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

Will another campaign finance limit fall? SCOTUS to hear case challenging contribution caps

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider a challenge to individual campaign contribution limits in the case of a Republican supporter unable to donate to a dozen candidates after hitting the aggregate cap. The case challenges limits on individual contributions upheld in the 1976 Supreme Court decision Buckley v.…

Feb 20, 2013 2:10 PM CST

State AG wants misdemeanor hit-and-run charges against him dismissed

Ariz. Attorney General Tom Horne is seeking the dismissal of misdemeanor hit-and-run charges against him on the grounds that he’s being singled out for special prosecution as part of a political vendetta by FBI agents. Horne is accused of backing his borrowed car into another vehicle in a Phoenix parking…

Feb 14, 2013 7:40 PM CST

Resolution seeks disclosure of secret campaign donations made through nonprofits and super PACs

A resolution passed Monday by the ABA House of Delegates calls for disclosure of secret campaign contributions made through nonprofit groups donating money to super PACs. Resolution 110B urges Congress to require groups exempt from campaign disclosure requirements, as currently interpreted, to disclose the source of funds and the amounts…

Feb 11, 2013 9:50 PM CST

ABA House to consider resolutions reflecting the globalization of law practice

Law practice has become increasingly global in nature—a reality reflected in four proposed revisions to the ABA’s model ethics rules. The ABA’s policy-making House of Delegates will consider the model rule changes on Monday along with proposals on human trafficking, super PAC disclosures, indigent defense and unbundled legal services. Three…

Feb 11, 2013 1:00 PM CST

Chemerinsky: ‘Stakes are enormous’ in voting rights case

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is one of the most important civil rights statutes in American history. The constitutionality of a crucial provision of the act—Section 5—is in doubt, and the case that challenges it, Shelby County v. Holder, will be argued before the Supreme Court on Feb. 27.…

Feb 5, 2013 2:30 PM CST

Historically discriminatory areas should need preapproval for election change, says ABA amicus brief

The American Bar Association filed an amicus brief (PDF) Friday in Shelby County v. Holder, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The case was brought by Shelby County, Ala., which seeks to invalidate Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. It requires…

Feb 4, 2013 3:04 PM CST

Chemerinsky: 2013 May Be Another Blockbuster SCOTUS Year

The year 2012 saw blockbuster decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court. The court will be most remembered for largely upholding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (in National Federation of Independent Businesses v. Sebelius), and for striking down key provisions of Arizona’s restrictive immigration law, SB 1070 (in Arizona…

Jan 2, 2013 2:45 PM CST

We Need to Talk: Sponsors of Judicial Recusal Proposal Seek More Input Before Going to House

Jan 1, 2013 7:30 AM CST

Law Prof to Head NAACP Legal Defense Fund as High Court Could Curb Civil Rights Gains

The new president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund takes over as the U.S. Supreme Court is considering two cases that could curb gains made by the group. University of Maryland law professor Sherrilyn Ifill begins the new job next month, NPR reports. She tells the broadcast network that discrimination…

Dec 19, 2012 12:15 PM CST

Boutique Law Firm Has Expertise in Shielding Campaign Donations from Public Disclosure

A boutique law firm in the small town of Warrenton, Va., has developed a lucrative specialty: It advises groups that want to influence elections without disclosing their contributors. The firm, Holtzman Vogel Josefiak, is housed in a brick building that has “emerged as a nexus of Republican secret money and…

Dec 7, 2012 11:30 AM CST

Ex-Stockbroker Is Behind Supreme Court Cases Challenging Race in Admissions, Voting Rights Act

A little-known former stockbroker from Maine is largely responsible for two pending Supreme Court cases focusing on race, according to a wire service report. The two cases are Fisher v. University of Texas, a challenge to race-conscious university admissions policies; and Shelby County v. Holder, challenging a provision of the…

Dec 5, 2012 12:15 PM CST

Judicial Election Spending Breaks Records with Boost from Super PAC Cash

Critics are decrying record spending on state judicial elections and the role of super PACs in the process. Spending on TV ads for supreme court races reached $28 million by Election Day, surpassing the previous record of $24.4 million spent in 2004, according to a New York Times editorial citing…

Nov 20, 2012 12:00 PM CST

Around the Blawgosphere: Profs Brainstorm on Election Law, Secession; Will Janeane Garofalo Owe IRS?

Making the Law University of Minnesota law professor Richard Painter wrote at Legal Ethics Blog that he, Harvard Law School professor Lawrence Lessig and other law professors have together outlined and announce their support for a proposed American Anti-Corruption Act, which would “overhaul campaign finance.” A few tenets of the…

Nov 16, 2012 2:30 PM CST

Phila. Judge Accused of Misrepresenting His Qualifications Is Suspended with Pay

A Philadelphia family court judge was suspended from his $165,000-a-year job on Friday, with pay, by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court following accusations that he had misrepresented his qualifications for the bench in 2009 and 2011 by withholding information about lawsuits and potential litigation he faces. Related legal ethics charges against…

Nov 13, 2012 4:45 PM CST