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#DOJ sues #Alabama over program aimed at removing #voters
Federal prosecutors said the state’s efforts to strike more than 3,200 people from voting rolls was done too close to November’s election.
#law #ElectionLaw #VotingRights #VoteBlue
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/09/27/justice-department-alabama-lawsuit-voting/
Justice Dept. sues Alabama over program aimed at removing voters
Federal prosecutors said Alabama’s efforts to strike more than 3,200 people from voting rolls was done too close to November’s election.David Nakamura (The Washington Post)
How #ElizabethPrelogar Stands Up to a Runaway #SCOTUS
“Prelogar’s tenure has been especially frenzied: In the term that recessed in July alone, by one count, she argued nearly 20% of all the cases in which the government was involved, the highest percentage for any #SolicitorGeneral in a quarter century or more. And of all the cases the court decided, her office participated in the lion’s share of them.“
#law
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/elizabeth-prelogar-solicitor-general
Her report did not go over well at the #TrumpOrganization, which hasn’t previously been subject to such policing of its internal operations. The company’s lawyers fired off a letter to the court comparing her to the obsessive Inspector Javert from “Les Misérables” & demanding her removal. They accused her of intentionally running up an enormous bill cataloguing minor accounting matters. The company must pay for her team’s work…,a tab that ran to $2.6M over the 1st 14 months.
She’s taken on the mafia, the NFL & a famously #corrupt CEO during her career. Now she’s quietly keeping tabs on Trump’s finances. Barbara S. Jones took on plenty of high-profile cases as a prosecutor & then as a federal judge, but now she finds herself in…an extraordinary position: Appointed by a NY court, she is responsible for scrubbing the finances of the business empire belonging to Trump….
#law
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/09/26/trump-court-monitor-barbara-jones/
Meet Barbara Jones, the ex-judge now policing Trump’s business moves
No other court-appointed monitor has been tasked with keeping tabs on the financial transactions of a former and perhaps soon-to-be-sitting president.Jonathan O'Connell (The Washington Post)
The Feb #civil court ruling that #Trump was #liable for business #fraud has largely receded from headlines as the presidential race enters its final stage. But he faces continued scrutiny from #BarbaraJones, a seasoned fmr judge whom the court has granted X-ray vision into the finances of Trump’s business for the next 3 years, through the Nov election & possibly into a 2nd Trump term.
#law
MVP #KamalaHarris said, "The American people know well the meaning of #freedom, of #independence, & the importance of rule of #law. These ideals are central to who we are as Americans & some of the most important moments in our history have come when we stood up to aggressors like #Putin.”
"If we allow aggressors like Putin to take land w/impunity, they keep going & Putin could set his sights on #Poland, the #Baltic states & other #NATO allies”
#RonWyden …said the goal of the bill is to restore public confidence in a battered institution. He said he hopes to get parts of the bill passed, even if the whole package is not embraced by lawmakers.
“It’s not an atomic secret that the process for selecting justices is politicized,” #Wyden said. “You’ve got this thoroughly politicized process resulting in a #SupremeCourt that now frequently issues sweeping rulings to overturn laws & upend precedents.”
“We are proposing a way to restore some balance between the 3 branches of government,” Sen #RonWyden added.
The bill’s most significant measure would increase the number of justices from 9 to 15 over the course of 12 years. The staggered format over 2 or 3 administrations is aimed at diminishing the chance that one #political party would pack the courts with its nominees.
#law #SCOTUS #ethics #JudicialEthics
Link to bill, summary & full text:
Wyden Introduces Sweeping Court Reforms to Restore Public Trust as Supreme Court Faces Legitimacy Crisis | U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon
The Official U.S. Senate website of Senator Ron Wyden of Oregonwww.wyden.senate.gov
Sweeping bill to overhaul #SCOTUS would add 6 justices
The legislation by Sen #RonWyden (D-OR) is one of the most ambitious efforts to date to remake the #SupremeCourt following
controversies over rulings & #ethics.
A sweeping bill introduced by a Democratic senator Wednesday would greatly increase the size of the Supreme Court, make it harder for the justices to overturn #laws, require justices to undergo #audits & remove roadblocks for high court #nominations.
#law
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/09/26/supreme-court-reform-15-justices-wyden/
Sweeping bill to overhaul Supreme Court would add six justices
The legislation by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) is one of the most ambitious efforts to date to remake the Supreme Court following controversies over rulings and ethics.Justin Jouvenal (The Washington Post)
#EricAdams #IndictmentUnsealed
Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted on federal charges of #bribery, #fraud & #soliciting illegal #foreign campaign #donations.
The indictment, which was unsealed on Thurs morning, follows an investigation that started in 2021 & has focused at least in part on whether he conspired w/ the #Turkish government to receive illegal foreign campaign contributions & whether he took official actions on its behalf.
#NY #corruption #NYpol #law
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/09/26/nyregion/eric-adams-indicted-news?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb
Just another idiot #Republican who somehow managed to fail upward into elected office 100% breaking the #law:
A #Wisconsin mayor took issue w/a #Ballot #DropBox decision, so he just took it.
#DougDiny, the Republican mayor of #Wausau, WI, was working on Sun when he saw a ballot drop box outside City Hall, where it had been placed under orders of the city clerk.
#ElectionLaw #idiocracy #VoteBlue
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/25/us/politics/wisconsin-mayor-ballot-box.html?smid=url-share
#Missouri executes #MarcellusWilliams despite prosecutors’ objections
Marcellus Williams, who spent >2 decades on Missouri’s death row convicted of a 1998 murder that he says he did not commit, died by lethal injection Tues evening after a lengthy & complex effort to exonerate him based on #DNA testing issues.
Williams, 55, was pronounced dead at the Potosi Correctional Center in Mineral Point.
#law #SCOTUS #DeathPenalty
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/09/24/marcellus-williams-execution-missouri-faq/
Missouri executes Marcellus Williams despite prosecutors’ objections
Felicia “Licia” Gayle was found stabbed to death in her suburban St. Louis home in 1998. Marcellus Williams says he didn’t kill her.Kim Bellware (The Washington Post)
#Trump Says People Who Criticize #SCOTUS Justices Should Be #Jailed
Trump praised the #SupremeCourt for allowing states to ban abortion during his Pennsylvania campaign rally, & said it should be "illegal" to criticize the justices
Trump, who earlier this month threatened to #jail his political opponents, upped his #authoritarian rhetoric during a campaign rally at Indiana University of PA.
#authoritarianism #autocracy #tyranny
#law #democracy #HarrisWalz2024
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-supreme-court-people-who-criticize-jailed-1235110537/
Trump Says People Criticizing Supreme Court Justices Should Be Jailed
Donald Trump, who earlier this month threatened to jail his political opponents, said people who criticize SCOTUS should be jailed.Charisma Madarang (Rolling Stone)
#Israel Deliberately Blocked Humanitarian Aid to #Gaza, Two #Government Bodies Concluded.
Antony Blinken Rejected Them.
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Blinken told #Congress, “We do not currently assess that the Israeli government is prohibiting or otherwise restricting” aid, even though the U.S. Agency for International Development and others had determined that Israel had broken the #law.
#News #Palestine #HumanitarianAid #Biden #Blinken #War
https://www.propublica.org/article/gaza-palestine-israel-blocked-humanitarian-aid-blinken
Blinken Rejected Officials Who Concluded Israel Deliberately Blocked Humanitarian Aid to Gaza.
Blinken told Congress, “We do not currently assess that the Israeli government is prohibiting or otherwise restricting” aid, even though the U.S. Agency for International Development and others had determined that Israel had broken the law.ProPublica
How #JohnRoberts Went Full #MAGA
A revealing article in The NYT details how the #ChiefJustice put his thumb on the scale for #Trump to keep him on the #ballot & out of #jail.
by ELIE MYSTAL
#law #SCOTUS
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/how-john-roberts-trump-maga/
How John Roberts Went Full MAGA | The Nation
A revealing article in The New York Times details how the chief justice put his thumb on the scale for Trump to keep him on the ballot and out of jail.The Nation
→ Using AI to Replace an #Actor Is Now Against the #Law in #California
https://www.indiewire.com/news/breaking-news/using-ai-replace-actor-against-law-california-1235048661/
“No one should live in fear of becoming someone else’s #unpaid #digital #puppet. Gov. Newsom has led the way in protecting #people — and families — from #AI #replication without real #consent.”
Using AI to Replace an Actor Is Now Against the Law in California
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a pair of bills sponsored by SAG-AFTRA that extend the guild's recent AI protections.Brian Welk (IndieWire)
#law #VoteBlue
Critics included #democracy advocates who accused the board of intentionally injecting #chaos & uncertainty into the presidential contest as well as #election supervisors & poll workers who said hand counts would take too long, cost money & almost certainly produce counting errors.
The board voted 3-2 to approve the measure, which would require the #HandCount in addition to the customary machine count in each precinct.
The rule requires the #HandCount to take place the night of the November #election or the next day. But dozens of election officials said that would be physically impossible in all but the smallest counties. Many also said in public comments Friday that it is far too late in the year to adopt new procedures for which their staffs have not been trained & for which they have no funds.
Inane
Pro-#Trump #Georgia #election board votes to require hand counts of ballots
Critics plan to sue, saying the new requirement would almost certainly lead to errors & could disrupt the process of #certifying the #vote in a crucial battleground state.
#law #ElectionLaw #VoteBlue
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/09/20/trump-georgia-election-board-hand-count-ballots/
Pro-Trump Georgia election board votes to require hand counts of ballots
Critics plan to sue, saying the new requirement would almost certainly lead to errors and could disrupt the process of certifying the vote in a crucial battleground state.Amy Gardner (The Washington Post)
How the #Trump Campaign Ran With Rumors [#lies] About Pet-Eating Migrants—After Being Told They Weren’t True
#Springfield, #Ohio, city ofcls were contacted by #JDVance’s team & said the claims were baseless. It didn’t matter & now the town is in #chaos.
#RecklessEndangerment #CulpableNegligence #law #StochasticTerrorism #racism #hate #ConspiracyTheories
#HarrisWalz2024
https://www.wsj.com/us-news/springfield-ohio-pet-eating-claims-haitian-migrants-04598d48
🚨🚨🚨#House #Democrats plan multimedia #Project2025 hearing🚨🚨🚨
The hearing is expected to be in the style of the #Jan6, 2021, hearings.
The hearing is scheduled for next week on Tues, Sept 24, to illustrate potential impacts of Project 2025 under a hypothetical #Trump admin.
#authoritarianism #autocracy #tyranny #kleptocracy #dictatorship #MafiaState #Trumpism
#democracy #law
#HarrisWalz2024
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/09/19/house-democrats-plan-multimedia-project-2025-hearing/
House Democrats plan multimedia Project 2025 hearing
The hearing is expected to be in the style of hearings on the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.Jacqueline Alemany (The Washington Post)
“A Real Overhaul Is Long Overdue”: Lawmaker Calls On State Leaders to Reform New York’s Beleaguered Guardianship System
A new bill asks Gov. Kathy Hochul and state legislators to overhaul New York’s broken guardianship system. It cites a ProPublica investigation that found the #elderly and infirm living in dire conditions while under court-mandated #oversight.
#News #NewYork #KathyHochul #Aging #Guardian #Care #Neglect #Court #Law #Reform
https://www.propublica.org/article/new-york-city-guardianship-oversight-reform-hochul
NYC Bill Calls for Overhaul of State’s Guardianship System
A new bill asks Gov. Kathy Hochul and state legislators to overhaul New York’s broken guardianship system. It cites a ProPublica investigation that found the elderly and infirm living in dire conditions while under court-mandated oversight.ProPublica
Afraid to Seek Care Amid Georgia’s #Abortion Ban, She Stayed at Home and Died
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Candi Miller’s family said she didn't visit a doctor “due to the current legislation on pregnancies and abortions.”
Maternal health experts deemed her death preventable and blamed Georgia’s abortion ban.
#news #georgia #pregnancy #health #healthcare #government #politics #law
https://www.propublica.org/article/candi-miller-abortion-ban-death-georgia
Candi Miller Died Afraid to Seek Care Amid Georgia’s Abortion Ban
A Georgia committee of experts in maternal health recently deemed Candi Miller’s death “preventable,” ProPublica has learned. The group, which includes 10 doctors, directly blamed the state’s abortion ban.ProPublica
Judge Aileen Cannon Failed to Disclose a Right-Wing Junket
—
Cannon, whose oversight of the Donald Trump classified documents case has garnered widespread criticism, has repeatedly violated a rule requiring that federal judges disclose their attendance at private seminars.
#News #DonaldTrump #Law #Courts #Government #Politics #Accountability
https://www.propublica.org/article/judge-aileen-cannon-trump-documents-case-travel-disclosures
Court may decide if Arizonans w/missing citizenship records can vote in STATE [NOT Federal — federal law requires citizenship] races
#Arizona ofcls discovered they have no records showing if nearly 100k longtime residents provided proof of #citizenship, which is required by #law to #vote in state & local races.
#election #ElectionLaw
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/09/17/arizona-noncitizen-voters/
Court may decide if Arizonans with missing citizenship records can vote in state races
Arizona officials discovered they have no records showing if nearly 100,000 longtime residents provided proof of citizenship, which is required by law to vote in state and local races.Yvonne Wingett Sanchez (The Washington Post)
Whatever happened to the #ProportionalityDoctrine?
4 shot after police open fire on knife-wielding subway fare evader
2 #NYPD officers pursued a fare evasion suspect, then opened fire as he approached them, #police said.
The suspect — who was wielding a knife — was among the four shot, along w/ 2 #NYsubway riders & a fellow responding officer, said NYPD Chief Jeffrey Maddrey at a news conference.
#law #LegalUseOfForce #PoliceViolence
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/09/16/new-york-fare-evasion-shooting/
While all 9 justices agreed that #Trump should remain on state ballots, 4 of the conservatives were pushing to go beyond that & rule that the #Constitution’s prohibition would require congressional action. Such a decision would provide even greater protection for Trump: To prevent him from taking office if he won re-election, #Congress would have to vote to enforce the #insurrectionist ban.
#ChiefJustice #JohnRoberts #law #SCOTUS #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #ElectionInterference #illiberalism
#SCOTUS’ #conservative supermajority has prevailed in many of the most consequential cases in recent years. This time, #ChiefJustice #JohnRoberts told his colleagues he wanted the decision to be unanimous & unsigned. In any politically charged case, agreement among the justices made the decision more authoritative. He even said he would consult individually w/everyone to discuss what they would accept — a rare step.
#law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #ElectionInterference #illiberalism #corrupt
“It’s a strange, sprawling opinion,” said William Baude, a University of Chicago #law prof & a fmr clerk to #ChiefJustice #JohnRoberts. “It’s hard to tell what exactly it is trying to do.”
Others said the ruling was untethered from the law. “It’s certainly not really tied to the #Constitution,” said Stephen R. McAllister, a law prof at University of Kansas & fmr clerk to Justice #ClarenceThomas.
#law #SCOTUS #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #ElectionInterference #illiberalism #criminal #corrupt
#ChiefJustice #JohnRoberts’s Unsigned Opinion
…In Feb, the justices heard arguments on a provocative question. The #Constitution’s #FourteenthAmendment, adopted after the Civil War, contains language barring #insurrectionists from holding office. So could #Colorado kick #Trump off the ballot in its #Republican primary, creating an obstacle for his presidential campaign?
#law #SCOTUS #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #ElectionInterference #illiberalism #extremism #MAGA #Republicans #corruption
From the start of the justices’ private discussions of the case, #TrumpvAnderson, it was clear that the court was going to say no…. Allowing states to excise candidates from ballots in a national #election was out of the question, the justices agreed. With sparse & cryptic text in the amendment, & little case #law, to guide them, they raised various ideas for the court’s ruling & rationale.
#law #SCOTUS #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #ElectionInterference #illiberalism #extremism #corruption
Now #JohnRoberts’ opinion is the key doc in a #legal drama playing out this autumn, as the judge presiding over the long-delayed trial, Tanya S. #Chutkan, parses what the court meant and how to move forward. Legal scholars say her job won’t be easy. Despite the #ChiefJustice’s reputation as a methodical craftsman, many experts, both conservative & liberal, say he produced a disjointed, tough-to-interpret opinion.
#law #SCOTUS #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #ElectionInterference #illiberalism
#ChiefJustice #JohnRoberts’ opinion cited “enduring principles,” quoted Alexander Hamilton’s endorsement of a vigorous presidency, & asserted it would be a mistake to dwell too much on #Trump’s actions. “In a case like this one, focusing on ‘transient results’ may have profound consequences for the separation of powers & for the future of our Republic,” he wrote. “Our perspective must be more farsighted.”
#law #SCOTUS #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #ElectionInterference #illiberalism #criminal
Though the #ChiefJustice often favors consensus, he did not take the opening. As the court split 6 to 3, #conservatives vs #liberals, Justice #Sotomayor started work on a 5-alarm dissent warning of #danger to #democracy.
In his writings on the #immunity case, #JohnRoberts seemed confident that his arguments would soar above #politics, persuade the public, & stand the test of time. [#hubris]
#law #SCOTUS #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #ElectionInterference #illiberalism #criminal #bias #corrupt
Another case involved a highly unusual switch. In April, the #ChiefJustice assigned Justice #Alito to write a majority opinion saying that prosecutors had gone too far in bringing obstruction charges against some Capitol *rioters* [#insurgents]. But in late May, #JohnRoberts took it over.…
During the Feb discussions of the #immunity case, the most consequential of the 3, some of the *#conservative* justices wanted to schedule it for the next term.
That would have deferred oral arguments until Oct & almost certainly pushed a decision until after the #election. But #ChiefJustice #JohnRoberts provided crucial support for hearing the historic case earlier, siding w/the liberals.
Then he froze them out. After he circulated his draft opinion in June, Justice Sonia #Sotomayor, the senior liberal, signaled a willingness to agree on some points in hopes of moderating the opinion….
This account draws on details from justices’ private memos, documentation of the proceedings & interviews w/ #SCOTUS insiders, both conservative & liberal,who spoke on the condition of anonymity because deliberations are supposed to be kept secret. [I thank them for providing evidence of such blatant #bias & #corruption]
The #ChiefJustice wrote the majority opinions in all 3 cases, incl an unsigned one in March concluding that #Trump could not be barred from #election ballots in #Colorado.
#law
“I think it likely that we will view the separation of powers analysis differently” from the appeals court, #ChiefJustice #JohnRoberts wrote. In other words: grant #Trump greater protection from prosecution.
In a momentous trio of #Jan6 related cases last term, the court found itself more entangled in presidential #politics than at any time since the 2000 election, even as it was contending w/its own controversies related to that day.
