Search results for

The Democratic presidential field started out as the most diverse ever, and the largest in at least 40 years. It's since winnowed down to one.

The White House has nominated Virginia Seitz to lead the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, after another nominee stepped aside. If she is confirmed, Seitz will run a unit that became famous for approving waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods in the Bush years.

The White House has renominated 42 judge candidates, hoping they will be confirmed this time around after getting stuck in the Senate last year. Experts say the situation is dire: About 10 percent of seats on the federal bench are now vacant, and judges themselves are starting to sound the alarm.

Twelve days after the shooting rampage in Tucson, Ariz., the first charges have been filed against Jared Loughner. Experts say his strongest argument, an insanity defense, could be difficult to use at the federal level — and even tougher in a state court.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is fighting extradition to Sweden to face sexual assault allegations, and that's just the start of an international legal odyssey. Experts say that his extradition is likely, and American prosecutors are on his case, too.

Assistant Attorney General Tony West says the law had become “one of our most successful civil enforcement tools,” allowing the Justice Department to recover billions that would have otherwise been lost in the system.

The men face mandatory life terms at a sentencing hearing set for March 14 in Norfolk.

The Senate is poised to approve a measure that would bar prosecutions of Guantanamo detainees inside the U.S. and impose new restrictions on sending terrorism suspects overseas. Attorney General Eric Holder says the bill represents "risky" and unprecedented meddling into the business of the executive branch.

B. Todd Jones, the top federal prosecutor in Minnesota, has been tapped as acting director of the agency, which is under pressure from Congress after a botched gun-trafficking operation known as "Fast and Furious." A colleague says of Jones, "When the going gets tough, he can be one of the toughest guys in the room."

The man who shot President Reagan in 1981 has gradually been winning more liberties after being confined to a mental institution for decades. On Wednesday, a judge will begin to consider whether he deserves more privileges that could pave the way for him to live in the community.