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Tennessee abortion change vote case appealed to high court
Law Firm News |
2018/07/22 13:27
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Opponents of a state constitutional amendment that passed in 2014 to allow tougher abortion restrictions are appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court after a circuit appellate court denied a recount.
The appeal in the Amendment 1 case was filed earlier this month.
A 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals opinion in January said the state's vote tabulating method was reasonable and true to the meaning of the state constitution and didn't infringe on plaintiffs' voting rights.
The order overturned an April 2016 district court ruling that sided with eight voters that sued the state by ordering the recount. The judge called Tennessee's vote-counting unconstitutional and fundamentally unfair. The recount was put on hold pending the appeal.
Tennessee officials have said they followed their longstanding practice of counting amendment votes.
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Judge, calm in court, takes hard line on splitting families
Legal World News |
2018/07/20 13:27
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U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw appeared conflicted in early May on whether to stop families from being separated at the border. He challenged the Trump administration to explain how families were getting a fair hearing guaranteed by the Constitution, but also expressed reluctance to get too deeply involved with immigration enforcement.
"There are so many (enforcement) decisions that have to be made, and each one is individual," he said in his calm, almost monotone voice. "How can the court issue such a blanket, overarching order telling the attorney general, either release or detain (families) together?"
Sabraw showed how more than seven weeks later in a blistering opinion faulting the administration and its "zero tolerance" policy for a "crisis" of its own making. He went well beyond the American Civil Liberties Union's initial request to halt family separation — which President Donald Trump effectively did on his own amid a backlash — by imposing a deadline of this Thursday to reunify more than 2,500 children with their families.
Unyielding insistence on meeting his deadline, displayed in a string of hearings he ordered for updates, has made the San Diego jurist a central figure in a drama that has captivated international audiences with emotional accounts of toddlers and teens being torn from their parents.
Circumstances changed dramatically after the ACLU sued the government in March on behalf of a Congolese woman and a Brazilian woman who were split from their children. Three days after the May hearing, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the zero tolerance policy on illegal entry was in full effect, leading to the separation of more than 2,300 children in five weeks. |
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Rock icon Cliff Richard wins UK High Court privacy case
Legal Information |
2018/07/19 07:54
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British rock icon Cliff Richard has won his privacy case against the BBC for its coverage of a police raid at his home and has been awarded more than 200,000 ($260,000) in damages.
Richard had sued the broadcaster for its coverage of the 2014 raid, when police were investigating alleged sex offenses.
The 77-year-old singer was never arrested or charged with any crime. People suspected of crimes are not identified in Britain until they are charged. His lawsuit claims he suffered "profound" damage to his reputation.
The BBC disputed his claims and editors said the coverage was done in good faith.
Richard says he experienced a "sense of panic and powerlessness" when he saw the BBC was broadcasting from a helicopter above his home.
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Court questions whether Maine has money to expand Medicaid
Legal World News |
2018/07/19 07:54
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Maine's high court is weighing whether to allow the LePage administration to continue to block federal funding for voter-approved Medicaid expansion.
Justices on Wednesday heard the administration's arguments against a court order requiring the submission of paperwork needed for $500 million in annual federal funding. Justices questioned whether Maine can rely on existing state funds for Maine's share of expansion or whether lawmakers must specifically set aside funding.
Nearly three out of five voters last fall voted to expand Medicaid to 80,000 people by July 2. Advocates are encouraging people to sign up.
LePage vetoed legislation to fund Maine's expansion costs and suggests new hospital taxes could cover expansion.
LePage recently said he'd risk jail before expanding Medicaid and putting Maine in "red ink." |
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