State Government

702 ABA Journal State Government articles.

Want to strengthen voting rights? The ABA is seeking volunteers for Perfecting Democracy initiative

Two ABA groups have launched initiatives with the aim of strengthening election protection and the public’s trust in the electoral process.

Nov 1, 2022 8:39 AM CDT

Community resident has standing to sue over planned removal of Confederate statue, top Georgia court says

A community resident can sue over plans to remove a Confederate statue from her county, but groups without ties to the community don’t have standing, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled last week.

Oct 31, 2022 8:35 AM CDT

Kagan temporarily blocks Jan. 6 committee subpoena for Arizona GOP leader’s phone records

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan on Wednesday issued an administrative stay that blocks a subpoena for a GOP official’s phone records by the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack.

Oct 27, 2022 9:31 AM CDT

Ban on nonunanimous juries is not retroactive in Louisiana, top state court says

The Louisiana Supreme Court ruled Friday that inmates convicted by nonunanimous juries can’t challenge their convictions if they were final before the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Sixth Amendment required jury unanimity to convict in serious cases—in federal and state courts.

Oct 25, 2022 8:55 AM CDT

Sen. Lindsey Graham must testify before Georgia grand jury, with some exceptions, 11th Circuit rules

Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina must testify about efforts to “cajole” or “exhort” Georgia election officials in connection with the 2020 election, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Oct 21, 2022 11:27 AM CDT

Judge is removed after she is accused of presiding ‘in a manner befitting a game show host’

The Ohio Supreme Court has suspended a Cleveland municipal judge after a hearing panel concluded that she “ruled her courtroom in a reckless and cavalier manner” and “conducted business in a manner befitting a game show host.”

Oct 19, 2022 2:34 PM CDT

Dad accused of arranging teen’s marriage to avoid child-custody deal wins in Idaho Supreme Court

A magistrate judge no longer had jurisdiction in a child-custody dispute over a 16-year-old girl after the teenager married and obtained legal emancipation, the Idaho Supreme Court has ruled. The state supreme court ruled for William Eugene Hornish Jr., who was accused of arranging a sham marriage for his daughter, so that he could deprive the court of jurisdiction and take the teen to Florida with him.

Oct 19, 2022 10:59 AM CDT

DOJ report explains why jailhouse informant program violated defendants’ constitutional rights

A jailhouse informant program in Orange County, California, violated the constitutional rights of criminal defendants because of jailers’ involvement, according to a long-awaited report by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Oct 17, 2022 1:31 PM CDT

Is forever really forever? Question may be answered in lawsuit over UC Hastings name change

When California legislators in 1878 enacted a statute to name the state’s first public law school after a wealthy landowner and state supreme court chief justice, did they consider whether subsequent laws could change the agreement?

Oct 13, 2022 12:06 PM CDT

Supreme Court vacates ruling allowing counting of undated ballots; Dr. Oz had urged that result

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday vacated a federal appeals court ruling that allowed the counting of mail-in ballots in undated envelopes in a local judicial race in Pennsylvania.

Oct 11, 2022 12:33 PM CDT

Florida can ban businesses from requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination, 11th Circuit rules

A federal appeals court is allowing Florida to enforce a law that bans businesses from requiring proof of a COVID-19 vaccination.

Oct 7, 2022 12:35 PM CDT

Judge partly blocks law designating Times Square gun-free zone; New York will appeal

New York Attorney General Letitia James has said she will appeal a ruling partially blocking New York’s concealed-carry restrictions, including the law’s designation of Times Square as a sensitive location where guns are banned.

Oct 7, 2022 10:19 AM CDT

Pastor can’t sue for free speech violation after city council cut his mic, 11th Circuit rules

A federal appeals court has tossed a lawsuit filed by a pastor who claimed that a city council in Jacksonville, Florida, violated his First Amendment rights when it cut off his microphone during his invocation.

Oct 6, 2022 9:14 AM CDT

Justice Jackson, other liberal SCOTUS justices appeared determined ‘to go down swinging’ in voting-maps case

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan called a challenge to Alabama’s congressional voting maps a “slam dunk” during oral arguments Tuesday, even as the conservative justices on the high court appeared to be searching for a narrow way to uphold them.

Oct 5, 2022 10:11 AM CDT

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