Deputy Chief of the Wall Street Journal’s law bureau.
Deputy Chief of the Wall Street Journal’s law bureau.
PROFILE
Ashby Jones
Guest
FROM Ashby Jones
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Is California’s Death Penalty Unconstitutional? Last July a California judge ruled the death penalty unconstitutional in the case of Ernest D Jones. The reasoning behind the judge’s ruling? It’s taking California too long to kill inmates on Death Row. So long that the sentence amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. The last execution in California was carried out nine years ago and there are 746 people on death row. Today, a federal appeals court panel in Pasadena considered the lower court’s decision on Ernest Dwayne Jones. Could we see the end of the death penalty in California?
To the Point
Supreme Court Rules to Uphold Gun Rights in Cities and States On the last day of its current term, the US Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment's right "to keep and bear arms" extends not just to federal jurisdictions, but to all states and municipalities. Ashby Jones is lead writer on the Wall Street Journal's Law Blog .
Which Way, L.A.?
Should We Make a Federal Case Out of Proposition 8? Two lawyers from opposite ends of the political spectrum joined forces today to file suit against Governor Schwarzenegger and other California officials. They claim that Proposition 8 , upheld yesterday by the State Supreme Court, violates both the Due Process Clause and the 14th Amendment of the federal constitution. Ashby Jones writes the Law Blog for the Wall Street Journal.
Recommended
To the Point
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
To the Point
Ex-FBI Director Comey tells his side of the story Today, former FBI Director James Comey came close to calling the President who fired him a liar. The White House denied the claim and called it insulting, but Republican Senators did not challenge Comey’s truthfulness. Many questions remain: did the President try to obstruct a federal investigation? Later, we’ll go behind the “velvet rope” for a look at 5-Star health care for the richest Americans.
To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
To the Point
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.