Federal judge asks Senate Judiciary Committee to condemn remarks News
Federal judge asks Senate Judiciary Committee to condemn remarks

[JURIST] Speaking publicly for the first time since her husband and mother were murdered [JURIST report], US District Judge Joan Lefkow [official profile] on Wednesday asked the Senate Judiciary Committee [transcript of testimony] to condemn public attacks against judges by some commentators and politicians, claiming it fostered disrespect for the judiciary. A man whose civil case was dismissed by Lefkow claimed responsibility for the killings [JURIST report] in a suicide note. Lefkow was also threatened by a white supremacist [JURIST report] that lost a civil case before her. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

International Day Against Fascism and Anti-Semitism

November 9 is the International Day Against Fascism and Anti-Semitism [UNITED factsheet]. On November 9, 1924, American gay activist Henry Gerber and several associates formed the Society for Human Rights, the first gay rights organization in the United States. The Society received a charter from the State of Illinois in December but was disbanded in July 1925 after a police raid which led to Gerber's arrest and trial (albeit not conviction). Pay a virtual visit to Henry Gerber House, now a registered Chicago landmark.

Supreme Court strikes down Massachusetts anti-draft law

On November 9, 1970, the Supreme Court voted 6-3 in Massachusetts v. Laird not to hear the case of the state's anti-draft law. Massachusetts had passed a law, which allowed its citizens to decline to fight in any undeclared war, even if the person was drafted. The law was passed in opposition to the draft and the war in Vietnam. The First Circuit found the war constitutional and thus struck down the law.