Ginsburg calls Southern states’ actions in wake of Voting Rights decision ‘predictable’

The efforts of Southern states to forge ahead with tough voter identification laws come as no surprise to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Ginsburg cited Texas’ decision to implement its voter ID law hours after the court struck down a key provision of the act as a predictable…

Jul 26, 2013 8:02 PM CDT

DOJ isn’t waiting for Congress to revise voting law; Texas will be preclearance battleground

The U.S. Justice Department isn’t waiting for Congress to revise a preclearance formula in the Voting Rights Act used to determine which jurisdictions have to get advance clearance before making changes to voting practices. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the formula in June, but Attorney General Eric Holder said…

Jul 25, 2013 3:59 PM CDT

SCOTUS leaves intact preclearance requirement in Voting Rights Act, strikes down the formula

The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down a formula in the Voting Rights Act that is used to determine which jurisdictions have to get advance clearance before making changes to voting practices. In a 5-4 decision, the court said the formula of Section 4 is unconstitutional given advances in voting…

Jun 25, 2013 2:24 PM CDT

‘Consistent conservatives’ likely to write most remaining SCOTUS decisions

So far this term, liberals on the Supreme Court have written 30 majority opinions, while the four most conservative justices have written only 20. Those statistics suggest that the court’s “most consistent conservatives” will be writing many of the court’s remaining decisions, the Washington Post reports. The conclusion is part…

Jun 17, 2013 12:07 PM CDT

Virginia’s general ban on voting by ex-felons is ‘stain on the state’s democracy’

Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell has restored voting rights to about 1,500 ex-felons a year, about 80 percent of those who applied. But that’s not enough in a state where about 11,500 people are released from prison each year, the Washington Post asserts in an editorial. More than 7 percent of…

May 30, 2013 10:45 AM CDT

Plans for ‘Brooklyn DA’ news series bring lawsuit and a defense lawyer’s objection

An election opponent of Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes isn’t happy about an upcoming news series about the DA’s office that will begin airing on May 28. Nor is a lawyer defending a landlord accused of manslaughter in a tenement fire. The six-part CBS series, Brooklyn D.A., offers a look…

May 17, 2013 2:16 PM CDT

Tyranny and ‘dark money’ in the Michigan Supreme Court? Former justice writes a book

The intrigue includes untraceable “dark money,” abuse of power, and a secret club holding sway over ordinary citizens. It’s not a plot in a new crime novel, however. It’s a book about the Michigan Supreme Court, written by one of its controversial former members, the Traverse City Record-Eagle reports. Former…

May 6, 2013 11:35 AM CDT

O’Connor: Maybe SCOTUS should have declined cert in Bush v. Gore

Apr 29, 2013 4:43 PM CDT

Special prosecutor wins hard-fought $100K legal bill battle, plus ruling he won’t have to itemize

Forced to use a court-appointed special prosecutor after the Rensselaer County, N.Y., district attorney stepped aside from a ballot fraud case against local politicians, county lawmakers weren’t happy with the bill that resulted. But they are apparently going to have to pay the remaining $100,000 or so that is due…

Apr 10, 2013 5:04 PM CDT

In arguments on Arizona voting law, Scalia sees ‘no problemo’ for state requirements

The U.S. Supreme Court appeared divided during oral arguments on Monday in a challenge to Arizona’s proof of citizenship requirement for voter registration. Swing voter Anthony M. Kennedy asked questions sympathetic to both sides, the New York Times reports. The Los Angeles Times, the National Law Journal and the Washington…

Mar 19, 2013 12:45 PM CDT

Retired Justice O’Connor played a role in Arizona case to be argued Monday

Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor is still hearing cases in federal appeals courts, a fact highlighted in a Supreme Court case to be heard Monday. The court will consider the validity of an Arizona measure requiring applicants for voter registration in the state to provide evidence of…

Mar 13, 2013 11:00 AM CDT

Did chief justice misuse statistics to make a point on the Voting Rights Act?

The New York Times blogger and statistical whiz who correctly predicted President Obama’s re-election success has a bone to pick with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. At issue is a comment by Roberts during oral arguments last week on the constitutionality of preclearance requirements in the Voting Rights Act.…

Mar 8, 2013 4:04 PM CST

Elderly woman with dementia faces felony charge for voting twice; was prosecutor obligated to act?

An 86-year-old Minnesota woman with dementia is facing a felony charge of voter fraud because she voted twice in the primary election. Margaret Schneider of St. Peter, Minn., now admits she voted twice—once by an absentee ballot in July that was witnessed by her daughter, and then again in August…

Mar 8, 2013 2:12 PM CST

Justices will probe Arizona’s voter registration law

Mar 1, 2013 9:30 AM CST

Scalia: Reauthorized Voting Rights Act was ‘perpetuation of racial entitlement’

The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservatives appeared ready to strike down preclearance requirements of the Voting Rights Act during oral arguments on Wednesday. All eyes were on swing voter Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, whose questions mostly appeared to favor the challenge to the law’s advance approval requirement by Shelby County, Ala.,…

Feb 28, 2013 1:23 PM CST