JURIST Guest Columnist Masoud Mortazavi, St. John’s University School of Law, Class of 2015, is the author of the fifth article in a twelve-part series from the staffers of the Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development. Mortazavi discusses the ways in which professional sports have helped shape the narrative on gay rights…On February 9, [...]
Nevada citizens on Tuesday voted to approve the creation of an appellate court in Nevada . Previously, the state’s 10 district courts could hear appeals from municipal and justice courts, but the Nevada Supreme Court was required to hear appeals from cases originating in district courts, because Nevada’s constitution protects its citizens’ right to appeal. [...]
The US Department of Defense (DOD) on Wednesday announced the release of Fouzi Khalid Abdullah Al Awda from the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, after nearly 13 years of imprisonment without a trial. Al Awda is a 37-year-old citizen of Kuwait who was captured in 2002 in Afghanistan for his involvement with the Taliban. On [...]
Amnesty International (AI) accused Israel of committing war crimes during the 2014 Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a 48-page report published on Wednesday, entitled “Families Under Rubble: Israeli Attacks on Inhabited Homes.” In eight documented cases, the report alleges Israeli forces dropped aerial bombs or launched missiles at inhabited family homes, and in three instances the attacks [...]
Illinois voters on Tuesday approved the Illinois Right to Vote Amendment , which bans all voter discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or income. This provision will amend the Suffrage and Election Article of the Illinois Constitution . The amendment was primarily sponsored by House Speaker Michael Madigan and [...]
Abortion measures were on the ballot across the country as Tennessee’s Amendment 1, Colorado’s Amendment 67, and North Dakota’s Measure 1 went before voters during Tuesday’s midterm elections. Tennessee’s new amendment grants stronger power to lawmakers to regulate abortions, clarifying that the right to an abortion is neither secured nor protected by the state’s constitution. [...]
Ballot measures in both Washington and Alabama passed in Tuesday’s midterm elections, altering the states’ gun laws. Washington Initiative 594, a measure requiring background checks for all gun purchases, passed with more than 59 percent of the vote. This new law will alter the state’s existing practice of requiring background checks only for sales from [...]
Alabama voters on Tuesday passed Foreign Laws in Court Amendment One , a ballot measure that prohibits the use of foreign law to make decisions in Alabama courts. The amendment will be added to the state’s constitution after a legislative committee determines where it will best fit and how it should be numbered. Amendment One [...]
Colorado voters on Tuesday rejected Proposition 105 , a measure that would have required companies to label foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs). According to preliminary results, the measure received only about 32 percent voter approval, with 68 percent opposed . Supporters of the measure argued that a label was not a ban, and would [...]
Voters in Alaska, Oregon and Washington, DC, voted Tuesday to legalize recreational marijuana. In Alaska Measure 2 , which passed with 52 percent of the vote , legalized recreational marijuana use for adults over the age of 21, allowing adults to “possess, use, show, buy, transport, or grow set amounts of marijuana.” The measure includes [...]
