Lynn Shapiro

Lynn Shapiro passed away on Oct. 31, 2022. She was a former reporter for the American Legal News and the Blog for Arizona. In her writing career, she covered gun laws, LGBT rights, cannabis litigation, Obamacare, and obstruction of justice for many publications, including Newsweek. Before writing about law and politics, Lynn wrote about medicine and prior to that, Wall Street. Lynn was a graduate of Hampshire College, and studied journalism at the University of Massachusetts. She lived in New York City.

Arizona’s Anti-Abortion ‘Trigger Laws’ Aim for the Supreme Court

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Arizona state Senate Republicans are drafting draconian “trigger laws” that would take effect if Roe v. Wade were struck down. Senate Bill 1457, approved by the Senate on March 4, would make performing an abortion based on a “genetic abnormality” of an unborn child a Class 3 felony, with a minimum sentence of 2-1/2 years … Read more

Puerto Rico, DC: A Red and Blue Pair of New States

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President Biden strongly supports statehood for Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, which is part of the Democratic Party platform. Even conservative Florida Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott endorse Puerto Rican statehood, conceding to the state’s Latino voters. Republicans in other states don’t perceive Puerto Rico as a Republican-leaning state, as its constituency is non-white. … Read more

Supreme Court Tosses Trump’s Sanctuary City and Election Challenges

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Tossing out the last of the election challenges and sanctuary city claims, the US Supreme Court proved that Chief Justice John Roberts’ statement “that there are no Trump Justices, no Obama justices” is true. Last week, Biden’s Justice Department and New York and San Francisco asked Scott Harris, the Court clerk, to dismiss the three … Read more

Moderate Conservative Justices Question Arizona’s Voter Suppression Laws

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New Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh appear to have formed a moderately conservative bloc that could strike down Arizona’s voter suppression laws, judging from oral arguments on March 2  and prior cases the Justices have tried this term. “Why use voting restrictions that burden minority voters disproportionately?” Roberts … Read more

Will the Supreme Court Resurrect Jim Crow Election Laws?

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The Supreme Court will hear two cases on Tuesday, March 2, involving whether Arizona’s ballot-harvesting law and out-of-precinct policy discriminate against Hispanics, Native Americans, and African Americans. The Court will use Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, passed in 1965 by Lyndon Johnson, to ascertain whether ballot harvesting and “out of precinct” policies discriminated … Read more