Category Archives: Department of Justice
Trump DOJ: Court Should Give Up Jurisdiction and Trust Texas on Voter ID Education Efforts
Texas dragged its feet in implementing the district court’s interim remedy in the Texas voter id case, which allowed voters without one of the right (narrow) forms of identification to vote in Texas elections. The state was so bad at… Continue reading
“While Kobach Commission Bumbles, DOJ Sends Its Own Voter Suppression Signals”
“This DOJ Letter May Be More Alarming Than Trump Commission’s Request For Voter Data”
HuffPo:
Former Department of Justice officials and voting advocates are seriously alarmed over a DOJ letter sent to states last week that they say could signal a forthcoming effort to kick people off voter rolls. This comes as national attention… Continue reading
Vanita Gupta: “It’s Time to Revive the Heart of the Voting Rights Act”
Vanita Gupta in The Root:
Instead of focusing on actual problems, like modern-day voting discrimination, however, the Trump administration is working to further undermine our democracy. One of Jeff Sessions’ first moves as attorney general was to withdraw the Department… Continue reading
“Friend Says Trump Is Considering Firing Mueller as Special Counsel”
NYT:
Under Justice Department rules, Mr. Trump would seemingly have to order Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein to rescind department regulations protecting a special counsel from being fired for no good reason, and then to fire Mr. Mueller. If… Continue reading
“Trump Can Take Payments From Foreign Governments, U.S. Says”; DOJ Borrows From Prof’s Article without Citation
Bloomberg on this DOJ brief:
George Washington did it, so Donald Trump can too.
That’s the Justice Department’s take on why the 45th president isn’t violating the U.S. Constitution by accepting payments for goods and services from foreign governments without… Continue reading
“How Jeff Sessions could determine the state of democracy in Texas”
Reveal:
Federal judges have ruled four separate times this year that Republican leaders in Texas rigged election systems to discriminate against minority voters, which potentially could land the entire state under federal oversight.
Under what’s known as preclearance, local and… Continue reading
“A Department of Justice, But For Whom?”
Joshua Matz and Leah Litman:
At the end of March, a group of conservative activists sent Attorney General Jeff Sessions an unsolicited letter with some detailed suggestions about how to “fix” the Civil Rights Division of the Department of… Continue reading
“Fifth Circuit Judge Assails DOJ ‘Arrogance’ in Voting Rights Case”
Texas Lawyer reports.
My coverage of Judge Smith’s dissent in the Texas redistricting case is here and here.
Analysis: Texas Redistricting Decision Major Victory for Voting Rights Bar and May Pave Way for Texas to Be Back under Federal Supervision
Last night I linked to the extensive ruling and findings of fact and conclusions of law in a very long-running dispute about whether Texas’s congressional districting were a violation of the Voting Rights Act and/or the Constitution. I have now… Continue reading
Marc Joseph Stern Dispatch from Texas Voter ID Hearing Said It Went Well for Plaintiffs, Despite DOJ Flip
I Talked to Texas Standard About DOJ’s About-Face on Texas’s Voter ID Law
Listen.
Today’s Must-Read: Emily Bazelon on the New DOJ: “Department of Justification”
With a nice section on voting rights, in the new NYT Magazine.