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The Battle for Affordable Housing in Washington State: Legal Hurdles and Innovative Solutions
Washington State faces a formidable challenge in addressing its affordable housing crisis, with innovative solutions and legislative efforts emerging to tackle the issue head-on. The state’s Department of Commerce estimates a need for approximately 1.1 million new homes over the next 20 years to keep pace with population growth, highlighting the urgency of finding effective […]
Texas judge rules school district can discipline Black teen over hairstyle
A Texas judge ruled on Thursday that a Houston-area school district did not violate a newly enacted state law when it punished a Black student for refusing to change his hairstyle, local media reported. The case involved Darryl George, who wears his dreadlocks braided on top of his head, and Barbers Hill Independent School District, […]
Judge stands behind rulings allowing Florida to challenge federal immigration policies
A federal judge this week stood behind his rulings that Florida could challenge Biden administration immigration policies, after an appeals court ordered him to reconsider the issue. Pensacola-based U.S. District Judge T. Kent Wetherell released a 10-page decision Tuesday that said Florida had legal standing to challenge federal policies related to undocumented immigrants being released […]
AZ ranchers’ bill: Shoot, kill border-crossers on property.
Arizona Republicans want to let ranchers in southern Arizona legally shoot and kill undocumented immigrants who cross their land. A bill moving through the state House of Representatives would make changes to the state’s existing “Castle Doctrine” law, which permits Arizonans to use deadly force against people who are trespassing or breaking into their home. […]
South Carolina bans inmates from in-person interviews. A lawsuit wants to change that
A South Carolina prison policy banning inmates from speaking to reporters in person or having their writings directly published violates the First Amendment free speech rights of prisoners, a civil rights organization said in a federal lawsuit Thursday. While prisons across the county place some restrictions on in-person media interviews with inmates — such as when they […]
US Supreme Court declines to decide legality of excluding jurors based on religion
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to decide the legality of excluding jurors on the basis of religion, turning away a Missouri agency’s bid to reverse a lesbian worker’s win in a workplace bias lawsuit after three prospective jurors were excluded for citing Christian beliefs that being gay is a sin. State officials had […]
First federal trial for a hate crime based on gender identity starts over trans woman’s killing
The first federal trial over a hate crime based on gender identity began Tuesday in South Carolina, where a man faces charges that he killed a Black transgender woman and then fled to New York. The U.S. Department of Justice alleges that in August 2019, Daqua Lameek Ritter lured the woman — who is referred […]
Alabama Supreme Court rules frozen embryos are children
Alabama ‘s Supreme Court has ruled that frozen embryos are children and will therefore be given the same protections under state law. Six judges in the state’s highest court ruled in favor of the landmark decision, including Chief Justice Tom Parker who quoted the Bible and said it would protect ‘the sanctity of unborn life’. The decision came in a […]
West Virginia: House passes bill creating felonies for fentanyl exposure
Despite a resounding lack of evidence showing that secondhand exposure to fentanyl is likely to cause any sort of overdose or physical harm in most cases, the West Virginia House on Friday advanced a bill to create felonies for exposing anyone to the drug. House Bill 5319 would implement two new felonies in state code, one […]