Arizona appeals court strikes down school voucher program News
Arizona appeals court strikes down school voucher program

[JURIST] The Arizona Court of Appeals struck down [opinion, PDF] a 2006 state program providing government funds for private and religious schools, ruling Thursday that it violated a ban in the state constitution [text] on granting state benefits to private schools. The court rejected arguments that the vouchers benefited low-income families rather than schools, holding that schools benefited indirectly when they received tuition from parents. School voucher proponents said that they would appeal the ruling. Capitol Media Services has more.

Opponents of school vouchers [NEA advocacy site] argue that these programs do not achieve their stated goal of expanding childrens' educational opportunities, and several states limit their use through constitutional provisions. In 2006, the Florida Supreme Court held [JURIST report] that the state's 1999 school voucher law [text] violated the state constitutional requirement of a uniform system of free public schools.

THIS DAY @ LAW

US Supreme Court ruled Indians not US citizens

On November 3, 1884, the US Supreme Court ruled in Elk v. Wilkins that John Elk, an American Indian who had tried to vote in a federal election in Omaha, Nebraska, was not a US citizen entitled to the protection of the 14th and 15th Amendments of the US Constitution. Native Americans became eligible for citizenship in 1887 under the Dawes Act, but only in 1924, under the Indian Citizenship Act, were all Native Americans born in the US made citizens.

Last public execution at Tyburn Gallows in London

On November 3, 1783, the last public execution took place at Tyburn Gallows in London, when John Austin was hanged for highway robbery. From the hanging of William Fitz Osburn in 1196 until Austin's execution, Tyburn served as London's primary location for public executions.

Learn more about the trial of John Austin.