President Obama has started arming for the possibility of a major Supreme Court nomination battle, pulling a longtime Democratic power player into the White House to help run the confirmation process, senior administration officials told CNN. Stephanie Cutter is leaving the Treasury Department, where she has served as one of Secretary Timothy Geithner’s most senior advisers during the financial crisis, to be the point person for mobilizing public support for Obama’s pick to replace retiring Justice David Souter, three senior administration officials said. Administration officials say Obama is likely to name Souter’s replacement in late May or early June, before the president leaves for Egypt to deliver a speech to the Muslim world.
Tag Archives: supreme-court
How human genes become patented
Here’s a little-known fact: Under current law, it’s possible to hold a patent on a piece of human DNA, otherwise known as a gene. Companies that have acquired patents for genes have specific rights to their use, which may include diagnostic tests based on those genes, as well as future mutations that are discovered
U.S. sends Gitmo detainee to France for release
U.S. officials at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have released a well-known Algerian detainee and flown him to France, where he will be allowed to join family members. French officials said they agreed to accept Lakhdar Boumediene, who is not a French citizen, because he has relatives in the country.
Exonerated death row inmate: ‘Took ’em long enough’
Former death row inmate Paul House woke to laughter and cries of joy from his mother on Tuesday, the day he learned he was a free man. “You’ve been exonerated,” his mother, Joyce House, told him, shaking him awake
Former Enron CEO files high court appeal
Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling has asked the Supreme Court to overturn his 2006 conviction for insider trading, his attorney told CNN.
Demjanjuk deported to Germany
Nazi war crimes suspect John Demjanjuk was deported to Germany on Monday evening after he was removed from his Cleveland, Ohio-area home in the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers earlier in the day. An ambulance transported him to an airstrip at the Cleveland airport
High court denies deportation stay for accused Nazi guard
The Supreme Court on Thursday denied a stay of deportation for alleged Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk, who faces a war crimes prosecution in Germany. Justice John Paul Stevens without comment refused to intervene in the planned transfer from the United States.
Durbin to give up key chairmanship in favor of Specter
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, is giving up his chairmanship of the Crime and Drugs Subcommittee and giving it to Sen
Germany refuses to halt Demjanjuk transfer
A German court Wednesday rejected an effort by suspected Nazi war criminal John Demjanjuk to block his expected transfer from the United States to Germany. The ruling came as Demjanjuk’s lawyers formally asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the deportation.
CNN poll: Generations disagree on same-sex marriage
A new national poll suggests a majority of Americans oppose legalizing same-sex marriages, but the survey indicates a vast generational divide on the issue. Fifty-four percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Monday say marriages between gay or lesbian couples should not be recognized as valid, with 44 percent suggesting they should be considered legal.