Protecting free speech of state judicial candidates has not hurt court legitimacy

GibsonA 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision protecting the right of judicial candidates to speak freely about controversial issues opened the door for state judicial election campaigns to become increasingly nasty, bitter and politicized. However, the Court’s decision has not directly damaged the court system’s legitimacy in the eyes of citizens, suggests a new study from Washington University in St. Louis.

Bush power struggle with Congress poses messy constitutional, political issues, expert says

Steven SmithBy claiming far-reaching and unprecedented executive privilege in its power struggles with the U.S. Congress, the Bush White House has roiled the political waters, forcing both Democrats and Republicans to weigh near-term political consequences of their response against a real and tangible threat to the long-term constitutional powers of Congress, suggests a congressional expert from Washington University in St. Louis.

Bridge-building is what’s most important, Keshavarz tells U.N.

Speaking before a recent United Nation’s General Assembly on “Civilizations and the Challenge for Peace: Obstacles and Opportunities,” Washington University’s Fatemeh Keshavarz told global diplomats that academic communities have a special duty to help dispel the cultural misunderstandings that so often fuel clashes between nations.

White House will likely dodge congressional contempt charges, expert suggests

Steven SmithWhile members of the U.S. House and Senate are threatening to hold White House officials in contempt of Congress over the administration’s efforts to withhold testimony in an ongoing investigation of the controversial firings of U.S. attorneys, the dispute is likely to fizzle without much of a showdown, suggests a congressional expert from Washington University in St. Louis.

Homeland security spurs another increase in federal regulatory spending for 2008

WarrenSpurred on by steady increases in staffing and spending within the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. government is budgeting yet another increase in the amount of tax money it spends on federal regulatory activities, according to an annual regulatory spending analysis compiled by the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy at Washington University in St. Louis and the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

I-CARES will work with the McDonnell International Scholars Academy

The newly established International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy and Sustainability (I-CARES) at Washington University in St. Louis will encourage international collaborative research on energy and environmental issues by working closely with a global partnership of leading universities forged recently by the University’s McDonnell International Scholars Academy.
View More Stories