UK Supreme Court rules in favor of single mother in homelessness case News
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UK Supreme Court rules in favor of single mother in homelessness case

The UK Supreme Court ordered the Birmingham Council on Wednesday to reconsider its decision to declare a single mother of four who could not afford rent, “intentionally homeless.” The court unanimously affirmed Terryann Samuels’ petition to appeal the decision.

The Council declared her intentionally homeless because they argued that she should have used her social benefits to pay her rent and should have made do with welfare payments to feed and take care of her children. Samuels had sought council property in Birmingham due to the shortfall between her housing benefits and the cost of rent, a difference of about £150.

The court held that she should not have had to use her non-housing benefits to cover the rent because her other living expenses were reasonable. In a press release, the justices stated that “consideration of an applicant’s ‘reasonable living expenses’ requires an objective assessment, and not the subjective view of a case officer.”

This ruling has been praised as an important decision for the future of the UK welfare system.

THIS DAY @ LAW

US suffragists formed Equal Rights Party, named Presidential candidate

On September 20, 1884, a group of American suffragists formed the Equal Rights Party in San Francisco, dedicated to "equal and exact justice to every class of our citizens, without distinction of color, sex, or nationality" and in support of the proposition that "the laws of the several states be so amended that women will be recognized as voters, and their property-rights made equal with that of the male population, to the end that they may become self-supporting - rather than a dependent class." Read the full text of the first platform of the Equal Rights Party. The party immediately nominated Mrs. Belva Lockwood for US President and Marietta Snow for Vice-President. Grover Cleveland won that election, but Lockwood was included in a number of presidential primaries and is recorded to have won some 4149 votes from the male voters of the time.

Catholic Church tries Galileo for heresy

On September 20, 1633, the Roman Catholic Church tried Galileo Galilei on charges of heresy. Galileo was brought before the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith for his assertion that the Earth orbits the Sun. He was sentenced to spend the rest of his life under house arrest. Read documents from the trial of Galileo.

Suffragists formed Equal Rights Party, named Presidential candidate

On September 20, 1884, a group of suffragists formed the Equal Rights Party in San Francisco, dedicated to "equal and exact justice to every class of our citizens, without distinction of color, sex, or nationality" and in support of the proposition that "the laws of the several states be so amended that women will be recognized as voters, and their property-rights made equal with that of the male population, to the end that they may become self-supporting - rather than a dependent class."
Read the full text of the first platform of the Equal Rights Party.

The party immediately nominated Mrs. Belva Lockwood for US President and Marietta Snow for Vice-President. Grover Cleveland won that election, but Lockwood was included in a number of presidential primaries, and is recorded to have won some 4149 votes from the male voters of the time.