Justice
Florida gave voting rights to people with felony convictions. Now some face charges for voting.
Florida authorities arrested a Black man while he was staying in a homeless shelter and charged him with voting illegally in a case tied to Republicans’ drive to root out election fraud. But Kelvin Bolton’s arrest raises questions about the rollout of Amendment 4, passed by Florida voters in 2018 to restore voting rights to […]
Prosecutor and public defender challenge veteran judge in LV Justice Court
Note: Primary elections are slated in five Las Vegas Justice Court departments. The Current is profiling candidates in all of the races. The three-way battle for Las Vegas Justice Court Department 9 pits sitting Justice of the Peace Joe Bonaventure against prosecutor Danielle Pieper Chio and public defender Shana Brouwers. Bonaventure won his first election […]
States rush to revise their abortion laws as a major U.S. Supreme Court decision nears
WASHINGTON — Abortion access throughout the country could soon depend on a patchwork of state laws if a U.S. Supreme Court dominated by conservatives overturns the constitutional right it established nearly 50 years ago. The court’s decision on Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban is expected sometime within the next two months. But state legislatures have been […]
Clarence Thomas and his wife’s text messages highlight missing ethics rules at the Supreme Court
Time and time again, the nation’s highest court has come under fire for failing to manage potentially unethical behavior by its justices. In the past, the Supreme Court of the United States has cast aside pleas to adopt an ethics code for the justices. Now, the actions of Justice Clarence Thomas’ wife, Virginia – who […]
CDC concludes a mask mandate is still needed for travelers, clearing way for court battle
The Biden administration will fight a court decision for the authority to mandate masks on airplanes, trains and other public transit, following a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation Wednesday night that a mandate was still needed. The CDC said in a statement that the mandate keeps transportation safer for immunocompromised people and the greater public. […]
Some cities and states say big oil should pay for climate damage
In the waning days of 2021, a grass fire broke out in Boulder County, Colorado. Fueled by extreme drought and high winds, the fire swept through the communities of Superior and Louisville. Within hours, it had destroyed more than a thousand structures—making the Marshall Fire the most destructive in the state’s history. The December fire […]
Judge tosses school voucher initiative
A measure to create a publicly funded private school voucher system in Nevada by amending the state constitution has been declared “legally deficient” by a district court judge. Education Freedom for Nevada PAC, the initiative’s sponsors, “are playing … a shell game” for failing “to describe the enormous fiscal impact of this initiative on the […]
Rural judges push back against law mandating bail hearings within 48 hours
Ahead of a law requiring a bail hearing within 48 hours of an arrest taking effect this summer, rural judges told lawmakers on Friday they worry smaller jurisdictions won’t be prepared. White Pine County Judge Stephen Bishop, who in October began conducting hearings ahead of the law’s required implementation, cited antiquated technology, staffing shortages, insufficient […]
Human trafficking requires bipartisan solution, not partisan politics, Cortez Masto says
Human trafficking is a national problem and requires a bipartisan solution, says Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto. “It is something we should be working on together instead of playing politics with it, it is a problem we have,” Cortez Masto said at an RTC transit center in Las Vegas last week. “I don’t care what […]
Jackson wins 3 GOP votes as U.S. Senate advances her Supreme Court nomination
The U.S. Senate advanced Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s historic Supreme Court nomination in a 53-47 procedural vote Monday evening, hours after the Judiciary Committee deadlocked along party lines. Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah voted with all 50 Senate Democrats on the procedural vote Monday. The […]
Wolfson gone but not forgotten at DA forum
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson was physically absent from a candidate forum Thursday night, but his presence loomed large as Republican Tim Treffinger and Democrat Ozzie Fumo made their respective cases why they’d be better DAs than Wolfson. The incumbent backed out of the debate at the last minute, citing recent public provocations involving […]
Upcoming U.S. Supreme Court cases could curb colleges’ use of affirmative action
WASHINGTON — A U.S. Supreme Court dominated by conservative justices could fundamentally reshape the college admissions process later this year when it takes up two landmark cases challenging affirmative action in higher education. The court recently agreed to hear two cases that challenge race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, the nation’s oldest private and […]