U.S. Supreme Court

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Supreme court

Maine senators playing major role in Sotomayor confirmation
Next month, Congress will begin confirmation hearings to decide the fate of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, the 55-year-old Bronx native whom President Barack Obama nominated last month to fill retiring Justice David Souter's spot on the nine-member bench.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | June 17, 2009

Robojudge

Stephen Breyer may be the right man at the wrong time
Judge Stephen Breyer, Bill Clinton's latest pick for the Supreme Court, has attracted support so broad that it spans ideological and political differences.
By HARVEY SILVERGLATE | June 11, 2009

Judging the judge

Facing the facts of the Sotomayor nomination
Women may not yet have full equality, but Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the US Supreme Court proves we can compete with the big guys now. It also means that women accepting patronage (and every political appointment is patronage) have an equal shot at getting pounded in the process.
By Mary Ann Sorrentino | June 03, 2009

On Sotomayor

A noble pick that highlights a political flash point. Plus, California's shame.
There is a pleasing symmetry to President Obama's nomination of federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court.
By EDITORIAL | May 27, 2009

Eyes on the prize

Hold on, Linc Chafee! Dems Frank Caprio, Patrick Lynch, and Elizabeth Roberts would also like to be governor in 2010
We interrupt the Lincoln Chafee buzz fest to bring you this little nugget of news: there are a few Democrats who'd like to be governor, too.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | April 22, 2009

Thoughts on the 36th anniversary of Roe V. Wade

Woman rights
To commemorate that anniversary, the Maine Choice Coalition, along with the Maine Civil Liberties Union, the League of Young Voters, and the Portland Phoenix, are teaming up to screen the film I Had An Abortion at SPACE Gallery on Wednesday, January 28.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | January 21, 2009

Letters to the Portland editor: December 19, 2008

By | December 17, 2008

Night of the living dead

What if the election doesn’t end on Election Day?
It’s almost over. This is welcome news.
By ADAM REILLY | November 03, 2008

The gulf of Maine

Senator Collins votes the Bush line 77 percent of the time; her challenger, Representative Allen, weighs in at 18 percent. Will these numbers decide November’s election?
With a massively unpopular Republican president leaving office, this year’s Senate election is a contest based on a candidate’s alignment with Bush.
By JEFF INGLIS | October 09, 2008

No rules

Politics and other mistakes
The state of Maine doesn’t give away money. Except for the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Economic Development, and the state treasurer.
By AL DIAMON | September 25, 2008

McCain’s crooked talk on torture

Critics, including a local former army interrogator, say he’s trying to play both sides of the issue
It might surprise some that McCain’s record in opposing torture and the Bush administration’s terror-war approach is more complicated than his comments suggest.
By IAN DONNIS | September 18, 2008

Palin: The plain truth

Don’t be fooled by the Tina Fey styling, McCain’s vice-presidential pick is a menace
In selecting Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential candidate, Republican nominee John McCain pulled a Clarence Thomas.
By EDITORIAL | September 03, 2008

Herald or harbinger?

Press releases
Those of us fascinated by the rapidly deflating balloon that is the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram have had a lot to chew over from a lot of sources lately.
By JEFF INGLIS | July 02, 2008

Ricochet ruling

Supreme Court makes Mass gun laws target for debate
Good news, Bostonians: you can own guns! The bad news: so can your weird neighbor.
By KIM LIAO | July 02, 2008

Naked in the public square

Freedom Watch
In the finest Puritan tradition, Middlesex District Attorney Gerald Leone is crusading to save Harvard Square from the shock and awe of the nude human form.
By HARVEY SILVERGLATE AND JAMES TIERNEY | June 25, 2008

The 11th Annual Muzzle Awards

Silencing free speech
Freedom of expression may be guaranteed by the Constitution. But it’s an idea we have to fight for every day.
By DAN KENNEDY | July 05, 2008

Willful imprisonment

Letters to the Boston editor, June 20, 2008
Letters to the Boston editor, June 20, 2008
By BOSTON PHOENIX LETTERS | June 18, 2008

Letters to the Portland editor, June 20, 2008

Getting Michaud's record straight
We would like to thank and congratulate Jeff Inglis for his vivid and thoughtful account of his night in the replica of a cell from Guantánamo that was placed in Portland’s Monument Square.
By LETTERS TO THE PORTLAND EDITOR | June 18, 2008

A night in Guantánamo

Staying in a replica cell, with no waterboarding included
I’d volunteered to spend the night in the replica cell (which is modeled on the ones at Gitmo) because we’ve all heard stories about unlivable conditions at Gitmo but can’t come close to imagining what it must be like.
By JEFF INGLIS | June 18, 2008

Beyond the spin

Why Clinton's commanding West Virginia win is more show than substance
The day after Barack Obama inched ahead of challenger Hillary Clinton in the superdelegate count, the indefatigable Clinton won the West Virginia primary.
By PETER KADZIS | May 14, 2008

Tell it to the judge(s)

Bangor Six activists rally; pot boosters to gather in Monument Square
Bangor Six supporters held a rally on Tuesday outside the Penobscot County Courthouse
By DEIRDRE FULTON | June 24, 2008

Study finds the ACI remains a debtors’ prison

Credit check
Every day, an average of 18 people are incarcerated at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) due to their inability to pay court fines.
By ARIEL WERNER | April 23, 2008

Crossword: ''Wiig party''

Cast off, cast on
Cast off, cast on
By MATT JONES | March 12, 2008

Newspapers censor Bono’s ‘fucking’ gaffe

The FCC’s ‘broadcast indecency’ rules: Still, well, bullshit
Why does our ostensibly “free” press insist on acting like prudes or cowards when reporting stories for which it’s vital that readers learn someone said “fuck” rather than an undefined “expletive”?
By HARVEY SILVERGLATE | March 12, 2008

The morning after

Hillary is rejuvenated, but perils lie ahead
Democrats and Independents are voting in record numbers.
By EDITORIAL | March 05, 2008

Download this

Two Maine Law students take on RIAA big guns
Two third-year law students working at the school’s Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic are taking on the RIAA on behalf of two university students.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | January 09, 2008

Memory Lane time for Leo’s

Old-line Providence hipsters to regroup over hard stuff
There is certain to be a run on Botox injections, Grecian Formula, and William Shatner rubber corsets.
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | November 19, 2007

Free culture: what it is, why it matters

Copyright reform in the digital age
“Copyright law has successfully stopped artists in the past from releasing sample-based works, but I don't think anything could stop me from making it," says Gregg Gillis, a/k/a Girl Talk.
By JOE BERNARDI | November 19, 2007

An unprecedented crime

Mass torture in America. And how to stop it
I have a true ghost story to tell: the story of 35,000 ghosts in America, the largely invisible inmates of our solitary-confinement “supermax” prisons.
By LANCE TAPLEY | November 14, 2007

Alternative Politics

Curry carries the VP banner for the Greens
The Green Party’s 2008 vice presidential candidate is an articulate juggernaut of personality: Sedinam Kinamo Christin Moyowasifza-Curry.
By IAN DONNIS | November 08, 2007

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