http://jurist.org/paperchase/ JURIST's weblog of legal news and resources worth thinking about, by Professor Bernard Hibbitts and law students at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. 2012-02-08T10:17:00-08:00 en-US http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/south-carolina-sues-federal-government-over-blocked-voter-id-law.php [JURIST] South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson [official website] filed suit [complaint, PDF] Tuesday against the US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] over its ruling that barred South Carolina from enforcing its voter identification law [R54 materials]. The DOJ rejected the law [JURIST report] in December on the grounds that it was discriminatory. It has authority to do so under the Voting Rights Act [Cornell LII backgrounder], which allows it to screen new voter laws in states with a... 2012-02-08T10:17:00-08:00 2012-02-08T10:17:00-08:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/arizona-files-opening-brief-with-supreme-court-on-immigration-law.php [JURIST] Attorneys for Arizona Governor Jan Brewer [official website] filed an opening brief [text, PDF] with the US Supreme Court [official website] on Monday, asking the court to lift an injunction that has blocked many contentious provisions of a state immigration law [SB 1070 materials; JURIST news archive] from taking effect. SB 1070, passed in April 2010, makes illegal immigration a state crime and requires police officers to question an individual's immigration status if the officer has a "reasonable suspicion"... 2012-02-07T13:30:00-08:00 2012-02-07T13:30:00-08:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/federal-judge-allows-enforcement-of-texas-abortion-law.php [JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the Western District of Texas [official website] ruled [order, PDF] Monday that Texas can begin enforcing a state law [HB 15, PDF] that requires women to have a sonogram before undergoing an abortion [JURIST news archive]. In his ruling, Judge Sam Sparks noted that he was ordering the enforcement of the law following a ruling [JURIST report] by the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit [official website], lifting an... 2012-02-07T13:18:00-08:00 2012-02-07T13:18:00-08:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/ninth-circuit-strikes-down-california-same-sex-marriage-ban.php [JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] Tuesday that Proposition 8 [text, PDF; JURIST news archive], California's ban on same-sex marriage [JURIST backgrounder], is unconstitutional. The three-judge panel ruled 2-1 that the voter-approved [JURIST report] constitutional amendment violates the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses [Cornell LII backgrounders] of the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution. According to the court:Although the Constitution permits communities to enact most laws they believe to be... 2012-02-07T13:01:00-08:00 2012-02-07T13:01:00-08:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/italy-appeals-court-orders-release-of-former-guantanamo-detainee.php [JURIST] The Court of Appeals in Milan on Monday announced that they will overturn a lower court's verdict on Tunisian former Guantanamo Bay [JURIST backgrounder] detainee Mohamed Riadh Ben Nasri [NYT materials]. Nasri was convicted of terrorism association two years ago, after he was transferred from Guantanamo Bay [JURIST report] to stand trial in Italy. He was sentenced to six years in prison [JURIST report] for recruiting martyrs to commit acts of terrorism. Nasri and his lawyer alleged that he... 2012-02-07T08:52:00-08:00 2012-02-07T08:52:00-08:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/obama-signs-order-imposing-stricter-sanctions-on-iran.php [JURIST] US President Barack Obama [official website] signed an executive order [text] on Monday imposing strict sanctions on Iran as part of an effort to enforce a bill he signed into law in December 2011. The bill, National Defense Authorization Act for 2012 (NDAA) [SB 1867, PDF], allows for sanctions such as those ordered by Obama to be imposed on Iran. In a letter he sent to Congress, Obama explained [statement] that the sanctions were necessary because of the misleading... 2012-02-06T14:08:00-08:00 2012-02-06T14:08:00-08:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/georgia-high-court-overturns-assisted-suicide-law.php [JURIST] The Supreme Court of Georgia [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] unanimously Monday that the state's assisted suicide [JURIST news archive] law [§16-5-5 text] violated the First Amendment [text] right to free speech, essentially ruling in favor of four members of Final Exit [advocacy website] charged in 2009. Defendants Ted Goodwin, Claire Blehr, Lawrence Egbert and Nicholas Alec Sheriden were arrested for allegedly violating that law by running an assisted death operation. They pleaded not guilty and the Supreme Court... 2012-02-06T11:38:00-08:00 2012-02-06T11:38:00-08:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/federal-judge-allows-challenge-to-utah-anti-polygamy-law.php [JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the District of Utah [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] Friday that the Browns, a publicly polygamist family living in Utah, have standing to bring a suit challenging Utah's anti-bigamy law against Utah County Attorney General Jeffrey Buhman. The court dismissed challenges brought against Utah Governor Gary Herbert and Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff for lack of standing, saying there was insufficient evidence that the state officials had any intention to prosecute... 2012-02-05T15:14:00-08:00 2012-02-05T15:14:00-08:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/us-army-drops-charges-in-afghan-civilian-death-case.php [JURIST] The US Army dropped all charges against Army Specialist Michael Wagnon Friday, ending the final case in a series of related charges against five army personnel accused of killing Afghan civilians. Wagnon had been facing a charge of murder for his alleged involvement in the killing of three Afghan civilians and was expected to go to trial in March. All four of the other soldiers charged in connection with the killings were either convicted or pleaded guilty. In a... 2012-02-05T14:16:00-08:00 2012-02-05T14:16:00-08:00 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/02/virginia-lawmakers-approve-bill-allowing-adoption-agencies-to-refuse-placement.php [JURIST] The Virginia House of Delegates [official website] on Friday voted 71-28 to approve a bill [text] that would allow adoption agencies to refuse to place a child if the agency, or anyone affiliated with it, disagrees with the proposed placement based on religious beliefs. Effectively, this bill would allow adoption agencies to refuse to adopt to same-sex couples. Governor Bob McDonnell [official profile] said he will sign the bill if it makes it to his desk. The bill provides,... 2012-02-05T11:53:00-08:00 2012-02-05T11:53:00-08:00