Voters in Montana and Maryland went to the polls to decide upon two state immigration initiatives on Tuesday. In Maryland, Question 4 , often called “Maryland’s Dream Act,” passed with approximately 59 percent of the votes affirming the law’s passage. The measure allows for most undocumented immigrants who went to Maryland high schools for at [...]
Ballot proposals to exempt residents from portions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) were approved Tuesday in Montana , Alabama and Wyoming . A similar amendment in Florida was narrowly defeated by voters. The PPACA was a comprehensive health care reform law passed in March 2010. The amendments seek to exempt residents [...]
Virginia voters passed Question 1 on Tuesday by 76 percent , amending the state Constitution to include prohibitions on the State utilizing eminent domain to seize private property. Question 1 amends Article 1, Section 11 of the state Constitution to “require that eminent domain only be exercised where the property taken or damaged is for [...]
California voters passed Proposition 36 on Tuesday, modifying the state’s “three strikes” law to apply a mandatory life sentence only if the third strike is a serious or violent crime. Before the referendum, the three strikes law would mandate a life sentence for a third conviction after two convictions for violent felonies. In practice, this [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Christopher Elsee, St. John’s University School of Law Class of 2013, is the author of the tenth article in a 15-part series from the staffers of the Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development. He discusses the weaknesses of the Terrorist Expatriation Act and suggests how to improve it…
An independent UN rights expert on Monday urged justice for victims of domestic violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) , saying high rates of violence can largely be attributed to war-related Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, addiction and poverty. The report was offered by UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women Rashida Manjoo , who stressed the [...]
Marijuana will become legal in Colorado and Washington after voters passed ballot initiatives Tuesday to legalize marijuana for the first time on a statewide basis. In Washington voters approved an Initiative to the Legislature to allow the possession and distribution of marijuana through a state-licensing system of marijuana growers, processors and stores, where adults can [...]
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) called on US President Barack Obama early Wednesday morning to shut down the Guantanamo Bay military prison, even as it congratulated him on his re-election victory. Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU, urged Obama to “make good the promise he made four years ago to close the prison [...]
A Judge Advocate General for the Military Court Centre in Bulford ruled Wednesday that five UK Royal Marines charged with murder are to remain anonymous throughout their court martial. The five are charged with killing a wounded Taliban fighter, who appeared in a video that features marines debating whether to give the fighter medical care. [...]
The French Council of Ministers approved a draft bill Wednesday providing same-sex couples with the right to marry. The bill extends the rights of marriage, including adoption rights, to same-sex couples living in France without altering current legal marriage and adoptive relationships. The bill was pushed forward by President Francois Hollande despite becoming a controversial [...]
