The state of West Virginia voted Tuesday to approve a judicial budget oversight amendment. The amendment allows the West Virginia legislature to reduce the judicial budget by no more than 15 percent. Providing that the total general revenue appropriations to the judiciary may be reduced in the budget bill, and setting fort the required procedures [...]
In the wake of the world outrage at the viciousness of reporters’/journalists’ assassination (killing), lawmakers and human rights activists have said “enough.” Under the United States federal law, the Treasury Department is “empowered to prohibit entry into the U.S. and freeze assets of people considered responsible for corruption and human rights violations … effectively blocking [...]
A hearing began Tuesday for a Northern Ireland woman seeking judicial review of the criminal charges leveled against her for supplying abortion pills to her daughter in violation of the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act. The woman, proceeding under the name JR76, is the first to present a legal challenge to criminal prosecution resulting [...]
The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar called Tuesday for a delay in the repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar. The governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh had originally agreed that the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh would be repatriated to Rakhine State in Myanmar later this month. The Special Rapporteur, Yanghee Lee, said [...]
The Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA) filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) for trademark infringement, resulting from the latter organization’s decision to change the name of its program to “Scouts BSA” and permit girls, ages 11 to 17, to join. The complaint alleges that BSA’s [...]
In the first statewide referendum on transgender rights Tuesday, Massachusetts affirmed the decision to continue to provide legal protections to transgender persons. At current count, two-thirds of the electorate voted yes on ballot question 3. The measure is to keep in place the current law prohibiting gender identity discrimination in places of public accommodation. The [...]
Amnesty International released two public statements on Tuesday regarding environmental security during war and armed conflicts. One statement addressed to the Chair of the UN General Assembly First Committee called upon the Chair to address environmental impacts of particular weapons and military practices and identify measures to minimize harm. The statement notes that in addition to [...]
Georgia voters filed a lawsuit Tuesday in the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia , seeking to halt Georgia’s Republican candidate for governor and current Secretary of State, Brian Kemp, from overseeing the election in which he is a candidate. The lawsuit alleges that allowing Kemp to oversee the election and effect [...]
Louisiana voters approved Amendment 2 on Tuesday, which will amend the state’s constitution to require unanimous jury decisions to convict in criminal cases. The measure passed by a margin of 64.4 percent to 35.6 percent. Currently, in order to obtain a conviction, only 10 out of the 12 jurors need to concur. The amendment will [...]
Fifteen states on Tuesday held 20 ballot initiatives related to voting and elections, including statewide measures for new redistributing systems, voting requirements and ballot access, voting rights of felons, and campaign finance initiatives. Voting rights activists saw expansion to voting access, including Florida restoring voting access to felons who have served their sentences and “motor [...]
