Controversies
Court Approves Washington State System of Limiting November Ballot Access to Two Candidates
Washington State’s open-primary law has withstood a key legal challenge in federal court, giving hope to reformers opposed to the two-party system that has dominated elections.
Approved by voters in 2004, it immediately came under legal attack... read more
Florida Considers Bills to Privatize Government Functions…Secretly
Determined to turn over nearly 30 prisons to private operators, the Florida legislature is considering two bills to allow the government to privatize not only penitentiaries but other public operations as well…and not inform the public until after... read more
Pentagon Testers Conclude Navy Minesweeper Can’t Withstand Mines
Touted since the 1990s as the next generation of advanced naval vessel, the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) was designed to function as a minesweeper, among other duties. But after extensive testing it was found the LCS would have a difficult time loca... read more
Many Crimes Unsolved because of False Confessions
When police pressure innocent people into confessing to crimes they did not commit, it means those who are guilty avoid punishment, sometimes for years or even decades.
The nonprofit Innocence Project found that of 80 convicted murderers who w... read more
Military Defense Attorneys Clash with Guantánamo Commander about Reading Mail
Lawyers representing Guantánamo detainees are continuing to object to the base commander's new policy requiring all mail to prisoners, including confidential legal correspondence, be read by military contractors.
Rear Admiral David B. Woods, w... read more
Why Does the FBI Treat Videotaping Corporate Animal Abuse as Terrorism?
Activists who expose animal abuses on factory farms face the risk of being prosecuted as domestic terrorists.
Using the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA), which was signed into law by President George W. Bush in November 2006, the Federal... read more
Georgia Takes Top Two Spots for Worst Polluting Power Stations
Georgia leads the nation for dirty power plants, which are the primary source for greenhouse gases like CO2, methane and nitrous oxide. To put things into perspective, for cars to produce as much planet-baking CO2 as U.S. coal-fired power plants d... read more
Failed Financial Regulator Lukken Rewarded with Major Lobbying Job
Having led the government watchdog that behaved more like a lap pup around industry, Walter Lukken is now set with a lucrative lobbying job—for the same businesses he was once supposed to regulate.
Lukken was the acting head of the Commodity ... read more
Georgia May Lose Federal Funding over Excessive Jailing of Non-Criminal Juveniles
The state of Georgia has for years thrown into jail juveniles who have committed no crime. But to continue doing so could now cost the state millions of dollars.
Those spending time in jail are what is known as “status offenders”—runaways, tru... read more
Jewish Sheriff’s Deputy Wins Right to Trial in Mel Gibson Rant Case
The Los Angeles County deputy sheriff who arrested Mel Gibson six years ago, and endured an anti-Semitic rant from the actor, has won the right to sue his superiors over the way he was treated after the highly-publicized incident.
Officer Jame... read more
North Carolina Agrees to Compensate Sterilized Welfare Recipients
Exposed for having sterilized thousands of welfare recipients without their consent, the state of North Carolina is considering compensation for its victims.
The sterilizations occurred as part of a 20th century eugenics program that lasted fr... read more
FDA Panel Judging Bayer Contraceptive Risk Had Ties to Bayer
When a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel of experts voted 15-11 last month to allow the continued marketing of potentially harmful birth-control pills by Bayer, it did not reveal that several members were financially tied to the drug manufa... read more
Bureau of Land Management Refuses Public Photographing of Wild Horse Roundups
Photographer Laura Leigh has taken her legal battle to gain access to wild horse roundups by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Leigh is a credentialed member of the media representing Horse Back Magazine.
... read more
Chesapeake Energy Accused of Scamming Land Owners to Grab Oil and Gas Leases
Using multiple shell companies to hide its identity, the nation’s second largest gas driller conned hundreds of Michigan farmers into signing gas and oil leases and then avoided paying them any royalties.
Chesapeake Energy Corp. pulled off its... read more
Group Sues U.S. Government to Force Release of Only Known Remaining Torture Video
Lawyers from the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) have sued the U.S. government to force the release of the only known surviving videotape documenting the use of torture against terrorism suspects.
CCR seeks the recording of detainee Moh... read more
Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to FCC’s Right to Regulate “Indecency” on TV
A conservative parents’ organization and the Obama administration find themselves on the same side in a court case brought by the major television networks.
Fox and other networks have sued the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to challe... read more