Law

Edward Snowden's leaks about the NSA's secret surveillance program have pushed the agency to expedite planned reforms ahead of schedule, according to NSA officials.

The Effects Of The Snowden Leaks Aren't What He Intended

5:24pm September 20, 2013

by Tom Gjelten

Critics of the NSA's secret surveillance hoped the debate that followed Edward Snowden's leaks would prompt the NSA to rethink the operation. Instead, one of the most noticeable effects so far has been a diversion of resources away from intelligence missions toward assessing damage from the leaks.

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Holder Makes Moral Argument Against Mandatory Sentences

6:10am September 20, 2013

Attorney General Eric Holder says the criminal justice system is broken. He spoke out on federal mandatory sentencing requirements in a speech to the Congressional Black Caucus on Thursday.

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President Obama nominates Robert Wilkins, Patricia Millett and Nina Pillard to fill the remaining vacancies on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on June 4.

Republicans Push Back On Obama's D.C. Court Nominees

7:07pm September 19, 2013

by Ailsa Chang

President Obama has been able to fill one opening on a key appeals court, but three more remain. And GOP senators are signaling that they'll block those remaining nominations, saying the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals doesn't really need that many judges.

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Evan Mandery is also the author of three novels: Dreaming of Gwen Stefani; First Contact: Or, It's Later Than You Think; and Q: A Love Story.

Years After Historic Ruling, Execution Still A 'Random' Justice

3:44pm September 19, 2013

Evan Mandery's A Wild Justice is an account of the legal battles that led to the U.S. Supreme Court striking down capital punishment, then reversing course four years later. He says that today, prisoners who are sentenced to death have a 10 percent chance of actually being executed.

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Should It Take 2 Or 3 Years To Earn A Law Degree?

4:49am September 18, 2013

by Tovia Smith

President Obama, a Harvard Law grad and former law professor, has suggested that students can learn all they need to take the bar exam in two years. That would save them tens of thousands of dollars. But it would also cost law schools millions of dollars in tuition revenue.

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National

Documents Show NSA Violated Court Restrictions

7:54am September 11, 2013

The National Security Agency violated special court restrictions on the use of a database of telephone calls, but the NSA says it fixed those problems. That's the bottom line from more documents declassified by the director of National Intelligence. The document dump is part of an effort to share more details about NSA surveillance activities that were uncovered by former government contractor Edward Snowden.

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New HIV Cases Spotlight Adult Film Industry's Testing System

7:49pm September 10, 2013

by Mandalit del Barco

Adult film production in California is now suspended after a number of performers tested positive for HIV. Though news of the cases may leave some performers feeling vulnerable, the industry's trade group says its response shows that the system works.

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Boy Scouts attend a Memorial Day event in Los Angeles in May. A bill under consideration by the California Legislature would take away the tax-exempt status of the Boy Scouts of America.

National

California Lawmakers Target Boy Scouts' Tax-Exempt Status

5:22pm September 10, 2013

by Scott Detrow

Legislators are considering stripping the Boy Scouts of America of its tax-exempt status in the state because of the organization's ban on gay and lesbian adult leaders. Scout leaders warn the move would cause major damage to a group that serves 180,000 California youth.

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Crude oil that leaked from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig sits on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010.

BP Wants To Halt Deepwater Horizon Claims Process

5:21pm September 10, 2013

by Eve Troeh

BP is fighting the settlement it agreed to last summer that let the oil company avoid thousands of potential lawsuits over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. BP now says the claim process is corrupt and wants to stop all the money flowing from its claims fund.

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National

Basic Internet Economics At Stake In Net Neutrality Suit

5:20pm September 10, 2013

The basic economics of the Internet are at stake in a lawsuit that went before a federal court on Monday. Verizon is suing to overturn FCC rules that govern Internet service providers. The "Open Internet Order" prohibits companies such as Verizon from blocking or discriminating against certain kinds of websites.

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