How much is a human life worth?
I’m reminded of that question again, because of this case out of Pasadena, TX (a relatively poor suburb of Houston). Here’s what happened:

One of the great ironies of the Scooter Libby trial was that the same conservatives who have for years fought for high mandatory minimum sentences–and against allowing judicial discretion to reduce those sentences–ended up complaining that the sentence given to Mr. Libby based on those sentencing guidelines was too harsh.  Now we have the second [...]

Michael Vick was recently indicted for a dog-fighting ring operating in a house that he owned. In response PETA and the Humane Society are trying to get his endorsement deals cut. Now, an indictment merely means that a person has been charged with a crime.
One would think with the aftermath of the [...]

President Bush’s notion of executive privilege is completely bogus. This isn’t surprising. The problem, however, is that President Bush will likely be on his way out the door by the time the courts really have a chance to rule on any of these issues. The president only has eighteen months in office, [...]

Six Supreme Court decisions this week. All of them (but one) were decided 5-4. In my mind, the court got about half of them right… the problem is that the ones they got wrong were real doozies. Here are the cases, from best to worst (in my opinion):

I want to talk about genetic testing, but first, allow me to play at political philosophy for a second. First a proposition: it is possible for an action to be both immoral and legal. In fact, an action’s legality should have no bearing on its morality. (Note that the same is not [...]

This is the sort of article that warms the heart and validates the political beliefs of a libertarian such as myself. Since the Dutch legalized euthanasia, the rates of assisted suicide have not increased (as opponents feared) and have actually decreased slightly.
While I admit the skeptic in me wonders how the researchers could possibly [...]

Can somebody please explain to me what the pro-choice folks are all up in arms about this supreme court decision? From what I understand, the supreme court upheld a ban on a particular procedure (partial birth abortion). They didn’t allow a ban on abortion, or make it significantly harder to get one.
Medical procedures [...]

I heard an interesting (but unsubstantiated) claim the other day about a problem facing hospitals. Because hospitals are required by law to admit anybody who comes to the emergency room, regardless of their ability to pay, homeless people are going to the emergency room and complaining of generic pains so as to get admitted [...]

Kudos to U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor! In case you hadn’t heard, earlier today Judge Taylor ordered a halt to the NSA’s warrantless wiretapping program. It’s always nice to see the judiciary upholding the Constitution.
This program has been yet another example of the Bush Administration’s disturbing attempts to increase the power of [...]