David Cole

Armed with Arguments

“Today, the NRA is on the defensive, and the gun control movement is stronger. That political fight will more likely determine gun regulation than the Supreme Court.”

A Rush to Execute

In six months, the Trump administration put to death over three times as many people as the federal government had executed in the previous six decades.

Can Liberals Win in a Conservative Court?

Recent history suggests the justices don’t like being too out of step with the country—especially if they feel under scrutiny. So that’s our job: watch them.

A New Assault on Marriage Equality

A case before the Supreme Court tests whether its conservative justices will violate their long-standing constitutional principles in order to expand religious liberty.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 1933–2020

The late justice not only wrote about the connection between sex equality and liberty; she lived it.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 1933–2020

Her career illustrates that one can be radical and incrementalist at the same time; indeed, as she argued, it may be the only way to achieve enduring change.

The Court’s Declarations of Independence

In the end, the Supreme Court’s 2019–2020 term was much less conservative than anyone had expected.

Less Punishment, More Justice

We need to rethink the institutional structures that will determine criminal justice policy for years to come.

Why We Need Postal Democracy

In the coronavirus pandemic, Republicans may have discovered the ultimate voter suppression tactic.

Trump Is Not Exempt

Donald Trump boasted he could shoot somebody in the middle of Fifth Avenue and not lose voters. He now argues that as president he couldn’t even be investigated for doing so.

‘Sex’ at the Supreme Court

At issue is whether lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people have a right to be treated equally in the workplace

Keeping Up Appearances

‘The Chief: The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts’ by Joan Biskupic and ‘The Company They Keep: How Partisan Divisions Came to the Supreme Court’ by Neal Devins and Lawrence Baum

The US Constitution Brought to Life

The Constitution is both a very old document written by dead white men and a living commitment, spanning centuries, to strive together to uphold a set of fundamental values. Critical engagement is what is called for—and that is precisely what Heidi Schreck provides. 

An Indictment in All But Name

The Mueller report portrays a consistent pattern of deception and repeated efforts to impede the investigation.

Have Human Rights Failed?

The Path of Greatest Resistance

We all need to turn away from our smartphones and screens and engage, together, in the work of democracy

Fatal Shore

More Cake?

10 Questions for Brett Kavanaugh

In light of the fact that Trump expressly vowed as a candidate to appoint justices who would overrule Roe v. Wade, it is incumbent upon the Senate to pose probing questions to Kavanaugh—and to require him to provide meaningful answers, not artful dodges.

The Supreme Court Looks Away

This Supreme Court might not let Trump get away with shooting someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue, but it will look away when he targets some 150 million Muslims because of the faith they practice. That is exactly the wrong message to send this president.