Filed under: Supreme Court

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer!

Justice Stephen Breyer on what happens

behind the Supreme Court’s closed doors.

It’s a rare look inside!

And, why he thinks the court was wrong

in the landmark Bush v. Gore decision!

DO YOU THINK CAMERAS SHOULD BE ALLOWED INSIDE THE SUPREME COURT?

Weigh in below!

Filed under: Larry King Live • Supreme Court

This past Tuesday's primaries took a backseat to the news of a plane crash in Alaska that killed Senator Ted Stevens and four other passengers. Former NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe was also on board, surviving with three others.

Regarding the primaries, a lot of the coverage focused on Connecticut and the race to replace retiring Senator Chris Dodd. Former World Wrestling Entertainment executive Linda McMahon won Connecticut's GOP Senate primary, setting up a general election battle against the state's attorney general.

A few political stories did get a little less news coverage, though, including these:

** Levi Johnston, the father of former AK Governor Sarah Palin's grandchild, is running for her old post of Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska.  Not as a call to civic duty, rather as a reality show called "Loving Levi: The Road to the Mayor's Office."

** Vice President Joe Biden's Air Force 2 plane was involved in a minor accident when the plane's engines caused a small private plane to topple over. (NYDailyNews)

** If a Supreme Court Justice trips and is not hurt, is that news?  Apparently so… (WPRI-TV)

**The reigning Super Bowl Champs, the New Orleans Saints, celebrated their championship (6 months later) at the White House.  The White House press corps was treated to some BBQ shrimp compliments of one of the players.

Posted by: LKL Producer Hunter Waters
Filed under: Levi Johnston • Politics is King • Sarah Palin • Supreme Court • Vice President Biden

Filed under: Elena Kagan • Larry King Live • Supreme Court

Filed under: Larry King Live • Supreme Court

Day one of Elena Kagan’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings. 

Republicans questioned her impartiality and her judicial experience, while Democrats sang her praises.  She’s expected to be confirmed, but how nasty will it get before she does?

Also, the Supreme Court rules that Chicago's 28-year-old ban on handgun ownerships is unconstitutional.  What will the repercussions be?

Our political panel will be picking apart all the top news of the day...what do you want to talk about?

Plus…three weeks after 7-year old Kyron Horman went missing, police still do not know where the boy is.  Does his step-mom know something that could help find him?  It’s a story that has the entire country wondering what happened to Kyron…

And we want to hear from you…

Does it make any difference that Supreme Court nominee,Elena Kagan, has never been a judge?

Sound off below!

Filed under: Larry King Live • Supreme Court

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a story we're keeping an eye on today – and we're interested in hearing from you.  Do you think the Supreme Court should grant a last-minute stay of execution?

Washington (CNN) - A Utah death row inmate who would become only the third person to die by firing squad in the United States in 33 years appealed to the Supreme Court on Wednesday, seeking a last-minute stay of execution.

Ronnie Lee Gardner's lawyers filed the first of what are expected to be several appeals to the justices. He is scheduled to be put to death early Friday for the shooting death of attorney Michael Burdell during a botched escape attempt from custody in 1985 at a Salt Lake City, Utah, courthouse.

Among the claims the 49-year-old prisoner raises in his appeals is that he has been a death row inmate too long.

"He asserts that executing him now, after nearly 25 years on death row in Utah, so lacks retributive or deterrent value that it violates the Eighth Amendment," Andrew Parnes, Gardner's lawyer, told the high court. He did not return phone calls from CNN seeking comment.

Posted by: LKL Producer Hunter Waters
Filed under: Justice • Supreme Court

President Obama nominates Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court!

Who is Kagan – and where does she stand on the issues?  What her nomination means for Right to Life groups and conservatives? Anita Hill, James Carville, Bay Buchanan and others weigh in!
PLUS

Remembering legendary singer and racial pioneer Lena Horne. Dionne Wawick on her longtime friend and mentor.

AND

Betty White’s hot performance on ‘Saturday Night Live’!  See why the actress is a ratings winner.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF PRESIDENT OBAMA’S CHOICE OF ELENA KAGAN FOR THE SUPREME COURT?

Filed under: Betty White • Entertainment • Supreme Court

(CNN) - President Obama named Solicitor General Elena Kagan on Monday as his nominee to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court.

Kagan, 50, a New York native, has been widely reported to be the front-runner for the nomination. She was a finalist for the high court vacancy last year when Justice Sonia Sotomayor was selected to replace the retiring David Souter.

If confirmed, Kagan would be the third woman on the nine-justice bench and the fourth in the history of the court. Her confirmation also would mean that the Supreme Court would have no Protestant justices for the first time in its history. Kagan, who is Jewish, would join six Catholic and two Jewish justices; Stevens is Protestant.

Kagan received her law degree from Harvard University, where she later served as dean of the law school. She previously served in the Clinton administration as associate White House counsel.

Obama decided on Kagan as his nominee on Sunday and called her around 8 p.m., a source close to the process said.

He did not have to look far when considering Kagan. As solicitor general, she is the administration's top lawyer before the Supreme Court and has argued several high-profile cases before the justices since taking the job in spring 2009.

(READ MORE)

Filed under: CNN • Supreme Court

In national politics this week, President Obama left D.C. for "Main Street," and Goldman Sachs execs wished the could have left D.C. for - well, anywhere really.

Meanwhile, illegal immigration took center stage.  Arizona passed a new law that will end up in the courts faster than you can swim across the Rio Grande.

And speaking of water...now all eyes are on the Gulf Coast to see how bad the oil spill gets.  Seriously, how hard is it to put a bottle cap back on.

However, as we do every week here on the LKL blog, we want to share some political stories you may have missed:

1. In her new book, Laura Bush suggests that she, her husband, "and several members of their staff may have been poisoned during a visit to Germany," when "they all became mysteriously sick" (New York Times).

2. Chelsea Clinton is asking her father, President Bill Clinton, to lose FIFTEEN POUNDS before her summer nuptials.  That means NO McDonalds. (Politico)

3. So, a Supreme Court Justice walks into a bathroom and sees a U.S. Senator and the senator says.... (The Hill)

4. A-list celebrities are descending upon our nation's capital this weekend to attend what is dubbed as the "Nerd Prom," the annual White House Correspondent's Dinner.  Our fearless host, Larry, will be there – as for the rest, it's easier for you to just click HERE to see who else will be attending the event. (Politico)

5. "I've been sleeping with a teacher for a long time" - Vice President Joe Biden (HuffingtonPost)

Posted by: LKL Producer Eleanor McManus, LKL Producer Hunter Waters
Filed under: Bill Clinton • Joe Biden • Laura Bush • Politics is King • Supreme Court