July, 2010
Below are postings from July, 2010. (See Archives | Recent Headlines)
Doe v. Reed a Disappointment on Several Fronts
July 2 - The Supreme Court published Doe v Reed last week, at the very end of its 2009-2010 term, and the case was a major disappointment in many ways. At issue in the case was a challenge to the Public Records Act of the State of Washington that, according to the Washington Secretary of State, forced state officials to disclose publicly the contents of petitions for a referendum on the recently passed and signed State of Washington law. The law extends benefits to same-sex couples. The referendum demand, which gathered sufficient petition signatures, put the law to a popular vote. The people of Washington voted 53% to 47% to sustain the law.
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Commentary
Arizona: Voter Registration and the Road Ahead
Justin Levitt
June arrived with two election law cases at the Supreme Court. One is still pending: a highly anticipated decision on section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The other, more frequently overlooked, was decided yesterday. And there are some quirks of the opinion that seem to depart from the swiftly congealing conventional wisdom that the states might actually have "won," and now need only run out the clock.
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