Alabama Immigration Law Attracting Numerous Lawsuits
As the New York Times reported on Monday, the United States Department of Justice filed a complaint challenging Alabama’s new […]
Amicus, Uncategorized
Amicus, Poverty and Economic Justice
Debt Ceiling Shouldn't Rise At The Expense Of The Poor
There is a lot of talk in American politics about how to protect the “middle class.” What gets lost in all the rhetoric about the middle class is the need to protect a more vulnerable economic group, the poor. If all it takes is a political crisis to cause Democrats to forget their progressive ideals and deal away programs so important to the lives of so many Americans, we can count on plenty more crises to come.
Amicus, Courts & Judicial Interpretation, LGBTQ Rights
DOJ's Powerful DOMA Brief in the 9th Circuit
As the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is (hopefully) hopefully underway, with a possible certification by top Pentagon officials
Amicus, Criminal Justice, Education & Youth
Texas Study Takes Hard Look At School-To-Prison Pipeline
It turns out it may the schools, and not the kids, who are causing the discipline problems. A new study from Texas tracked every Texas seventh-grader from 2000, 2001, and 2002 for six years or more to examine the interaction between school discipline, poverty, race, and the juvenile justice system.
Amicus, Freedom of Expression, Reproductive Rights
S.D.N.Y. Enjoins “Crisis Pregnancy Center” Disclosure Law Under First Amendment
To combat deceptive practices, a New York City law required pregnancy services centers to disclose certain information: Medical provider on staff? Referrals for abortions and emergency contraception? And lastly, the “New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene encourages women who are or may be pregnant to consult with a licensed medical provider.” The court found that the centers’ religiously motivated services could not be “commercial speech.” The court then found that the law was likely to crumble under strict scrutiny for “compel[ling] [the centers] to speak certain messages” and failing to meet the First Amendment’s narrow tailoring requirement for burdens on speech.
Amicus, Courts & Judicial Interpretation
A More Activist Court
Lyle Denniston, a reporter at SCOTUS Blog, posted an extremely insightful review yesterday of this past Supreme Court term. In
Amicus, Criminal Justice, Human Rights
Texas to Execute Foreign Citizen After Vienna Convention Violation
As the New York Times reported yesterday, time is running out for Humberto Leal Garcia, Jr., who is scheduled to be executed in Texas on July 7. Convicted of a 1994 murder and aggravated sexual assault, Leal, a Mexican citizen, was not notified of his right to contact his consulate pursuant to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and subsequently sentenced to death. The treaty violation could have been the difference between life and death.
Amicus, Courts & Judicial Interpretation, Voting and Elections Rights
Wrapping Up Court's Campaign Finance Ruling
This morning the Supreme Court decided two campaign finance cases consolidated under Arizona Free Enterprise Club’s Freedom Club PAC v. Bennett. Writing for a narrow but familiar 5-4 majority—which included Justices Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, and Alito—Chief Justice John Roberts overruled the Ninth Circuit and struck down Arizona’s Citizens Clean Elections Act.
Amicus, Courts & Judicial Interpretation, Freedom of Expression
[Breaking News] Today's SCOTUS Decisions on Free Speech
The Supreme Court today struck down two state laws concerning free speech. In Arizona Free Enterprise Club PAC v. Bennett, Chief Justice Roberts, representing the usual 5-4 split, delivered an opinion striking down Arizona’s Clean Elections Act granting matching funds to publicly financed candidates triggered by spending by privately financed candidates and outside groups. In EMA v. Brown, Scalia delivers the opinion of a seven Justice majority striking down California’s ban on the sale of violent video games to children. More analysis to come.
Amicus, LGBTQ Rights
New York Passes Marriage Equality
On the eve of its annual gay pride parade, and after a week of delay and debate, New York’s legislature
Amicus, Uncategorized
US Airways Crew Unnerved by Black Man with Saggy Pants, Not Man in Women's Underwear
In a story reported on by news outlets as varied as ESPN and NPR last week, University of New Mexico football player Deshon Marman was arrested after refusing to deplane from a US Airways flight based on complaints from the flight crew about his sagging pajama pants. The story has taken an interesting, if disheartening, turn this week with the revelation that a man dressed only in women’s underwear was allowed to fly on a US Airways flight just days before Marman’s loose waistband caused such a stir.