Can you take your gun to the polling place? This state’s AG is asked to issue an opinion

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt has been asked to issue a legal opinion on whether the state’s concealed carry law allows gun owners to bring their weapon to polling places. The state law allows concealed weapons in most public buildings, but many polling places are in locations such as churches…

Nov 4, 2013 1:18 PM CST

Susan B. Anthony is convicted for casting a ballot

Nov 1, 2013 10:15 AM CDT

ABA’s election programs aim to ensure all Americans can participate in our democracy

Nov 1, 2013 9:00 AM CDT

Federal nominees turn to law firms to play vetting game

Nov 1, 2013 6:30 AM CDT

ABA urges Congress to restore remedies in the Voting Rights Act in wake of Supreme Court ruling

Nov 1, 2013 6:00 AM CDT

Posner: I may have been wrong on voter ID, but the point was about about the dearth of data

Federal appeals judge Richard Posner is surprised by all the hullabaloo over one sentence in his recent book Reflections on Judging. The sentence reads: “I plead guilty to having written the majority opinion (affirmed by the Supreme Court) upholding Indiana’s requirement that prospective voters prove their identity with a photo…

Oct 28, 2013 4:06 PM CDT

Judge Posner has changed his mind on this election issue

Judge Richard Posner of the federal appeals court based in Chicago says he got it wrong when he wrote a 2007 opinion upholding a voter ID law. Posner wrote about his misgivings about the opinion in his new book, Reflections on Judging, and he elaborated in a video interview with…

Oct 17, 2013 10:45 AM CDT

SCOTUS may be ready to strike down aggregate campaign donation limits for individuals

The U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to strike down aggregate limits on direct contributions from individuals to candidates, according to some news outlets that covered oral arguments (PDF) on Tuesday. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. is likely the swing vote, and he indicated he was likely to strike down…

Oct 9, 2013 1:12 PM CDT

Chemerinsky: Campaign finance, affirmative action will top Supreme Court’s new term

On Monday morning, the U.S. Supreme Court will return from its summer recess to begin October Term 2013. Before the Supreme Court adjourned at the end of June, it granted review in 44 cases for the new term. Between Sept. 30, when the justices hold their first conference, and the…

Oct 2, 2013 2:10 PM CDT

Campaign funding and affirmative action come back before the Supreme Court

Oct 1, 2013 8:40 AM CDT

Ex-secretary of state Hillary Clinton calls for voting rights action

Oct 1, 2013 6:50 AM CDT

Tom DeLay’s money laundering conviction overturned; court says evidence was insufficient

A Texas appeals court has overturned the money laundering conviction of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and entered a judgment of acquittal. In a 2-1 ruling, the 3rd District Court of Appeals said the evidence was legally insufficient to support the charges of money laundering and conspiracy to…

Sep 19, 2013 4:18 PM CDT

State law easing ‘3-strikes’ sentencing is working, drafters say

Ten months after California voters approved Proposition 36, the ballot measure is having its intended effect, drafters say. By exempting lesser offenders from life sentences, the voter-approved initiative is reducing unnecessary prison sentences without endangering the public, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Proposition 36, passed by voters last November, amended…

Sep 12, 2013 8:45 PM CDT

DOJ to sue Texas over voter ID law

The Department of Justice Department announced Thursday that it will sue Texas over its voter identification law and will seek to intervene in a suit involving redistricting there. The complaint will assert that the ID requirement in SB 14 violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, according to a…

Aug 22, 2013 7:23 PM CDT

Suits challenge North Carolina’s new voting law

Civil rights groups filed suits challenging North Carolina’s new voter ID law almost immediately after the governor signed the measure. Gov. Patrick McCrory signed the voter ID bill on Monday, report Reuters, CBS News and the Washington Post’s Post Politics blog. The action makes North Carolina the first state to…

Aug 13, 2013 5:43 PM CDT