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Justice

Trump defies California senators with 9th Circuit judge nominations

The White House is moving to fill California’s three vacancies on the influential 9th Circuit Court of Appeals over the strenuous objections of the state’s two Democratic senators.

Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Julie Jones visits with Wakulla Correctional Institution inmates, March 8, 2016, during a visit to the Betterment Dorm at the Crawfordville facility.

Beyond the Bubble

The GOP rallied around prison reforms, but will it embrace an effort to let felons vote in Florida?

On this week’s episode of Beyond the Bubble, Miami attorney Marlon Hill says Florida Republicans are wary of a ballot initiative that could drastically reshape the electorate in a presidential battleground. Also on this episode, Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Bud Kennedy says Texas voters, who typically check out after the primaries, are gearing up for an unusually competitive fall election.

Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, speaks during a news conference on immigration Jan. 10, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Justice

‘In the eye of a hurricane’: Third judge could reduce Idaho’s long delays before trial

Idaho is in between “judicial emergencies,” as its two federal district court judges cannot handle all of the state’s civil cases. A bill adding a third judgeship could help, but wouldn’t take effect until 2021.

Supreme Court

Brett Kavanaugh sworn in as Supreme Court justice

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was sworn in again, for the cameras, this time - October 8, 2018 at a White House ceremony. President Donald Trump in remarks at the ceremony said Kavanaugh had been found "innocent" in the process.

Midterms

Post-Kavanaugh, both parties spoiling for a fight over educated women’s vote

The prolonged fight over Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court has energized Republican voters angry at the newly minted justice’s perceived mistreatment, but Democrats are hoping to pick off college-educated women.

Supreme Court

Kavanaugh drama vaults McConnell to status of GOP icon — and Democratic villain

Senate confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh is a big, partisan win for Mitch McConnell, one that seals his legacy as a Republican icon. But it also gives Democrats an important new enemy just a month before the midterm elections.

Supreme Court

Kavanaugh protesters yell at Sen. Collins for voting ‘yes’ on procedural vote

Sen. Susan Collins, from Maine, told protesters outside her office she would vote “yes” in a procedural vote to move Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination for Supreme Court Justice forward on October 5. They responded by yelling “no.”

Two minutes of tension: Kamala Harris questions Kavanaugh on Mueller conversation

Supreme Court

Potential 2020 contender Kamala Harris uses Kavanaugh to help at-risk Democrats

Sen. Kamala Harris has been building Democratic allies using the contentious confirmation process for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, in yet another sign she’s getting ready for a presidential run in 2020.

Supreme Court

Protesters bring beer to Kavanaugh protest at Senate Leader’s house

Protesters marched to Senator Mitch McConnell's Washington, D.C. home on October 5, 2018, waving beer cans and chanting “chug, chug, chug,” before the vote on Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination.

Protesters gather in DC to rally against Kavanaugh

Supreme Court

‘I was screaming at the TV’: Anti-Kavanaugh activists frustrated with Feinstein

Sen. Dianne Feinstein has railed against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh for months, but in her own measured way. That’s not good enough for frustrated activists.

Supreme Court

Senator Orrin Hatch tells Kavanaugh protesters to ‘grow up’

Utah Senator Orrin Hatch waved away protesters opposed to the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court Justice and told them to “grow up” on Thursday, October 4. The exchange was captured on video by the campaign group #VOTEPROCHOICE.

Supreme Court

Lindsey Graham won’t read the FBI report on Brett Kavanaugh, but he’s ready to vote

Sen. Lindsey Graham won’t read the FBI report on Brett Kavanaugh, but he’s still ready to confirm the Supreme Court justice nominee who has been battling allegations of sexual misconduct.

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh opening: ‘This is a circus’

Midterms

Republican enthusiasm surges amid Supreme Court battle

Republicans are getting outraised, and Donald Trump is dividing America. But five weeks from Election Day, Republicans are seeing tangible evidence of a spike in GOP enthusiasm that has eluded them.

McConnell blames Democrats for media frenzy surrounding Dr. Ford’s testimony

Supreme Court

GOP calls for investigation of Feinstein over Ford letter. But there’s a big problem.

Republicans have repeatedly called for investigations into who leaked Christine Blasey Ford’s letter that accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, focusing particularly on Sen. Dianne Feinstein. But there’s a problem with that.

Supreme Court

Sexual assault survivors confront Sen. Jeff Flake after he says he will support Kavanaugh

Arizona senator Jeff Flake was confronted by sexual assault survivors in an elevator in the Capitol after he announced he would support Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination.

The path between the court and holding cells at Camp Justice on the U.S. Navy base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in a military-approved June 19, 2014 photo.

Guantanamo

Could secret 9/11 hearings near Pentagon clarify role of U.S. Constitution at Guantánamo?

Hearings in the 9/11 death-penalty trial may be held in the Washington, D.C, area for the first time since the case began, a move some lawyers say would bolster the argument that alleged terrorists are entitled to greater Constitutional protections at Guantánamo trials.

Justice

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