Virginia’s House’s Courts of Justice – Criminal Subcommittee passed HB 995, raising the required amount for the crime from $500 to $1000 to qualify for Grand Larceny. This along with numerous other proposed and passed bills add to Gov. Ralph Northam’s criminal justice initiative. Supporters of the bill emphasized that felony convictions carry a lifetime [...]
Virginia’s House advanced HB33 with a 52 to 45 vote on Friday that supports Gov. Ralph Northam’s criminal justice reform initiative. This particular bill addresses a long debated issue of parole in Virginia. Parole was abolished in Virginia in 1995, but no jury was informed of this change when deliberating sentences until 2000 after the [...]
Polish lawmakers gave final approval on Thursday to legislation that would allow politicians to fire judges who criticize their decisions. Under this new bill, judges who question the independence of council-chosen judges could face punishments, including dismissal. The Sejm, which is the lower house of the Polish parliament, approved this legislation on Thursday. However, the [...]
The Florida Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that judges may impose the death penalty without the unanimous vote of the jurors, overturning the court’s 2016 holding that the Eighth Amendment requires a unanimous jury recommendation of death. The State of Florida appealed to the Florida Supreme Court following a postconviction order that set aside Mark [...]
The Kentucky Senate passed Senate Bill 2 on Thursday, requiring voters to have a photo ID to cast a ballot. The bill narrows the types of ID that can be used when a citizen casts their ballot. The bill was created to protect against voter fraud before the 2020 election. The types of IDs that [...]
Transparency International’s released its annual index Thursday, finding that most countries showed little to no improvement in fighting corruption since last year. Somalia was ranked as the most corrupt country, while Denmark and New Zealand were found to be the least corrupt countries in the world. The index ranks 180 countries and territories according to [...]
The US State Department gave visa officers more power to block pregnant women from visiting the US on Thursday. This power will allow officers to prohibit any women believed to be traveling to the US for the “primary purpose of obtaining U.S. citizenship for a child by giving birth in the United States—an activity commonly [...]
The Iowa Senate advanced two bills (SF 116 and SF 459) that would allow Iowa residents to carry guns at their workplace and at school on Thursday. One subcommittee signed off on SF 459, which would allow Iowa residents who have a valid permit to carry a gun at their workplace so long as the [...]
Russian lawmakers gave preliminary approval Thursday to a slew of constitutional changes that would affect the power of the parliament and the term of the president. The approved changes come one week after President Vladimir Putin delivered his State of the Nation speech. In his speech, he expressed the importance of democracy and power of [...]
A Virginia Senate committee on Thursday approved SB 733, legislation to ease abortion restrictions, by a 9-6 vote. A similar bill was advanced in the House Wednesday. The legislation aims to undo Republican-backed laws in the state. If signed into law, the bill will reverse the 24-hour waiting period and ultrasound and counseling requirements. The Democratic-backed changes [...]
