Legal Brief: Stories Behind the Stories

Two separate legal fights are making headlines today in the nation's capital. For the essential background on how these stories developed, here are a couple of links from the U.S.News & World Report archives:

Today: The New York Times led today's edition with news that the Justice Department wants to curtail access that lawyers have to inmates being held at Guantánamo Bay.

Behind the Story: "A Righteous Indignation," by Angie C. Marek, March 20, 2005

"Tom Wilner's is not exactly the résumé of a firebrand, but in the three years since he agreed to represent several Kuwaiti men held at the U.S. Navy base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, that's precisely what he's become."

Today: The Supreme Court threw out three Texas death sentences in a 5-to-4 decision, with Justice Anthony Kennedy as the deciding vote, swinging the verdict toward the liberals on the court.

Behind the Story: "The Supremes' Next Swing Man," by Liz Halloran, Nov. 13, 2005

"And Kennedy, the serious but unpretentious judge from Sacramento, is on the verge of standing alone as the most influential voice--the potential fifth vote--on a deeply divided court."