“The Supreme Court Shouldn’t Punt on This One; The Court needs to give the country a clear, final answer on Donald Trump’s eligibility for office.”

January 28, 2024, 9:15 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Deborah Pearlstein in The Atlantic: The difficult questions in this case are likely to leave the justices divided. But there is no legal reason these claims need to leave them politically polarized, with the six Republican-appointed justices on one side and the three… Continue reading

Are the Courts Likely to Sustain the $65 Million in Punitive Damages Awarded Against Trump in the E. Jean Carroll Defamation Case?

January 26, 2024, 2:08 pmRemediesRick Hasen

A jury just found Donald Trump liable for over $83 million in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case. Of that, about $65 million are punitive damages. Are the punitive damages likely to be sustained if challenged (as they will be)… Continue reading

“Conn. mayor wins do-over race after GOP seized on Democratic ballot-stuffing”

January 26, 2024, 11:29 amabsentee ballots, chicaneryRick Hasen

WaPo: A Connecticut mayor whose September primary election win was invalidated after ballot-fraud allegations won a do-over primary Tuesday, months after his case became a flash point in conservative arguments about debunked theories of voter fraud. s Donald Trump … Continue reading

Challengers File Brief on the Merits at Supreme Court in Trump Disqualification Case

January 26, 2024, 11:02 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

You can find the brief here, which is very well done. I’ll have more to say about the briefing in a piece posting Monday.

“The California Supreme Court Replaces Gingles Prong One”

January 26, 2024, 10:55 amVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

Jason D’Andrea and Bruce Wessel have posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Fordham Law Voting Rights and Democracy Forum). Here is the abstract: This Essay analyzes Pico Neighborhood Association v. City of Santa Monica, the California Supreme Court’s first decision… Continue reading

“Your Guide to Four Emerging Threats to the Voting Rights Act”

January 26, 2024, 10:52 amVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

Bolts: After years of being whittled away by federal judges, the Voting Rights Act unexpectedly survived an existential threat in 2023 when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld what’s left of the landmark civil rights law while striking down Alabama’s congressional… Continue reading

“‘Preposterous’: Federal judge decries efforts to downplay Jan. 6 violence, label perpetrators ‘hostages'”

January 25, 2024, 2:30 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Politico: The longest-serving district judge on the federal bench in Washington, D.C., warned Thursday that false rhetoric about the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol — including the sorts of lies hurled by former President Donald Trump and some of… Continue reading

“Scholars unmask Trump election lawyers’ use of falsified evidence”

January 25, 2024, 1:24 pmfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Steven Rosenfeld: Beadles’ reward wasn’t real. Nor was his purported evidence. But this stunt, and especially its use of irrelevant statistics to appear authoritative and smear elections, is common in Trump circles. A working paper by two Stanford University scholars,… Continue reading

“Elon Musk Is Spreading Election Misinformation, but X’s Fact Checkers Are Long Gone”

January 25, 2024, 1:11 pmcheap speechRick Hasen

NYT: In the spring of 2020, when President Donald J. Trump wrote messages on Twitter warning that increased reliance on mail-in ballots would lead to a “rigged election,” the platform ran a corrective, debunking his claims. “Get the facts… Continue reading

“No Labels director doubles down on 3rd-party ticket after New Hampshire”

January 25, 2024, 10:38 amUncategorizedNed Foley

The Hill reports. It seems pretty definite that No Labels will enter the race, assuming they can find a candidate they consider suitable. The report quotes their national director as saying “if America wants another choice, we’re gonna offer it… Continue reading

My New Piece in Politico: “Opinion: The 2024 Election Will Be Fair. People Still Won’t Believe It.”

January 25, 2024, 7:31 amelection subversion risk, Real Right to Vote, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

I have written this piece for Politico. A snippet: The current backdrop for the 2024 election may seem bleak: Many of those who helped to ensure a fair election and a peaceful transition of power in 2020 have been silenced,… Continue reading

“Trump leans into voter fraud playbook, preparing to cry foul if he loses expected Biden rematch”

January 25, 2024, 7:23 amelection subversion risk, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

AP: For months, Trump has been alleging that he could be the victim of fraud in November, making the same sort of explosive, groundless allegations that fueled the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and have continued to… Continue reading

“‘Betrayal’: Arizona GOP Chair Jeff DeWit resigns after recording of ‘offer’ to Kari Lake”

January 25, 2024, 7:21 ambribery, chicaneryRick Hasen

Arizona Republic: Jeff DeWit, a former Arizona treasurer and Trump adviser, resigned as chair of the state GOP on Wednesday following the release of an audio recording in which he offered Kari Lake a lucrative job if she quits her… Continue reading

“Intimidation of State and Local Officeholders”

January 25, 2024, 7:14 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

New report from the Brennan Center: Among the report’s findings: 43% of state legislators have experienced threats within the past three years. 18% of local officeholders have experienced threats within the past year and a half. (p. 4) Because of abuse, 39% of local officeholders and 21% of state legislators are less… Continue reading

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The law of politics and the politics of law