‘Gideon v. Wainwright’, Fifty Years Later ‘Gideon v. Wainwright’, Fifty Years Later
In its historic decision, the Supreme Court ruled that poor people have a right to a lawyer. But today, our system of indigent defense is shameful.
Mar 20, 2013 / Editorial / Stephen B. Bright and Sia M. Sanneh
Supreme Court: Uphold the Voting Rights Act! Supreme Court: Uphold the Voting Rights Act!
Section 5 is as necessary today as it was in 1965, when Alabama state troopers beat freedom marchers in Selma.
Mar 6, 2013 / Editorial / Ari Berman
Time for a ‘Right to Vote’ Constitutional Amendment Time for a ‘Right to Vote’ Constitutional Amendment
How many dysfunctional election cycles are we going to endure before we accept the necessity of this reform?
Mar 5, 2013 / Feature / John Nichols
‘America Doesn’t Torture’—It Kills ‘America Doesn’t Torture’—It Kills
Even if we like President Obama, do we want him to be a one-man death panel?
Feb 13, 2013 / Column / Katha Pollitt
Will Obama the Constitutional Lawyer Please Stand Up? Will Obama the Constitutional Lawyer Please Stand Up?
There are many measures the president could take to restore civil liberties—if he wanted to.
Jan 24, 2013 / Feature / David K. Shipler
Will Congress Rein In Illegal Spying? Will Congress Rein In Illegal Spying?
When The New York Times first revealed the NSA was wiretapping Americans without a warrant in 2005, it was a scandal. But the government continues to spy with impunity—and wh...
Dec 19, 2012 / Editorial / Marcy Wheeler
The Barack Obama Story (Updated) The Barack Obama Story (Updated)
How did a community organizer and a constitutional law professor become an extrajudicial, drone-happy president?
Dec 4, 2012 / Tom Engelhardt
Checking Big Brother Checking Big Brother
The Nation, with the ACLU and others, is suing the government over a law that allows unchecked surveillance. Will the Supreme Court even allow us to argue our case on the merits?
Nov 2, 2012 / David Cole
Preparing for a Digital 9/11 Preparing for a Digital 9/11
Fear of a cyber attack is eroding US civil liberties and the constitution.
Oct 22, 2012 / Karen J. Greenberg
A Human Rights Court Gives Torture the Green Light A Human Rights Court Gives Torture the Green Light
In refusing to block the extradition of terror suspects to the US, the European Court for Human Rights has condoned a brutal regimen of long-term solitary confinement.
Sep 26, 2012 / Editorial / Jeanne Theoharis and Saskia Sassen