Attorney General-designate Eric Holder called waterboarding a form of illegal torture and promised to restore the credibility of a Justice Department he described as "badly shaken" by "improper political interference." At Senate confirmation hearings, Holder signaled that President-elect Barack Obama will suspend military tribunals used to try suspected war criminals at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The tribunals must be "substantially revamped" to provide defendants with more due process and ensure fair treatment for suspects, he said.

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Kansas City's former U.S. attorney, Bradley Schlozman, took into account political affiliation and ideology when hiring career lawyers as acting head of the agency's Civil Rights Division, an internal investigation reported.

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The U.S. Supreme Court said it will consider overturning a central aspect of the Voting Rights Act, setting up a constitutional showdown over Congress’s power to protect the rights of minorities at the polling place. The court will review the ...

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