Courts

Washington County Attorney Pete Orput dies at age 66
Orput had served as the east metro county's top prosecutor since 2011. He announced in January that he would not seek reelection to a fourth term this year.
Legal ethics experts agree: Justice Thomas must recuse in insurrection cases
Legal ethics experts had previously said while Ginni Thomas is an outspoken conservative activist, her husband is able to act as an independent judge of matters that come before the court.
Takeaways: Civil rights, Trump close out Jackson hearing
The fourth and final day of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings wrapped up with outside experts testifying. The American Bar Association’s standing committee on the federal judiciary has afforded Jackson its highest rating, “well qualified.” Skeptics say Jackson's views on crime and policing are “outside the mainstream.”
It’s not just Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson who is being watched as she makes history as the first Black woman to be considered for the job. 
Jackson pushes back at GOP critics, defends judicial record
Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson will face senators’ questions for the first time as Democrats push to quickly confirm the only Black female justice in the court’s history.
Ketanji Brown Jackson's long judicial record is likely to be scrutinized at hearings
If confirmed, she would be the first Black woman to serve on the nation's highest court, and she would be one of four women on the court, the largest number ever to serve at one time. Watch the first day of confirmation hearings here.