Yesterday’s oral argument in Beckles v. United States found the justices wrestling with retroactivity and vagueness in the context of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. The petitioner, Travis Beckles, ...

A friend says “We’ll talk later,” or “I’ll call you soon.” Someone you’re supposed to meet is going to be late: “I’m on my way.” As unsatisfying as such statements can be, for some reason they work.

First we had a boom, and, like every kind of boom, it produced gas. It put extra cash in people's pockets, but pumped in more air into their head. The result was vagueness - folks followed new, ...