Read Blog for Arizona | Politics from a Liberal Viewpoint for more about Civil & Human Rights

Arkansas Supreme Court strikes down state’s voter ID law under state constitution

October 16, 2014 by AZ BlueMeanie

The Arizona Constitution, Article 2, sets forth a Declaration of Rights, among them:

Section 2 Political Power; Purpose of Government. All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and are established to protect and maintain individual rights.

-and-

Section 21 Free and Equal Elections. All elections shall be free and equal, and no power, civil or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage.

An argument could be made that there is an implied constitutional right to the franchise to vote which cannot be infringed by the state, but the right to the franchise to vote is not expressly provided for in the Arizona Constitution.

The Arizona Courts have always applied the lowest standard of “rational basis review” rather than the highest standard of “strict scrutiny” review of state action. This is why I have advocated for a constitutional amendment that expressly provides that the right to the franchise to vote cannot be infringed by the state, without due process of law.

States that have such a constitutional provision in the state constitution do not have to endure the attempts at voter suppression that we have here in Arizona.

On Wednesday, the Arkansas Supreme Court struck down that state’s voter ID law as violating the Arkansas state constitution. You can read the Opinion HERE (.pdf).

9th Circuit Court of Appeals strikes down Prop. 100 (2006) denying bond to undocumented immigrants

October 15, 2014 by AZ BlueMeanie

Arizona is really bad at enacting constitutional laws. It could have something to do with the fact that the persons who propose these laws follow a constitution that only exists in their fevered minds, as opposed to the actual Constitution, with which they disagree. They believe in an “aspirational” constitution as they imagine it to be.

Earlier this year, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the ‘Kochtopus Anti-ObamaCare Prop. 106. This was the so-called “Health Care Freedom Act,” aka the Arizona Health Insurance Reform Amendment, Proposition 106, promoted by “Kochtopus” front man Dr. Eric Novak.

Today the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sitting en banc struck down another Arizona law, Proposition 100 (2006), which amended the Arizona Constitution to deny bond to undocumented immigrants charged with “serious” crimes. The case is Angel Lopez-Valenzuela v. Joe Arpaio, (No. 11-16487). You can read the Opinion Here (.pdf).

The en banc Court reversed a three judge panel of the Ninth Circuit upholding the district court’s grant of summary judgment. Prop. 100 “violates the substantive component of the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment.”

The Arizona Republic reports, Another Ariz. immigration law shot down:

Another of Arizona’s immigration laws was struck down today when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unconstitutional a law denying bond to undocumented immigrants charged with “serious” crimes.

The law, known as Proposition 100, was passed in November 2006, during the height of anti-immigrant sentiment in the state Legislature.

HRC AZ disappoints with Ethan “Bros Before Hoes” Orr endorsement as news media fawn over his weed announcement

October 15, 2014October 15, 2014 by AZ BlueMeanie

Crossposted from DemocraticDiva.com

I learned via good sources on Facebook earlier that the Human Rights Campaign of Arizona has decided to endorse incumbent Ethan Orr (R) along with Dr. Randall Freise (D) for Legislative District 9. It’s bad enough they are snubbing Orr’s seatmate Victoria Steele (D) but they are throwing their support to a guy who has a lousy voting record on human rights issues. (CORRECTION: I have since learned that HRC AZ is endorsing Steele. They picked Orr over Friese.)

I understand that Orr is nominally pro-LGBT rights and, who knows, maybe he has finally come out in support of marriage equality. HRC AZ may be rewarding him for voting against SB1062 (not that it mattered since the bill passed anyway). If that’s the case, I would urge extreme caution about that. Ethan Orr strongly opposes a woman’s right to choose, which should be upsetting enough if you believe that human rights should be a full meal for all, not a cafeteria plan for some. But what that also means is that if/when SB1062 comes back, it will be (as I’ve explained many times) disguised as a “Hobby Lobby”-type measure. They’ll just say the magic word “abortifacients” and Ethan Orr will be on board. Thus, he really cannot be pro-LGBT if he is also anti-choice.

5th Circuit Court of Appeals lifts stay of Texas voter ID law – appeal to SCOTUS

October 14, 2014 by AZ BlueMeanie

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday afternoon gave the state of Texas permission to enforce its strict voter ID law, finding that a federal judge’s ruling last week barring the use of that law “substantially disrupts the election process . . . just nine days before early voting begins.” Lyle Denniston at SCOTUSblog reports, Texas allowed to enforce voter ID law (UPDATED):

The three-judge panel commented that the Supreme Court “has repeatedly instructed courts to carefully consider the importance of preserving the status quo on the eve of an election.” That was a controlling reason, it said, for permitting the law to govern voting in the remaining days before the November 4 election.

* * *

Circuit Judge Edith Brown Clement wrote the opinion, joined in full by Circuit Judge Catharina Haynes. Circuit Judge Gregg J. Costa went along only with the result, saying that he interpreted recent Supreme Court actions in voting rights cases as expressing “concern about confusion resulting from court changes to election laws close in time to the election.” That view, he said, should “carry the day” for purposes of temporarily blocking changes that otherwise would go into effect.

9th Circuit Court of Appeals allows same-sex marriages to proceed in Idaho

October 14, 2014 by AZ BlueMeanie

On Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit cleared the way (.pdf) for same-sex couples in Idaho to begin seeking marriage licenses as of noon (Eastern time) on Wednesday. Lyle Denniston at SCOTUSblog reports, Once more, same-sex marriages allowed in Idaho:

The three-judge panel acted Monday without waiting for the arrival of some of the briefs it had summoned on that issue last Friday.

With the two-day delay before the order is to take effect, state officials in Idaho are expected to return to the Supreme Court to seek a delay — a repeat of the effort that the Justices turned down last Friday.

* * *

The Ninth Circuit’s one-sentence order granted a request by same-sex couples to put into effect the decision they had won last Tuesday in that court, nullifying the Idaho ban. The three-judge panel had held off doing so while it awaited the Supreme Court’s action last week on the state’s plea for postponement.

By issuing that order, the Ninth Circuit began sorting out a somewhat complex and confusing situation regarding Idaho and the marriage question. In response to an order the panel had issued last Friday, calling for new briefs, Idaho officials had submitted documents voicing opposition to letting gay and lesbian couples begin to wed.