Courts & Law

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals sitting in the Byron White Courthouse in Denver, Colorado will hear oral arguments in Kobach v. U.S. Election Assistance Commission tomorrow morning, August 25, 2014, at 10:00 a.m. MST. Argument Schedule (.pdf).

This is the Prop. 200 (2004) proof-of-citizenship requirement to register to vote in Arizona for which Arizona Secretary of State Ken “Birther” Bennett, relying on nothing more than an Attorney General Opinion from Tom “banned for life by the SEC’ Horne, AG Opinion No. 113-011 Here (.pdf), has by executive fiat imposed a “dual election” system in Arizona for elections this year — there is no statutory authorization under Arizona law for such a dual election system — in which voters who registered to vote using the federal voter registration form will only be allowed to vote in federal races (Congress) in Tuesday’s primary election.

Arizona election officials earlier this year estimated 1,500 voters will have to use the special ballot with only federal races for the state primaries on Aug. 26.

That’s right, Arizona will deprive American citizens of their franchise to vote in state races on Tuesday in violation of their privileges and immunities as citizens of the U.S. and in violation of their due process rights under the 14th Amendment. Because “states’ rights!”

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It started in the “Conch Republic” of the Florida Keys a few weeks ago when a state court judge struck down Florida’s same-sex marriage ban in that country. This decision was quickly followed by state court judges in several other South Florida counties striking down the state’s same-sex marriage ban in their counties as well.

Now a federal district court judge in Florida has struck down Florida’s same-sex marriage ban. the Miami Herald reports, U.S. judge slams Florida ban on gay marriages:

In the first decision on same-sex marriage with statewide impact, a federal judge ruled Thursday that Florida’s gay-marriage ban is unconstitutional, ordering the state to allow the marriage of same-sex couples and to recognize marriages performed elsewhere.

“When observers look back 50 years from now, the arguments supporting Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage, though just as sincerely held, will again seem an obvious pretext for discrimination,” wrote U.S District Judge Robert L. Hinkle of Tallahassee. “Observers who are not now of age will wonder just how those views could have been held.”

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U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who was in Ferguson, Missouri today for a briefing on the investigation, had this op-ed published by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch this morning. A message to the people of Ferguson:

Since the Aug. 9 shooting death of Michael Brown, the nation and the world have witnessed the unrest that has gripped Ferguson, Mo. At the core of these demonstrations is a demand for answers about the circumstances of this young man’s death and a broader concern about the state of our criminal justice system.

At a time when so much may seem uncertain, the people of Ferguson can have confidence that the Justice Department intends to learn — in a fair and thorough manner — exactly what happened.

Today, I will be in Ferguson to be briefed on the federal civil rights investigation that I have closely monitored since I launched it more than one week ago. I will meet personally with community leaders, FBI investigators and federal prosecutors from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to receive detailed briefings on the status of this case.

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