Commentary

Around the country, state and local bar associations, access to justice commissions, and local advocacy groups are working to expand the right to counsel in their jurisdictions.

As majestic and spacious as it is vague, President Obama's draft executive order directing the shuttering of the prison colony at Guantánamo is at once transformative and evasive.

Barack Obama moved forward with his plans for Guantánamo Bay, halting the military tribunals and drafting an executive order to close the base. These bold and striking moves may overshadow the other surprise of the week: that George Bush, in his last hours in the Oval Office, didn't pardon his cronies.

New York's huge budget deficit—$15.4 billion in the next 15 months—will force difficult choices in terms of government services and tax policies for years to come. To engage intelligently in that debate, New Yorkers need far more information than we now receive from Albany.