JURIST - Georgia

On May 7, 1996, former Representative Bob Barr of Georgia introduced the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in the US House of Representatives. Under Section 3 of DOMA, "in determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative burea....... [more]

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on Monday lifted a stay of execution for Georgia death row inmate Warren Hill. The appeals court halted the execution in February to allow time to consider whether a federal court can reconsider Hill's case. In a 2-1 decision, the appeals court foun....... [more]

JURIST Guest Columnist Eric Segall of Georgia State University says that, although several of the justices on the US Supreme Court interpret the US Constitution to require the government to essentially ignore race, such a requirement would significantly harm civil rights in the US...Between now and....... [more]

The Georgia General Assembly on Thursday amended Senate Bill 160, implementing stricter security and immigration compliance than the original 2011 version. The modifications impose tougher penalties and heighten identification requirements. First, the bill requires all public employers, their contr....... [more]

A judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on Wednesday permanently blocked a key provision in Georgia's immigration law that criminalized knowingly transporting or harboring an illegal immigrant during the course of any other crime. Judge Thomas Thrash struck down this p....... [more]

JURIST Guest Columnist Terrica Ganzy, Staff Attorney for the Southern Center for Human Rights, argues that Georgia's "beyond a reasonable doubt standard" for finding mental retardation in capital offenses is a nearly insurmountable standard...The US Supreme Court has held that the Eighth Amendment's....... [more]

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday issued a stay on the execution of Georgia death row inmate Warren Hill minutes before his execution. The court granted the stay to allow time to consider the implications of the court now finding that Hill, 53, is in fact intellectually cha....... [more]

The US Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in FTC v. Phoebe Putney Health Systems, Inc. that federal antitrust laws regulating competition among health service providers apply to an anticompetitive transaction in Georgia because the state law regulating the activity did not clearly articulate authority for....... [more]

The Supreme Court of Georgia on Monday rejected claims by death row inmate Warren Lee Hill that the Board of Corrections violated the Georgia Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by not holding a public hearing before changing the state's lethal injection execution procedure. One of the APA's rule-mak....... [more]

Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange on Tuesday asked the US Supreme Court to overturn a recent decision striking down provisions of Alabama's controversial immigration law. Alabama is appealing a decision issued last August by the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit which struck down s....... [more]

The government of Georgia freed 190 people considered by parliament to be political prisoners on Sunday under an amnesty agreement. The amnesty was opposed by President Mikhail Saakashvili and has intensified a power struggle within the country. Many of the prisoners who were released were arrested....... [more]