People await a decision outside the Supreme Court on June 27. The court struck down a Texas law restricting abortions.

Abortion-Rights Groups Challenge Restrictions In Three States

4:46pm November 30, 2016

by Jennifer Ludden

Abortion-rights supporters are going on the offensive to challenge state laws that limit access to abortion, even as they anticipate more restrictions under a Trump administration.

National

Justice Department Announces New Package Of Federal Prison Reforms

4:29pm November 30, 2016

by Carrie Johnson

Justice Department officials announced a package of federal prison reforms intended to better prepare inmates for a safe return to their communities.

People attend an immigration rally outside the Supreme Court in June.

National

Supreme Court To Consider How Long Immigrants May Be Detained Without Bond Hearing

10:52am November 30, 2016

by Nina Totenberg

The legal issue before the court tests whether people who are detained for more than six months have a right to a bond hearing. This involves permanent U.S. residents or people seeking asylum.

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Don McGahn, general counsel for the Trump transition team and now chosen to serve as White House counsel, walks through the lobby at Trump Tower on Nov. 15 in New York City.

For Trump's White House Lawyer, Policing Conflicts Will Be 'Massive Undertaking'

8:53pm November 29, 2016

by Carrie Johnson

President-elect Trump selected Don McGahn, an elections lawyer, to be his White House counsel. The job involves anticipating and preventing scandals.

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National

Supreme Court Tests Role Of Intellectual Disability In Death Penalty Case

6:23pm November 29, 2016

by Nina Totenberg

The Supreme Court tests how states may determine whether a capital defendant is intellectually disabled and thus cannot be executed.

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National

Former South Carolina Police Officer Takes The Stand In Murder Trial

6:23pm November 29, 2016

by Alexandra Olgin

It was high drama in the Michael Slager murder trial this week. Slager is the former North Charleston, S.C., police officer who was taped shooting Walter Scott as he fled following a traffic stop. Slager took the stand in his own defense in the racially charged case.

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Former North Charleston, S.C., police Officer Michael Slager testifies Tuesday during his murder trial.

National

Former South Carolina Police Officer Takes The Stand At His Murder Trial

5:38pm November 29, 2016

by Rebecca Hersher

Former North Charleston Officer Michael Slager is on trial for shooting a black man named Walter Scott in the back. Slager testified he "fired until the threat was stopped, like I'm trained to do."

Rep. Elijah Cummings Leads Call To Investigate Trump's Business Entanglements

4:31pm November 29, 2016

NPR's Audie Cornish talks to Maryland Democrat Elijah Cummings, ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, about efforts to launch an investigation into potential conflicts of interest associated with Donald Trump's businesses.

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Law Professor Explains Why Trump Can't Hold Lease On New D.C. Hotel

4:31pm November 29, 2016

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Steven Schooner, professor of government procurement law at George Washington University, about his op-ed in Government Executive magazine calling on the General Services Administration to end the Trump Organization's lease of the Old Post Office Pavilion, the site of the new Trump hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.