The Tea Party caucus is holding a seminar on the Constitution Monday with Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Caucus chair Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) said in a statement released last month that Scalia, a conservative, was chosen for the seminar based on his “’originalist’ approach to constitutional interpretation.” Monday’s event…

AT&T argued in the Supreme Court today that it has a personal privacy right that protects internal documents from public disclosure. The FCC has been asked by some of AT&T’s competitors to release case files relating to a 2004 investigation of AT&T for overcharging customers. The request from the competitors…

Today the Supreme Court said that the federal government is free to require background checks of all federal contractors. The checks include asking questions about past drug use and treatment, and asking references and former landlords open-ended questions about the contractor’s honesty and trustworthiness. The background checks were challenged by…

This morning the Supreme Court heard arguments in a testy dispute between defense contractors and the U.S. government. In the late 1980s the government signed a contract with General Dynamics and Boeing to design a stealth aircraft for the Navy, but after several missed deadlines, the government cancelled the contract….

The Supreme Court said today that medical students in residency programs are employees for tax purposes, and they must therefore pay Medicare and Social Security taxes. Doctors in residency have already graduated from medical school, and the residency programs provide 3 to 5 years of hands-on training. According to Chief…

In Justice Elena Kagan’s first opinion for the court, the Supreme Court today ruled that debtors in bankruptcy who own their cars outright may not exempt “ownership costs” when calculating their disposable income. Chapter 13 bankruptcy laws allow debtors with car loan or lease payments to subtract a standard amount…

Elena Kagan was sworn in, and now we have a court that is a bit more to the center. Kagan is no Justice John Paul Stevens, although my hope is that she will grow into a more liberal justice.The hearings were as expected, and so was the vote with the…

The Senate today voted 63–37 to confirm Elena Kagan as the newest Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court, replacing Justice John Paul Stevens, who retired this summer. Five Republicans broke with their colleagues to support Kagan. Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina,…

The Senate began the debate over Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan’s confirmation Tuesday. While Kagan will almost surely be approved by the upper-chamber, she has faced some heated last minute opposition. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) announced last week that he will go against his party by voting against the current…

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted today to approve Elena Kagan’s nomination to the Supreme Court. The approval was widely expected; only Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) broke with his Republican colleagues to vote for Kagan. All the Democrats on the committee voted in favor of Kagan’s nomination. Senator Graham chastised the…