Mississippi The Republican-controlled Mississippi legislature passed legislation last week that creates a separate unelected court system and expands Capitol Police authority in Jackson. Unelected judges House Bill 1020 would allow white, statewide officials to appoint their own judges to a new criminal justice court in America’s second Blackest city. Specifically, the bill tasks Mississippi Supreme Court […]
Kevin Desir The family of a Black man beaten and killed by his jailers while in the midst of a mental health episode is suing the officers involved in the incident. Kevin Desir, 43, was arrested in January 2021 for marijuana possession, following too closely in a vehicle, and a probation violation. According to his family, Desir […]
Student IDs The League of Women Voters and local voter advocacy group Babe Vote filed a lawsuit against Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane (R) challenging a newly enacted voter suppression law. House Bill 124, signed into law by Gov. Brad Little (R) earlier this month, eliminates the use of a student ID as an acceptable form of […]
IDAHO An Idaho hospital is shutting down its labor and delivery department after the state’s criminalization of abortion providers drove away many of its doctors. Bonner General Health, located in the city of Sandpoint (northern Idaho), explained in a press release that “highly respected, talented physicians are leaving” and “recruiting replacements will be extraordinarily difficult.” In addition, […]
Child Labor Arkansas Earlier this month, newly-elected Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) signed a bill into law that rolls back child labor protections across the state. H.B. 1410, the “Youth Hiring Act of 2023,” eliminates the requirement that children under 16 years of age obtain a work certificate from the state before starting a job. […]
What is ESG ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance criteria in investing. It refers to a strategy of evaluating a company outside of traditional metrics, by taking into account how a corporation (1) interacts with the environment, like its contribution to air pollution; (2) takes care of its employees, suppliers, distributors, and customers; and (3) […]
The FEC, for the first time, explicitly ruled that leadership PAC funds can be used for personal expenses. The Federal Elections Commission was reviewing a case wherein former Republican congressman Lou Barletta, of Pennsylvania, used his leadership PAC to make rent payments to his wife. A leadership PAC is a political committee controlled by a […]
Cancer Alley The Department of Justice sued the country’s sole neoprene plant in Louisiana over violations of the Clean Air Act, asking the courts to force the company to reduce its cancer-causing emissions. Denka, a chemical corporation headquartered in Japan, leases a neoprene manufacturing site in St. John the Baptist Parish (southeast Louisiana) from American […]
Senate Democrats are coming out in favor of a GOP measure to block the District of Columbia from updating its century-old criminal code. Background As I am far from an expert on DC criminal law, this section summarizes two comprehensive articles on the subject from Slate and DCist. I highly suggest reading these articles for more detail. DC’s […]
Pandemic spending The House Oversight Committee, now led by Rep. James Comer (R-KY), held its first hearing this month titled “Federal Pandemic Spending: A Prescription for Waste, Fraud and Abuse.” Three witnesses attended the hearing: David Smith, U.S. Secret Service Assistant Director of Office of Investigation; Michael Horowitz, DOJ Inspector General; and Gene Dodaro, Comptroller […]
