Outside the Beltway

In a 6-3 vote that defied traditional expectations, the Justices have limited the ability of police to detain people on the side of the road for long periods of time.

An elite FBI Forensics unit gave flawed and false testimony in cases over a period that lasted more than 20 years.

When it comes to marijuana policy, Chris Christie is stuck in the past.

The parents of the youngest victim of the Boston Marathon bombing argue that his killer should be spared from the death penalty.

TSA abuse stories had kind of disappeared from the news, but they’re back now in a big way.

A volunteer for an Oklahoma Sheriff’s Department killed a suspect thanks to what can only be described as extreme criminal negligence.

Many of America’s top law firms have declined to accept cases defending bans on same-sex marriage, and that’s okay.

Legislators in Tennessee have taken the “gun rights” argument further than it was ever intended to go.

A new poll suggests that the American public does not support laws that give religious exemptions to businesses that want to discriminate based on sexual orientation.

An unsurprising outcome as we approach the second anniversary of the bombing at the Boston Marathon.

Thanks to one civilian with a camera, a police officer is facing charges in what appears to clearly be an improper shooting.

A bill pending in Louisiana seems likely to become the next national focus in the debate between marriage equality and claims of ‘religious freedom.’

A review of Rolling Stone’s now discredited report of a sexual assault at the University of Virginia reveals a shocking failure of journalistic ethics.

Another case of teenagers ‘sexting,’ another dumb overreaction by law enforcement.

A federal judge has ordered the people of California to foot the $100,000 bill for sexual reassignment surgery for someone serving a life sentence for murder.

Indiana’s RFRA will be amended to address most of the concerns of its opponents. That counts as a victory.

As expected, New Jersey’s senior Senator has been indicted.

The Justice Department will not pursue contempt charges against Lois Lerner because it has determined that she did not waive her rights under the Fifth Amendment.

A tale of Kafkaesque torture by Comcast Customer Service reveals that the person who really made the mistakes here was the homeowner.

We’re down to debating whether bigots should have to sell cakes to gay people.

Arkansas, North Carolina, and Virginia may soon see the same battle over RFRA laws that is playing itself out in Indiana

Kentucky has offered the Supreme Court a defense of its ban on same-sex marriage that seems laughable.

The devil is in the details of what the legislature passes, but Indiana’s Governor has essentially conceded defeat in the battle over his state’s controversial new “religious freedom” law.

The Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal of three students disciplined for wearing American flag shirts on Cinco de Mayo

Bowe Bergdahl will face charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, and the White House’s narrative about this release lies in tatters.

Indiana is about to become the latest state to grants special rights to religious business owners.

Just in case there’s any question, yes, Ted Cruz is Constitutionally eligible to serve as President.

Freedom of speech means freedom for all speech, even when it is racially offensive.

Sadly whenever Alabama is first at something (save perhaps in football) it is never for something good.

A powerful Democratic Senator looks like he’s about to be in a whole lot of trouble.

A new Justice Department report has found widespread racial bias in the Ferguson Police Department, but it’s a problem that goes far beyond one Missouri suburb.

Once again, the Supreme Court appears to be sharply divided on the latest challenge to the Affordable Care Act.

Unsurprisingly, Darren Wilson will not face federal charges in connection with the shooting of Michael Brown.

The most widely honored General from the Iraq and Afghanistan War has plead guilty to sharing classified information with his mistress.

The Supreme Court seems likely to strike down state laws that take redistricting completely out of the hands of state legislatures.

A fishy tale from the Supreme Court that may give us a clue about bigger cases to come.

Nearly three years to the day after it started, the George Zimmerman case is essentially over.

A Federal Judge has issued a temporary halt to the Obama Administration’s deferred deportation program, but appeals can be expected.

Reflecting a growing national trend away from the barbarity of capital punishment, the Governor of Pennsylvania has imposed a moratorium on executions in the Keystone State.

Yet another attack on religious freedom in Europe.

Justice Ginsburg acknowledges the fact that, over the past nineteen years, same-sex marriage has gone from something that most Americans oppose to something that most Americans are willing to accept.

By refusing to stay the legalization of same-sex marriage in Alabama, the Supreme Court has sent the strongest signal yet that it is ready to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide.

In the end, there is no difference between Roy Moore resisting a Federal Court Order related to same-sex marriage and George Wallace’s efforts to block desegregation.