Category Archives: Uncategorized

Trump Temporarily Un-gaged

October 20, 2023, 4:40 pmUncategorizedFirst Amendment, Gag Order, TrumpTabatha Abu El-Haj

AP reports that U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan agreed to temporarily lift the gag order to give “Trump’s lawyers time to prove why the former president’s comments should not be restricted as the case heads toward trial.” They presumably will… Continue reading

“Republican states swore off a voting tool. Now they’re scrambling to recreate it”

October 20, 2023, 8:03 amUncategorizedElection Integrity, ERICTabatha Abu El-Haj

NPR: Misinformation about a bipartisan, cross-state partnership known as the Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, pushed several Republican legislatures to back out of it in recent months. But now, these same legislatures are scrambling to create systems to… Continue reading

D.C. Circuit, on 2-1 Vote, Upholds Conviction of Jan. 6 Attacker on Grounds He Acted “Corruptly” in Obstructing Proceedings; Implications for Trump Prosecution

October 20, 2023, 7:46 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

You can find the majority opinion (by two Democratic-appointed judge) and the dissent (by a Republican-appointed judge) at this link. To oversimplify things a bit, the majority defined “corruptly” to include acting unlawfully. The dissenter viewed the term as… Continue reading

Breaking News: “Trump co-defendant Sidney Powell pleads guilty in Georgia election-interference case”

October 19, 2023, 7:23 amUncategorizedTabatha Abu El-Haj

Washington Post: “Pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell has pled guilty in a Georgia election-interference case. . . . She agreed to serve six years of probation, pay a $6,000 fine, pay $2,700 to the Georgia secretary of state’s office and… Continue reading

“Special counsel Jack Smith pulls subpoena over pro-Trump fundraising”

October 18, 2023, 12:25 pmUncategorizedThe Big Lie, Trump indictmentTabatha Abu El-Haj

Washington Post raises questions about what can be inferred from the decision of Special counsel Jack Smith to withdraw “a subpoena seeking records about fundraising by the political action committee Save America.” The group, controlled by former president Donald Trump,… Continue reading

Text of Trump Gag Order in Election Interference Case

October 17, 2023, 8:48 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

This just in: All interested parties in this matter, including the parties and their counsel, are prohibited from making any public statements, or directing others to make any public statements, that target (1) the Special Counsel prosecuting this case… Continue reading

“A Legal Fight Over Whether Governors Can Deny Thousands the Vote”

October 16, 2023, 2:28 pmUncategorizedfelon disenfranchisement, Kentucky, VirginiaTabatha Abu El-Haj

NY Times: Three states give their governors unfettered discretion when it comes to restoring the voting rights of felons. Two are being sued under the First Amendment. At the heart of these cases is whether a governor’s discretion to… Continue reading

“Judge imposes gag order on Donald Trump in D.C. trial”

October 16, 2023, 10:45 amUncategorizedTrumpTabatha Abu El-Haj

Politico: Judge Tanya Chutkan has imposed a gag order preventing Donald J. Trump from attacking witnesses, special prosecutor Jack Smith, or the court on social media or in his rally speeches. As reported, the order appears to be centered… Continue reading

Louisiana Bans Private Elections Funding

October 16, 2023, 10:00 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Bolts: Voters overwhelmingly approved Amendment 1, a measure that will block Louisiana’s election offices from receiving private grants from outside organizations. A non-profit with ties to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg donated hundreds of millions of dollars in 2020 to… Continue reading

Republicans Advantage in House Fading

October 16, 2023, 7:50 amUncategorizedredistrictingTabatha Abu El-Haj

The Morning analyzes how redistricting for Congress is shaping up after the rounds of litigation. Its conclusion: The Republican Party’s advantage is fading. “If everything goes Democrats’ way, roughly 10 House seats could become meaningfully easier to win. Next year,… Continue reading

“Using big data to make elections fairer

October 16, 2023, 6:41 amUncategorizedNicholas Stephanopoulos

Kosuke Imai and Ruth Greenwood wrote this column for CommonWealth on some of their data visualization projects for redistricting. We run two projects that provide tools to help people, courts, and legislators understand how and why that is so. The … Continue reading

Redistricting Battles

October 16, 2023, 5:19 amUncategorizedracial gerrymanders, redistricting, VRATabatha Abu El-Haj

The newest episode of Our Body Politic has an excellent segment on Alabama’s redistricting fights. It is clear and accessible, and ends with a stark bottom line: “The State of Alabama has never expanded the franchise to black voters on… Continue reading

House Likely to Pick Speaker This Week. But how or whom remains unclear.

October 16, 2023, 4:48 amUncategorizedHouse SpeakershipTabatha Abu El-Haj

The prospects of going another week without a Speaker of the House seems unlikely given Biden’s determination to support Israel. But as this round-up shows, it remains quite unclear who will emerge or how. Jim Jordan can only afford to… Continue reading

“How candidate Trump’s claims boost legal risks for defendant Trump”

October 15, 2023, 1:28 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

WaPo: As prosecutors and lawyers for Donald Trump spar over the former president’s public statements, Trump the candidate keeps saying things that couldhurt Trump the defendant’s chances in court. In the span of about six months, Trump has been charged… Continue reading