Tag Archives: Justice Department

Obama pledges to keep fighting for the Voting Rights Act

Posted on August 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s hold him to that. President Barack Obama assured civil rights leaders Monday that he will aggressively protect minority voters in Texas and other states, a month after the Supreme Court ended decades of federal election scrutiny. “The Supreme Court … Continue reading →

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From the “She told you so” department

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

No one could have seen this coming. Well, no, pretty much anyone could have. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she’s not surprised that Southern states have pushed ahead with tough voter identification laws and other measures since the Supreme Court … Continue reading →

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Justice Department to push for Section 3 in Texas

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Bring it. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. announced on Thursday that the Justice Department would ask a court to require Texas to get permission from the federal government before making voting changes in that state for the next decade. … Continue reading →

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Redistricting tango continues in San Antonio

Posted on July 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

More to the point, the redistricting litigation continues, at least for the time being. A panel of federal judges denied the state’s request to dismiss the case, though they left open the possibility that they could do that later. And … Continue reading →

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RIP, Section 5

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

By now you are well aware that SCOTUS has dealt a blow to the Voting Rights Act. They actually left Section 5, which is what requires certain parts of the country (including Texas) to get preclearance on voting-related changes, intact, … Continue reading →

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HISD moving forward with North Forest annexation

Posted on June 16, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Despite some legal uncertainty, they pretty much have to keep moving forward. The Houston Independent School District moved forward Wednesday with its takeover of the beleaguered North Forest school system even as state education officials prepare for a Thursday hearing … Continue reading →

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TEA insists North Forest closure moving ahead

Posted on June 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

TEA Commissioner Michael Williams says don’t listen to the noise, North Forest ISD will be assimilated into HISD as planned on July 1. Williams said the Texas Education Agency, which he oversees, has followed state law and has the necessary … Continue reading →

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Justice Department engaged in North Forest closure

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

A possible ray of hope for supporters of North Forest ISD, which is still hoping to survive past July 1 when the TEA’s order for it to be subsumed into HISD takes effect. The chief of the Justice Department’s voting … Continue reading →

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Abbott asks for the interim maps

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. The recently dormant Texas redistricting issue woke up Thursday with a disagreement between the state’s attorney general and a Latino legislators’ group. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has called on the Legislature to make the current — and … Continue reading →

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It may not matter where the casinos are

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know if the gambling industry will finally gain traction in their effort to legally expand operations in Texas, but I do wonder if they’re fighting the last war and missing out on what’s happening now elsewhere in the … Continue reading →

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How should the San Antonio court proceed after SCOTUS rules on Section 5?

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

That’s what the San Antonio judges in the redistricting case asked the parties to help it figure out. In its order, the court told parties what has been widely assumed – namely that the panel would “not issue any opinion, … Continue reading →

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Single member districts for Farmers Branch

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Another long battle comes to an end. A Dallas federal judge has directed Farmers Branch to implement single-member City Council districts after the U.S. Justice Department signed off on the city’s proposed map. The move could set the stage for … Continue reading →

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Feds get involved in Dewhurst campaign embezzlement case

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The plot thickens. The campaign manager for Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, already facing a state investigation over allegations of theft from Dewhurst’s political account, has been accused of also taking at least $1 million from the Republican’s U.S. Senate campaign … Continue reading →

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Looks like we’ll be waiting on SCOTUS for awhile

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Redistricting: The Texas redistricting appeal wasn’t on the list of cases reviewed by the Justices at their screening conference today. With the passage of time – and the case not even being listed for review – the calendar now … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS has not taken up the Texas redistricting lawsuit yet

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Redistricting: No decision announced [Friday at the Supreme Court about whether the court will hear the Texas redistricting case. The court, however, could issue additional orders on Monday. The Justices haven’t had these briefs for long, so it’s not … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS voter ID update

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The matter is officially with the Supreme Court now. A federal court deferred further proceedings in a lawsuit filed by Texas over the state’s voter identification law until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on whether part of the Voting Rights … Continue reading →

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Where redistricting stands with SCOTUS

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From Texas Redistricting: What happens now in the Supreme Court? With the filing of motions to affirm or dismiss last week by the Justice Department and intervenors, Texas’ appeal of the preclearance ruling is now ready for review by the … Continue reading →

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Parties split on waiting for SCOTUS

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Redistricting: Lawyers for the Justice Department and intervenors in the Texas voter ID case told the court yesterday that the court should put off consideration of Texas’ claim that section 5 of the Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional until … Continue reading →

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Voter ID case will likely wait for SCOTUS, too

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Redistricting: In a move not too surprising, the three-judge panel in the Texas voter ID case also has asked the parties to brief the question of whether the court should delay taking up questions about the constitutionality of section … Continue reading →

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Harris County redistricting lawsuit kicks off

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Remember the lawsuit that was filed over the redistricting map for Harris County Commissioners Court? It’s been on hold since the beginning of the year, after an interim map was drawn to get us through this election and since the … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS to review Section 5

Posted on November 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Gird your loins. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge brought by Shelby County, Alabama to the continued constitutionality of section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. In its order taking the case, the high court limited the … Continue reading →

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Today’s the day

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

At long last, the death march known as Election 2012 will come to an end today, at which time we can begin gearing up for the next elections in 2013, 2014, and 2016, as well as dreading what the Legislature … Continue reading →

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Texas appeals DC Court redistricting decision

Posted on October 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose this was inevitable. Texas is appealing a federal court decision that denied preclearance to legislatively drawn redistricting maps, saying the court overstepped its authority under the federal Voting Rights Act, Attorney General Greg Abbott announced late Friday. That … Continue reading →

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Voting-related lawsuit updates

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From Texas Redistricting: The three-judge panel presiding over the Texas voter ID entered an order this morning adopting a briefing schedule for questions about the constitutionality of section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. With minor differences, the schedule tracks … Continue reading →

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More on Texas proving the need for the Voting Rights Act

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From the DMN: “There have been growing arguments that the Voting Rights Act is obsolete and should be struck down,” says University of Michigan law professor Ellen Katz, a nationally recognized expert on the Voting Rights Act. “But [Gov.] Rick … Continue reading →

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The state of Texas has already proven the case for the Voting Rights Act

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

So as you know, the state of Texas had its rear end handed to it in both the redistricting and voter ID preclearance lawsuits. Both of these rulings will be appealed to the Supreme Court, with the ultimate goal being … Continue reading →

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Federal court refuses to preclear Texas voter ID bill

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Another bad day in court for Texas Republicans. A federal three-judge panel on Thursday blocked the Texas voter ID law passed by the Republican Legislature, saying the new restrictions would place an unfair burden on Latinos, racial minorities and the … Continue reading →

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Federal court denies preclearance on all redistricting maps

Posted on August 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The long-awaited ruling in the preclearance lawsuit by the DC Court

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Poli Sci profs against voter ID

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Rice political science professor Mark Jones writes an op-ed in the Chron that does a thorough job of dissecting Texas’ contentious voter ID law. Nearly one out of every three Texas counties lacks an operational DPS office, and no office … Continue reading →

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Voter ID trial wraps up

Posted on July 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I didn’t follow the day to day reports from the voter ID preclearance trial, mostly because there wasn’t anything in the testimony that was truly unexpected. Lots of numbers, some of questionable provenance, were presented. The state continued to claim … Continue reading →

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Voter ID trial, day one

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

And they’re off, with the state bringing the funny math as part of its case. A Justice Department lawyer, Elizabeth Westfall, argued that the law has the potential to prevent 1.4 million Texans from voting who are eligible but lack … Continue reading →

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Voter ID trial starts today

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Another big lawsuit in a year that’s seen plenty of them. The decades-old legal battle between states’ rights and civil rights returns to a familiar venue – a federal courtroom – on Monday as lawyers for the state of Texas … Continue reading →

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Yet another voting-related lawsuit

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I had completely forgotten about this. A federal judge in Galveston is to consider motions in a lawsuit filed by a Washington-based voters’ rights group that contends Texas laws make it illegally difficult to register voters. The group Voting for … Continue reading →

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Abbott gives on legislative privilege

Posted on May 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

About time. In an effort to move to trial more quickly, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has quietly dropped his opposition to the Department of Justice’s request to take depositions from state lawmakers in the voter identification case. In March, … Continue reading →

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