Topic: Bill of Rights
All Content
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Lawyers who defend terror suspects have thankless task. Why do they do it?
The defense team for Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev includes several lawyers experienced in terrorism cases. It takes a certain kind of lawyer, it seems, to represent accused terrorists.
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Robert Reich National income tax: a century of progressive taxes. More ahead?
National income tax was a key victory for progressives after Gilded Age when money ruled. The 16th Amendment, authorizing a national income tax, was the first new amendment in 40 years.
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Readers Write: Balancing gun rights with prevention; America's culture of fear sells; Gun control and the Bill of Rights
Letters to the Editor for the Jan. 28 weekly print issue: There is no easy answer to the question about how to protect America's Second Amendment rights but also prevent gun violence. Fear sells, and the media and lobbyists on both sides have capitalized on our latest fear of gun violence. Legislating gun control would set a dangerous precedent for altering the Bill of Rights.
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Vox News Piers Morgan vs. Alex Jones on gun control: Who won wild debate? (+video)
'Piers Morgan Tonight' featured ultraconservative radio talk host Alex Jones, who is a key figure behind a petition to deport Mr. Morgan because of the CNN host's pro-gun control stance.
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Concealed weapons: Illinois's last-in-the-nation ban must go, US court rules
At least some Illinois legislators say the ruling will help calm the violence in Chicago, where the nation's strictest gun controls have failed to quell growing numbers of gang shootings this year.
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Born to rule? Royal pregnancy highlights succession issues
The first child of Prince William and his wife, Kate, will be born a king or a queen in waiting, according to new succession rules designed to give royal daughters the same rights as sons.
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Brown University students crack centuries-old code used by Roger Williams
Students at Brown University deciphered marginal notes made in code by Roger Williams, religious dissident and founder of Rhode Island. Scholars at Brown had been studying the texts for years, but it was a group of undergraduates who cracked the code.
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Opinion: A 35 percent tax rate is a number, not a principle
Republicans believe that the upper-income tax rate should not be raised. It's a line in the sand based on principle. True, low taxes is a principle. But the actual rate is relative, and must be flexible to avoid the 'fiscal cliff.'
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Coast Guard concludes HMS Bounty captain went down with ship
Calling off efforts to find Capt. Robin Walbridge, US Coast Guard proceeds with its investigation into why the replica of the HMS Bounty sank Monday off the North Carolina coast in high seas of hurricane Sandy.
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America should not apologize for values that clash with hostile Islam
In an interview, 'Infidel' author Ayaan Hirsi Ali says violent protests against an anti-Islam video stem from a religion and culture with no room for criticism. 'Westerners should quit the moral relativist posturing and get down to the hard work of defending their values,' she says.
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Global News Blog Libya, Egypt riots: Can anti-Islam speech be shut down?
An attack on the US consulate in Libya has drawn widespread attention to an anti-Islam film that enraged rioters. But can – and should – the circulation of this type of material be stopped?
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The Monitor's View: The Internet needs its own ‘declaration of independence’
A new ‘Declaration of Internet Freedom’ should spark a much-needed discussion about online rights and privacy.
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Town swears off swearing, passes $20 profanity fine
Swearing in public now carries a $20 fine in Middleborough, Mass., after residents voted in favor of the measure aimed at dissuading rowdy teenagers from ruining the downtown neighborhood with their foul mouths.
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Opinion: Why George Zimmerman should not be 'crucified' for killing Trayvon Martin
Passionate citizens and leaders have no right to declare neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman guilty of murdering Trayvon Martin. Due process in the legal system determines that guilt or innocence. Equating justice with imprisoning Zimmerman or firing officials is premature.
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Rights at Risk
Are Americans in the process of abandoning their rights?
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White House releases 'privacy bill of rights': what it promises online consumers
While falling short of law, the consumer 'privacy bill of rights' would give consumers 'new legal and technical tools to safeguard their privacy,' according to the White House.
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A Slave in the White House
Historian Elizabeth Dowling Taylor tells the unsettling story of a Founding Father and his slave.
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Four ways to relieve overcrowded prisons
Finally, America is beginning to tackle overcrowded prisons, prompted by financially strapped states that can no longer afford them. The road to prison reform, and less crowding, includes revamping 'three strikes' laws, as in California, and limiting pre-trial detention.
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Where did the tea party go? Into the trenches
National polls show tea party support withering among some Americans, but don't count the 'taxed enough already' crowd out just yet. They are crafting a from-the-ground-up strategy for 2012.
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Ai-jen Poo organizes labor with love
She battles for those on the economy's bottom rung – nannies and housekeepers.
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Social justice is not necessarily justice
Social justice is not universal justice, because it requires that rights be given to one person ant the expense of another
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Anti-bullying scorecard: Trial set in Rutgers case; N.J. law takes effect
Hate-crime trial is Feb. 21 for former Rutgers student Dharun Ravi, in cyberspying case involving a gay roommate. Meanwhile, New Jersey schools work to put in place anti-bullying provisions of tough new law.
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China's political system is more flexible than US democracy
Many people believe the Western democracy is superior to a one-party system because the rotation of political power gives government the flexibility to make needed policy changes. But China’s one-party system has proven over time to be remarkably adaptable to changing times.
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The Supreme Court and the 'ministerial exception'
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court hears the case of a Christian schoolteacher fired in a dispute over a disability and church doctrine. The justices should be careful about allowing government to judge a faith's teachings when it is charged with discrimination.
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BART puts social media crackdown in 'uncharted' legal territory
The decision by BART officials to cut cellphone service Thursday – denying train-riding protesters access to social media – raises deep legal questions, analysts say.
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