Outside the Beltway

The implications of modes of interpretation.

Here we go again . . . .

An ugly divorce exposes a gap in our legal structure.

It doesn’t add up.

It’s not compelling.

A novel but flawed legal argument.

An arrest underscores what the problem isn’t.

They were rejected bigly.

A defensible distinction could give way to a Constitutional crisis.

The Lone Star state is making up its own rules.

Dissenters to a denied emergency appeal argue it is.

A too-long discourse on how courts should function.

A feminist icon offers some advice her allies will not want to hear.

Continuing a discuss from below.

The Democratic victory in Virginia’s legislative elections has revived hopes for advocates of the Equal Rights Amendment, Even if Virginia does become the 38th state to ratify the measure, though, the actual status of the Amendment is exceedingly unclear.

Late last week, a Federal Judge in California placed on hold a state law requiring candidates to provide copies of their tax returns.

A defense of a modest philosophy of judicial interpretation.

A Federal Court has ruled once again in favor of a transgender student in Virginia who was prevented from using the bathroom conforming to their gender identity.

Just over nine years after retiring from the Supreme Court, former Associate Justice John Paul Stevens has passed away at the age of 99.

A day after appearing to have conceded the issue, the Trump Administration says it is still looking for a way to include a citizenship question on the ballot.

A panel of three Federal Judges has found Ohio’s Congressional District map to be unconstitutional, but a case currently pending before the Supreme Court could mute the impact of this decision.

A Federal Court in Michigan has found several of that state’s Congressional and state legislative districts to have been subject to extreme partisan gerrymandering.

The Supreme Court has agreed to accept a group of cases dealing with the issue of whether or not existing civil rights laws bar discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Oral argument hints that we may have a 5-4 ruling allowing state legislatures to continue stacking the deck.

Justice Clarence Thomas argues that a 55-year-old precedent should be overturned.

The New Hampshire Supreme Court rejected a challenge by three women to their prosecution for going topless on a public beach in the Granite State.

The Supreme Court is taking up the issue of partisan gerrymandering. This time, though, they’re likely to reach the merits of the cases rather than punting like they did last year.

Washington has become the latest state to ban the sale of semiautomatic assault rifles to persons under 21.

Late last week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals became the fifth Federal Court to rule against the Trump Administration’s efforts to repeal DACA.

The Supreme Court is set to consider whether to take a case involving employment discrimination based on gender identity.

President Trump is now claiming he will end birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants via Executive Order. He clearly lacks the authority to do this.

Last week, the Washington State Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional. The latest in a string of victories for opponents of capital punishment.

The State of Texas is arguing in Court that a school district can force a student to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. This is a blatant violation of the First Amendment.

A group of lawsuits filed across the country are seeking to challenge the predominant method for allocation of Electoral College votes. These lawsuits appear to have little merit.

Another Federal Judge has ruled in favor of a transgender student seeking the right to use the gender that conforms to the gender they identify with.

Another Federal Judge has dealt a legal blow to President Trump’s effort to shut down the DACA program.

A Federal Judge in Oregon has rejected an efforts by a parent’s group to block a school district policy that allows transgender students to use the restroom facilities that conform to their gender identity.

The situation isn’t as awful as portrayed by the AP—but it’s still pretty bad.

Donald Trump continues to demonstrate that he has nothing but utter contempt for the Rule of Law. At some point, he will either be called to account for this or our nation’s institutions will suffer as a result.

The Supreme Court avoided ruling on the merits of two partisan gerrymandering cases, but the issue will be back before them sooner rather than later.

A 9-0 ruling side-stepped the broader issue of to what extent purely political considerations may be applied.

Earlier this week, the Illinois legislature ratified the Equal Rights Amendment. What’s unclear is if this act has any meaning at all.

A Federal Judge in Virginia has handed a significant legal victory to a student who sued their school district because they were barred form using the bathroom of the gender they identify with.

The Trump Administration has suffered another setback in its efforts to repeal DACA.

A Federal Judge has struck down the revised version of the ban on transgender members of the military from serving openly, and the ruling has significance that goes well beyond the issue at hand.

Leland Bohannon objects to same-sex marriage on religious grounds. What rights should he have to act on that belief?

A Federal Judge In New York City is allowing a lawsuit against the President’s DACA order to go forward, and he based part of his ruling on the President’s own rhetoric.

The Supreme Court heard oral argument in the second partisan gerrymandering case of the term, and once again they appear to be divided.

A woman who was at the center of one of the most important Supreme Court cases in American history has died at the age of 75.