The U.S. Supreme Court in 2006 modified the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to insure the ability to gain electronic discovery of messages.

FORBES: All Phone Calls With Brokers In The UK Now Recorded; Coming Soon To Europe and America

When civil-rights groups fretted about the ability of minority voters to get to the local Department of Motor Vehicles to pick up a free state-issued ID card, Governor Haley created an 800 number to offer free rides to anyone who couldn't afford the transportation.

WSJ: Review & Outlook: Holder's Racial Politics

"Danny Kennedy's response to recent legal cases displays a serious weakness as a minister and will have longer term implications both for ministerial authority and the ability to investigate allegations made by civil servants and others, " Mr Murphy said.

BBC: DRD apology for sacked NIW director Declan Gormley

It's the Executive Branch's ability to keep sensitive information out of civil litigation in the courts.

NPR: Invoking the State Secrets Privilege

However, amid the deep spending cuts, including slashing pension benefits and civil servant pay, euro-zone countries are slowing and investors have been concerned about the ability of nations such as Spain and Italy to finance their budget deficits in the bond markets.

WSJ: Sarkozy Fights for Survival

One reason for the investment shortfall may be that government lacks the ability to manage big investment projects, following sharp cutbacks in the senior ranks of the civil service in the mid-1990s.

ECONOMIST: Public investment

Most commuters showed a remarkable ability to accommodate the long distances to their work place, says Patricia Mokhtarian, professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Davis.

BBC: America's commutes start earlier and last longer

The impending cuts would cause FBI furloughs equivalent in size to closing the bureau's offices in Chicago, Miami and Baltimore, slash the number of civil and criminal cases filed by federal prosecutors and delay the full use of four new prisons while taxing the ability to keep inmates and guards safe.

NPR: AG, FBI Warn Against Across-The-Board Spending Cut