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 Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Alaska challenged listing of polar bear as endangered species
Kyle Webster
On May 22, 2008, Alaskan officials announced that they would file a legal challenge to the Department of the Interior (DOI)'s decision to list the polar bear as threatened on the endangered species list. Governor Sarah Palin claimed that the listing was unnecessary and would have a negative economic impact on development in Alaska. The polar bear was put on the list after two years of research by multiple agencies within the DOI that culminated in a classification that required protections of the animal and its habitat, but permitted continued developments of oil and gas. In June 2011, a federal judge upheld the DOI's classification.
Learn more about endangered species from the JURIST news archive.
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Tuesday, May 21, 2013
President Adams pardoned participants of Pennsylvania rebellion
Zachariah Rivenbark
On May 21, 1800, US President John Adams issued a pardon to the participants in the 1799 Fries' Rebellion that occurred in southeastern Pennsylvania. The rebellion, motivated by citizen disdain over a federal property tax, resulted in protestors descending on Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in March 1799 to free individuals that had been arrested for attacking federal tax collectors. Though the federal government initially charged 45 rebels with treason, only rebellion leader John Fries and three other individuals were found guilty of treason and sentenced to death. President Adams' May 21 pardon extended to all individuals involved with the rebellion, except for Fries. President Adams later pardoned Fries on May 23, the date of his execution.
Flag of the United States
Learn more about rebellions from the JURIST news archive.
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Monday, May 20, 2013
Supreme Court decided landmark gay rights case
Zachariah Rivenbark
On May 20, 1996, the US Supreme Court held unconstitutional Amendment 2 to Colorado's state constitution because it violated the Equal Protection Clause. Amendment 2 prohibited the state and municipal governments from enacting, adopting or enforcing anti-discriminatory legislation that protected persons of same-sex orientation. The Court analyzed the amendment under rational basis review and found that the legislative classification bore no rational relation to a legitimate state interest. According to Justice Anthony Kennedy, "a law declaring that in general it shall be more difficult for one group of citizens to seek aid from the government is itself a denial of equal protection of the laws in the most literal sense."
Learn more about gay rights from the JURIST news archive.
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Sunday, May 19, 2013
Maryland ordered rail company to disclose its role in Holocaust
Adiah Oreyomi
On May 19, 2011, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley signed a bill requiring French railroad company SNCF to disclose information regarding its participation in the Jewish Holocaust. SNCF was accused of transporting 76,000 Jews and other prisoners from Paris to Germany from 1942 to 1944. In October 2006, the company faced 1,200 claims from families seeking damages for its role in the Holocaust. In June 2006, SNCF was ordered by a French trial court to pay a Jewish family for its participation in crimes against humanity, but on March, 27, 2007, a French appeals court overturned that conviction.
Flag of Maryland
Learn more about the Holocaust from the JURIST news archive.
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Saturday, May 18, 2013
Vermont became first state to outlaw fracking
Arjun Mishra
On May 18, 2012, Vermont became the first US state to ban hydraulic fracking when Governor Peter Shumlin signed Bill H. 464 into law. Hydraulic fracking is a method used by many major oil companies to extract natural gas and obtain shale oil and gas by using an extremely pressurized mixture of water, sand and undisclosed chemicals to break through rock. The Green Mountain State passed this measure preemptively, without evidence of a reserve of oil or gas in the state. New York extended its moratorium on fracking, while former North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue vetoed a measure lifting a statewide ban on fracking in July 2012, and NJ Governor Chris Christie vetoed a bill that would have banned the practice in the state in June 2011.
Read an overview of Fracking in Features.
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Friday, May 17, 2013
Massachusetts became first state to legalize same-sex marriage
Arjun Mishra
On May 17, 2004, Massachusetts became the first state in the union to legalize same-sex marriage. The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health that the state's constitution prohibited a ban on same-sex marriage passed in November 2003. Attempts to reverse the legalization of same-sex marriage in the state through ballot initiatives, amendments and legislation were unsuccessful, despite support from Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.
Seal of Massachusetts
Read an overview of Same-Sex Marriage in Features.
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Thursday, May 16, 2013
Texas group sued to block border fence construction
Kyle Webster
On May 16, 2008, the Texas Border Coalition, a group of Texas-based business owners and officials, filed a class action lawsuit to enjoin the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from constructing a fence on the US-Mexico border. The group claimed that approval of the fence's construction violated the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, which required the government to hold fair negotiations with landowners when seeking access to property along the border. The case was dismissed in May 2009 due to lack of standing. The issue of construction of a continuous border fence or virtual fence with cameras and radar between the US and Mexico continues to be debated.
Read an overview of US Immigration Law in Features.
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