Billions of Bucks to Flow From Small Sum in South: Ann Woolner Picture Hurricane Katrina without the broken levees, with minor flooding that quickly drained, with no folks chopping through the attics of New Orleans in desperate hope of rooftop rescue.

New York Court Is Best Place for Worst Terrorists: Ann Woolner A criminal trial in civilian court for admitted Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is bound to be messy, expensive and fraught with pitfalls.

Pelosi Caves to the Right to Get Health-Care Bill: Ann Woolner Single-focus, litmus-test social conservatives took a hit last week after they chased a moderate Republican out of a special U.S. House election in upstate New York and backed a right-wing independent instead. Their guy lost, handing a Democrat a district that had gone Republican for more than a century.

Bear Stearns Case Shows E-mail Isn’t Everything: Ann Woolner Plenty of folks would like to jail anyone and everyone on Wall Street whose reckless conduct and lies to investors helped sink the economy and cost them their jobs, their homes and their retirement savings.

Madoff Makes Latest Scammers Look Like Amateurs: Ann Woolner Thomas Petters had no idea a device on his assistant’s key ring was recording him when he said not to worry about the “crime” they were committing.

Zip Your Lip, Stay Dressed When Feds Eavesdrop: Ann Woolner A surprising number of otherwise smart people find themselves remarking on the phone that they hope the line isn’t tapped.

Skilling, Black Say Ditch ‘Honest Services’ Law: Ann Woolner College coaches who cheat at recruiting, congressmen on the take, executives who lie to stockholders. There is a crime for that, for all of that.

Non-Christians Find Cross Hard to Bear: Ann Woolner (Update1) U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, that towering intellect of the conservative legal movement, sounded appallingly ignorant last week.

O’Connor Leaves Court Then Gripes About the Result: Ann Woolner On first read, remarks from Sandra Day O’Connor last week look like gross understatement.

Judge’s Sex With Prosecutor Gets a Pass in Texas: Ann Woolner If you find yourself in a court of law with your money or your freedom at stake, you wouldn’t much like it if the judge was sleeping with your opponent’s lawyer.