Federal appeals court refuses to reconsider Wisconsin voter ID law News
Federal appeals court refuses to reconsider Wisconsin voter ID law

The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit [official website] on Friday denied [text, PDF] an emergency petition for a full en banc rehearing regarding the Wisconsin voter identification law [CNN report]. A federal court in July decided that voters who do not have a required form of ID can vote through an affidavit process [JURIST report], a win for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which filed the lawsuit [ACLU backgrounder]. However, earlier this month the court of appeals granted a stay [text, PDF] allowing the requirements for voting ID to remain in place. The court of appeals denied the en banc hearing based on the state’s assurances that a new rule will allow all eligible voters to receive the necessary ID for free through the DMV, notwithstanding the absence of identifying documents,

Voting rights remain a controversial legal issue in the US. The Illinois Supreme Court concluded [JURIST report] on Thursday that placing a redistricting proposal on the ballot this fall would be unconstitutional. Last month Michigan Attorney General spokesman John Sellek said [JURIST report] that Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette and Secretary of State Ruth Johnson plan to appeal an injunction on the state’s law eliminating straight-ticket voting. Also last month, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Diane Larsen blocked [JURIST report] a ballot measure proposing an amendment to the Illinois Constitution that aimed to eliminate the General Assembly’s power to draw legislative district boundaries. In June a three-judge panel upheld [JURIST report] North Carolina’s newly drawn congressional districts. In May the US Supreme Court ruled [JURIST report] that Republican congressmen from Virginia’s lack standing to appeal a decision regarding an election district plan for Virginia’s Third Congressional District.

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in Six Days' War

On November 22, 1967, the UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied during the Six Days' War, and for respect of the right of all States in the area to "live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries." Read Resolution 242, which remains a cornerstone of efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.

President Kennedy assassinated, VP Lyndon Johnson sworn inin

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Later that day, Vice-President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States. Earl Warren, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was later tasked with leading a commission to investigate the assassination. President Johnson received the final report of the Warren Commission on September 24, 1964. Read the Warren Commission Report.