Civil & Human Rights

‘Son of Citizens United’ McCutcheon v. FEC: 5-4 decision from the usual suspects

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The John Roberts U.S. Supreme Court is the most pro-corporation, pro-plutocracy court since the Gilded Age at the turn of the last century. The unelected “Felonious Five” conservative activist Justices of the Court are working overtime to legislate from the bench the foundation for a new corporatocracy ruled by über-rich wealthy elite corporate plutocrats.

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“Son of Citizens United,” the McCutcheon v. FEC campaign finance case was decided today in a 5-4 decision by the usual suspects.  Justices void overall contribution limits:

The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued one of its most significant campaign finance rulings ever, striking down the overall campaign contribution limits that currently prevented individuals from contributing more than $123,000 to candidates and party committees per election cycle.

In a 5-4 decision, the justices ruled that individuals should be able to give the maximum per-candidate and per-party contributions to as many party committees, presidential and congressional candidates as they want. Under the current limits, individuals could give no more than $123,000 in total and $48,600 to candidates for the 2013-2014 election cycle.

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Nevada same-sex marriage case delayed by the 9th Circuit Court

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6a00d8341bf80c53ef019103db45a1970c-120wiIn early March, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals scheduled oral arguments in Nevada’s same-sex marriage case, Sevcik v. Sandoval, for April 9 in San Francisco. It would have been the first same-sex marriage case argued at the Court of Appeals level.

Shortly after, however, the Court of Appeals cancelled the April 9 date for argument without explanation. A new hearing date has not been rescheduled. Now I know why.

A judge of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has sua sponte requested an en banc hearing in SmithKline Beecham v. Abbott Laboratories, a case that  involved whether gay people could be kept off a jury in a trial. On Jan. 21, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit stated, “Windsor review is not rational basis review. In its words and its deed, Windsor established a level of scrutiny for classifications based on sexual orientation that is unquestionably higher than rational basis review. In other words, Windsor requires that heightened scrutiny be applied to equal protection claims involving sexual orientation.”

Abbott Laboratories did not seek further review from the 9th Circuit, and the company said it would not seek Supreme Court review of the 9th Circuit Court decision.

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Budget’s almost done, what mischief can we expect? Plenty!

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Cross posted from the Arizona Eagletarian

By no means will it be a slam dunk getting Gov. Brewer to sign the FY2015 budget that is all but finalized by the legislature, extra $900,000 gift to the private prison industrial complex notwithstanding.

Scuttlebutt at the capitol has it that Senate President Biggs and Brewer may have a deal anyway, with Biggs possibly undoing some of the changes made by the House last week. What the bills will actually say by the time they are delivered to Brewer is still anyone’s guess, however.

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GOP war on voting: a strategy for voter suppression

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A big investigative piece in the New York Times today by Steve Yaccino and Lizette Alvarez, Measures by G.O.P. Aim to Limit Voting in Swing States:

Voting-RightsPivotal swing states under Republican control are embracing significant new electoral restrictions on registering and voting that go beyond the voter identification requirements that have caused fierce partisan brawls.

The bills, laws and administrative rules — some of them tried before — shake up fundamental components of state election systems, including the days and times polls are open and the locations where people vote.

Republicans in Ohio and Wisconsin this winter pushed through measures limiting the time polls are open, in particular cutting into weekend voting favored by low-income voters and blacks, who sometimes caravan from churches to polls on the Sunday before election.

Democrats in North Carolina are scrambling to fight back against the nation’s most restrictive voting laws, passed by Republicans there last year. The measures, taken together, sharply reduce the number of early voting days and establish rules that make it more difficult for people to register to vote, cast provisional ballots or, in a few cases, vote absentee.

In all, nine states have passed measures making it harder to vote since the beginning of 2013. Most have to do with voter ID laws. Other states are considering mandating proof of citizenship, like a birth certificate or a passport, after a federal court judge recently upheld such laws passed in Arizona and Kansas. Because many poor people do not have either and because documents can take time and money to obtain, Democrats say the ruling makes it far more difficult for people to register.

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Appeal filed in Arizona proof-of-citizenship voter registration case

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Voting rights groups filed an appeal on Friday from the order of a judge of the U.S. District Court for Kansas,  ordering federal election officials to help Kansas and Arizona enforce state laws requiring new voters to provide documentation proving their U.S. citizenship. Voter rights groups appeal Kan. citizenship ruling – Salon.com:

Screenshot-15A court filing sent to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals challenges a ruling earlier this month by U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren in Wichita. Melgren had ordered the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to immediately modify a national voter registration form to add special instructions requiring proof of citizenship for Kansas and Arizona residents.

The appeal was filed by more than a dozen voting rights groups and individuals who had earlier intervened in the case on behalf of the election commission. They include the League of Women Voters of the United States, Project Vote Inc., Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Common Cause, Arizona Advocacy Network, League of United Latin American Citizens Arizona, Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, Chicanos Por La Causa and others.

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