The shadow docket order in Yost v. Brown is here. The case concerns Ohio AG Yost’s repeated refusal to certify a proposed summary of a proposed constitutional amendment. The district court concluded that the ballot initiative proponents’ First Amendment rights were violated and issued a preliminary injunction, which it stayed pending appellate review. A divided panel of the Sixth Circuit lifted the stay. Justice Kavanaugh initially granted a stay and ordered a response. The Court, however, allowed the district court’s preliminary injunction to stand. Justices Thomas, Alito, and Kavanaugh dissented from the Court’s denial of the stay, but they declined to author opinions.
“3 More Prosecutors Resign Over Adams Case, Refusing to Admit Wrongdoing”
Three Manhattan federal prosecutors who worked on the criminal corruption case against Mayor Eric Adams of New York City said Tuesday that they would resign rather than admit wrongdoing in refusing to abandon the case, according to an email obtained by The New York Times.
The prosecutors were placed on administrative leave this year after Trump administration officials in Washington ordered them to seek dismissal of the bribery and fraud charges.
In the email, the prosecutors — Celia V. Cohen, Andrew Rohrbach and Derek Wikstrom — said that Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, had placed a condition on reinstating them: “that we must express regret and admit some wrongdoing by the office in connection with the refusal to move to dismiss the case.
“We will not confess wrongdoing when there was none,” they wrote.
They wrote that they had worked under Democratic and Republican presidents, advancing the priorities of all, but that conditions had changed during President Trump’s second term.
“Now, the Department has decided that obedience supersedes all else, requiring us to abdicate our legal and ethical obligations in favor of directions from Washington,” they wrote….
“Hundreds of scholars say U.S. is swiftly heading toward authoritarianism”
NPR:
A survey of more than 500 political scientists finds that the vast majority think the United States is moving swiftly from liberal democracy toward some form of authoritarianism.
In the benchmark survey, known as Bright Line Watch, U.S.-based professors rate the performance of American democracy on a scale from zero (complete dictatorship) to 100 (perfect democracy). After President Trump’s election in November, scholars gave American democracy a rating of 67. Several weeks into Trump’s second term, that figure plummeted to 55.
“That’s a precipitous drop,” says John Carey, a professor of government at Dartmouth and co-director of Bright Line Watch. “There’s certainly consensus: We’re moving in the wrong direction.”
Carey said the decline between November and February was the biggest since Bright Line Watch began surveying scholars on threats to American democracy in 2017. In the survey, respondents consider 30 indicators of democratic performance, including whether the government interferes with the press, punishes political opponents and whether the legislature and the judiciary can check executive authority.
Virginia Felon Disenfranchisement Law: “The Supreme Court Could Take Another Shot at Voting Rights”
This is a fascinating challenge to Virginia’s felon disenfranchisement law on the grounds that it violates the fundamental conditions placed on its 1870 re-admission to the Union. The Court’s docket can be found here. At this stage of the case, the questions presented read more like a Fed Courts exam than an election law one. A response was requested by the Court, but that is the norm when a State petitions for cert.
Matt Ford at The New Republic:
It is impossible to understand the United States without understanding the Civil War and Reconstruction. The American constitutional order went through more changes during those two decades than in the other 230 years of its existence combined. Now the Supreme Court may soon have another opportunity to revisit their contested aftermath.
A group of Virginia election officials asked the justices last month to effectively nullify one of the Reconstruction-era laws that set the terms for the state’s postwar readmission to the Union. In doing so, they hope to maintain a strict regime of disenfranchising Virginians with felony convictions that the Reconstruction-era Congress sought to prevent. Should the justices let the lower court’s decision stand, it could breathe new life to a long-forgotten congressional effort to protect multiracial democracy in the South.
…
Most importantly, at least for this lawsuit, the Virginia Readmission Act required that Virginia’s state constitution “shall never be so amended or changed as to deprive any citizen or class of citizens of the right to vote by the Constitution herein recognized, except as a punishment for such crimes as are now felonies at common law.” To that end, the state’s 1870 constitution only disenfranchised Virginians for a handful of specific high crimes like bribery, embezzlement, and treason, in addition to other common-law felonies.
Arkansas: “Lawsuit claims new ballot laws violate voting rights, seeks court intervention”
The League of Women Voters of Arkansas (LWVAR) has filed a lawsuit challenging several state laws that they argue dismantle Arkansas’s ballot initiative process.
…
The lawsuit, filed Monday, lists 5 bills brought forward by Senator Kim Hammer (R) during the 2025 legislative session that were recently signed into law by the Governor.
LWVAR refers to the following as “The Unconstitutional Acts”:
- Act 274 of 2025: To require the signer to read the ballot title of the petition in the presence of a canvasser; and to declare an emergency.
- Act 240 of 2025: To amend the law concerning initiative and referendum petitions; to allow a canvasser to request photo identification before obtaining a signature; and to declare an emergency.
- Act 218 of 2025: To amend the law concerning initiative and referendum petitions; to require a canvasser to disclose that petition fraud is a criminal offense; and to declare an emergency.
- Act 453 of 2025: To amend the law concerning paid canvassers; and to require domicile in Arkansas.
- Act 241 of 2025: To amend the law concerning initiative petitions and referendum petitions; to require a canvasser to submit an affidavit before signatures can be counted; and to declare an emergency.
“The Slippery Slope of Political Iconography”
NYT:
Earlier this month Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, decided to swap out his usual American flag lapel pin. Instead of the stars and stripes, he pinned a gold medallion in the shape of President Trump’s profile, about the size of a quarter, to his blue suit and wore it to meet with a Georgia congressman, Buddy Carter, and later to a meeting at the Justice Department. He then memorialized the meetings on X.
The pin was noticed by Benny Johnson, a conservative YouTuber, who posted a shot of it on X along with the line “Do you even understand the level of fit that Brendan Carr has?” to his 3.6 million followers. Mr. Carr reposted it. And so a mini social media moment was born.
Rumors flew across the internet that Mr. Trump was requiring members of his administration to wear the pins. “Fake news” wrote Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, in an email a few days later. Mr. Carr has not been seen wearing the pin since.
Yet the mere fact that someone who worked for Mr. Trump thought it might be a good idea to display his boss’s likeness on his lapel, no matter how briefly, is notable.
“Wife of former senator Bob Menendez found guilty in corruption case”
Wash. Post:
The wife of former U.S. senator Bob Menendez was found guilty on Monday of helping her husband generate a steady flow of bribes and gifts that totaled about $1 million and included gold bars, cash and a… Continue reading
“Voter *Fraud* Mistake”
Benjamin Plener Cover (Idaho) has posted this draft, which is creatively entitled “Voter Fraud Mistake,” on SSRN (forthcoming, William and Mary Bill of Rights Journal). Here is the abstract:
False narratives challenging electoral integrity often cite ineligible voting as… Continue reading
Sixth Circuit affirms that injunction would be inappropriate for Michigan state criminal prosecution of 2020 presidential elector
Straightforward (unpublished) opinion on Younger abstention before the Sixth Circuit, released last week.
Judge Griffin Ignores Justice Scalia’s Bush v. Gore Argument About Irreparable Harm in His Brief in 4th Circuit in Due Process Challenge to Attempt to Overturn Result of North Carolina Supreme Court Election
You can read Judge Griffin’s brief at this link. It briefly cites Bush v. Gore, but completely ignores the main point about irreparable harm that Justice Scalia first flagged in his Bush v. Gore stay concurrence. See here.… Continue reading
“Harvard Sues Trump Administration Over $2.2 Billion Funding Freeze”
The Complaint is here. The Harvard Crimson reports:
Harvard sued the Trump administration in federal court on Monday over its multibillion dollar cuts to the University’s research funding, accusing the White House of undertaking an arbitrary and unconstitutional campaign… Continue reading
“Why you may see Meta and Amazon logos at this year’s White House Easter Egg Roll”
MSNBC:
This year’s White House Easter Egg Roll event will feature activities “courtesy” of a number of corporate sponsors, including several tech companies that made financial contributions to President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee. According to a statement from first lady… Continue reading
“Murkowski bucks Trump — and makes the case for ranked-choice voting”
Karen Tumulty at the Washington Post:
“We are all afraid,” Murkowski said Monday at an event in Anchorage. “It’s quite a statement. But we are in a time and a place where — I don’t know — I certainly have… Continue reading
“Hakeem Jeffries makes it clear he’ll stand by incumbent House Dems”
Politico:
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Sunday pushed back on David Hogg’s effort to fund primary challengers against select Democrats in deep blue seats, arguing in favor of a more efficient allocation of party resources.
“Here’s the thing,”… Continue reading