Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) decided his political stunt on judicial nominees wasn’t working. He abandoned the plan Wednesday, agreeing to a deal with Republicans to schedule votes for 12 district-court nominees and two circuit-court nominees before May 7. The deal ensures President Obama’s nominees will received an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor. That’s exactly what conservatives like Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) had wanted. Lee, still outraged by Obama’s unconstitutional “recess” appointments in January, has vowed to vote against each nominee until Obama rescinds the appointments. Reid, hoping …
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has rightfully earned the reputation of running a do-nothing Senate. More than 1,000 days have elapsed since the upper chamber approved a budget. He’s currently ignoring the House-passed JOBS Act and actively opposing steps to lower gas prices. Now, in a blatant political stunt, Reid is attempting to blame the Republican minority for the Senate’s failure to confirm 17 of President Obama’s district court nominees. >> UPDATE: Realizing his stunt wouldn’t work, Reid reversed course late Wednesday, agreeing to deal with Republicans on some of the nominees. …
To no one’s surprise, the Obama Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division have objected to the voter ID law passed by the Texas legislature. The DOJ under Attorney General Eric Holder claims that it is discriminatory under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act for Texas to require voters to present a government-issued photo ID at the polling place, because it will supposedly hurt Hispanic voters—even though any Texan can get a photo ID for free. Never mind that if you want to exercise your First Amendment right to “petition the …
One of the three aspects of overcriminalization that we highlight in our weekly e-mail alerts is “Federalizing crime that properly belongs under state and local jurisdiction.” This edition, the first in a series entitled “Overcriminalization Bill of the Week,” contains a textbook example of such a policy mistake. The State Witness Protection Act of 2012, S. 2127, sponsored by Senator Robert Casey (D-PA), would make it a federal offense to commit a crime against a witness in state and local judicial proceedings. The enumerated crimes are “to kill, attempt to …
In an editorial last month, The New York Times argued that the Senate should adopt President Obama’s plan requiring the Senate to vote on judicial nominees within 90 days—thus eliminating the filibuster as applied to those nominations. The Times notes that this is a “major change in position” from its stance that the filibuster “goes to the center of the peculiar but effective form of government America cherishes.” As Ed Whelan pointed out, this is not the first time the Times has reversed course on the use of the filibuster. …
Voter fraud has a history of plaguing elections, inspiring a growing number of states to enact voter identification laws in recent years. The issue was the focus of a debate Thursday at the National Press Club between Heritage senior legal fellow Hans von Spakovsky and Laura Murphy, director of the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office. Proponents of voter ID laws believe they reduce fraud and improve the integrity of elections. Opponents argue these laws decrease voter turnout and disenfranchise minority voters. “One of the key principles of any fair election is …
Should judges act based upon reasoned legal arguments, or based upon their personal feelings and media coverage? A controversial recent “statement” made by Justices Ginsburg and Breyer in a case that was the legal equivalent of a slam dunk raises serious questions about what really guides some judges. In the case, American Tradition Partnership v. Bullock, the Court was asked to address a Montana Supreme Court opinion upholding a Montana ban on independent expenditures by corporations. This should be an easy case—after all, the Court ruled in Citizens United v. …
If you want to see an illustrative example of Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer making decisions based on their personal ideologies and political opinions—as opposed to the actual evidence submitted in the cases before them—look no further than an order issued February 17 in American Tradition Partnership v. Bullock. Justice Anthony Kennedy issued a stay of the December 30 decision of the Montana Supreme Court, because the court defied the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United, in which the Supreme Court found that a ban on …
Armed federal agents raided Gibson Guitar’s Nashville headquarters in August, creating a national outcry over the high-profile persecution. But today, six months after the raid, the Department of Justice has yet to file any charges against the company. Why did the government go after Gibson? A new video from Reason.tv explores the implications of the case, problems with the Lacey Act and how overcriminalization is threatening the American way of life. At the time of the August raid, the second on the company since 2009, agents were working off a …
In what is most likely a positive development, the Supreme Court has granted certiorari in Fisher v. University of Texas, a lawsuit filed by Abigail Fisher, whose application to UT Austin was rejected in 2008. As I explained in an article at National Review, Fisher would almost certainly have been accepted if she were black or Hispanic because of the racial discrimination policies of the University of Texas. Hundreds of colleges use the same type of “preferences” that UT Austin implemented, in which admissions officers consider an applicant’s skin color …
