Ohio federal judge rules punch-card voting system fair News
Ohio federal judge rules punch-card voting system fair

[JURIST] A federal judge in Ohio has ruled that the punch-card voting system used in Ohio in 2004 and, notoriously, in Florida in 2000, does not discriminate against voters using it. The ACLU of Ohio had brought a suit arguing that the punch-card system was more error-prone and discriminated against persons using it, many of whom were black (electronic voting systems being more commonly used in white-dominated counties). Ohio plans to replace punch-card voting machines with electronic voting systems in in all counties in 2005. Read the full text of Judge David Dowd's opinion here [PDF]. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Dreyfus convicted of treason

On December 22, 1894, Jewish French army officer Alfred Dreyfus was convicted of treason in a court-martial trial that prompted worldwide allegations of anti-Semitism. Dreyfus was later cleared. Learn more about the case of Alfred Dreyfus and read an English translation of the famous public letter J'Accuse...! by novelist and Dreyfus partisan Emile Zola.

US passed Embargo Act, banning foreign trade

On December 22, 1807, the Embargo Act was passed at the urging of US President Thomas Jefferson. The act barred trade with any foreign nations in an effort to avoid American entry into the Napoleonic Wars of Europe. However, the act proved unenforceable and was replaced with the Non-Intercourse Act, which barred trade with France and Great Britain. Learn more about the Embargo Act of 1807 from Monticello.org