Results tagged “johnroberts”

Good morning, D.C. If you missed the news breaking yesterday, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts had a seizure on Monday while on vacation in Maine. While the cause of the seizure is unknown, doctors examined the Chief Justice and determined there was no cause for concern and that Roberts has already fully recovered. It's likely Roberts will now be prescribed some form of anti-seizure medication because he had another similar episode 14 years...

A month and a half after former Secretary Lawrence M. Small read the writing on the wall and left the Smithsonian Institution with his tail between his legs and an investigation committee on his back, the Smithsonian board of regents has begun its search for his replacement. The Associated Press reports that the search committee, formed yesterday but not fully yet, will include six board members, including Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and one of Chief...

The District's restrictive gun laws have long been hated by Second Amendment activists everywhere, who have tried pretty much everything, including near-annual congressional legislation, to overturn them. Today might be their day, though -- the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has found that the District's gun restrictions are unconstitutional. In a decision published today, the court wrote that the District's restrictions on gun ownership, which date back to 1976, unconstitutionally infringe upon...

We've been looking forward to the launch of Patrick Gavin and Jeff DuFour's new daily Beltway column, "Yeas and Nays", for a few weeks now, largely so we could finally be sure just what sorts of topics the two would be covering under the somewhat inscrutable decscription of "people, power and politics." C'mon guys, that could be about anything from the current brouhaha at The New Republic to what kind of toilet paper Vice President...

Good morning, Washington -- it's Friday! Rejoice in all that start-of-the-weekend goodness. And note that on this date in 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first earthlings to walk on the moon. In their honor, go check out the Apollo to the Moon exhibit at the Air and Space Museum and see their spacesuits or touch a moon rock. Suitcase Forgotten, Results in Union Station Closure: WTOP notes that last night around 8...

As we detail below, the D.C. Council has taken a step towards making us safer. Well, making us feel safer, at least... Council Passes Anti-Crime Measures: The D.C. Council passed a series of measures aimed at curbing the recent uptick in violent crime, handing D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams a victory while upsetting civil liberties and youth activists, reports the Post. The legislation would move the existing juvenile curfew up to 10 p.m. from midnight, require...

There are few more unpleasant words in the English language than the word "discharge." In two otherwise harmless syllables, it inspires shudders and involuntary wretching. The D.C. Circuit had occasion to investigate the meaning of this word in a decision handed down today about a bank robbery that occurred in the District. First, a word about the D.C. Circuit. This revered court of appeals has developed a reputation for making some of the most...

DCist is throwing a Happy Hour, and you're all invited. This is our chance to prove we're not just Internet dorks, speaking in binary as we hatch nefarious blogger plans in smoke-filled rooms (what will become of the smoke-filled room in smoking ban DC? Will tomorrow's Abramoffs operate out of hookah bars?). It's your chance to put faces to names and drinks to lips, to tell us in person how much we do or do not suck, and to see the interweb's finest stumble around in an effort to find the loo. Will there be lots of vaguely familiar names from the local media? Absolutely. Will you see John Roberts rubbing elbows with Gilbert Arenas? I mean, it's possible. But it's going to be a great party, complete with half-price Coronas and five-dollar Jack drinks, music spun by reputable DJs, and a no-holds barred dance off between Martin and Jonathan Rees.

D.C. being the place that it is, big protests such as those that took place this last weekend are a dime a dozen. Complaints of excessive use of force by police officers are just as recurrent, with protestors often charging that overzealous police officers step in to make arrests too quickly and offer few apologies or admissions of wrongdoing thereafter. This weekend seems to have been different in that regard -- WJLA is reporting that the District's Office of Police Complaints, which sent 11 employees out to monitor the protests, did not observe nor report any aggressive police behavior. While this newfound concern for freedom of expression and assembly stems from the shameful 2002 events at Pershing Park, it is at least reassuring to know that expressing dissent nowadays won't provoke a quick billy-club to the head.

Opinions may vary on the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist, but in terms of local politics, he was a staunch supporter of voting rights for District residents. Thanks to the folks at DC Vote, who today issued a press release honoring Rehnquist, we find that the Chief Justice, while U.S. Assistant Attorney General in 1970, argued the following: The need for an amendment [providing representation for the District] at this late date in our history...

It may be Sunday, but we couldn't have asked for a better weekend -- spare the freak thunderstorm Friday night that left some 32,000 area residents without power. Great weather promotes outdoor activity, like walking, running, and cycling. And in cycling news, though lacking in a specific local angle (spare the French Embassy on Reservoir Road in Northwest), it's worth noting that Lance Armstrong, pictured at right, today ended his highlight-filled career with a record-breaking...

Senate Democrats and liberal activists have quite a task before them -- they are charged with picking through Supreme Court nominee John Roberts' judicial record with a fine-tooth comb, hoping to find something damning enough to derail the nomination and hand President George W. Bush a defeat.

Mollusk Fight on the Hill: Oyster growers are came to the Hill yesterday to oppose listing the Atlantic oyster as an endangered species. While they argue that there are billions of oysters in the territory stretching from New England to Louisiana, Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R-Md.) stated that there should be "trillions." We remember a similar fight over rockfish -- and they've done well.