Al Odah v. US, United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, October 20, 2004 . Read the full text of the opinion here . Excerpt: The Court finds that Petitioners are entitled to be represented by counsel pursuant to the federal habeas statute, 28 U.S.C. § 2241, the Criminal Justice [...]

Comfort et al. v. Lynn School Committee et al., United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, October 20, 2004 . Read the full text of the opinion here . Excerpt: Although the Lynn Plan is not a pure quota system, it uses racemechanically both to deprive some individuals of a desired benefit and [...]

Bay County Democratic Party et al. v. Land, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Judge David Lawson, October 19, 2004 . Excerpt: After reviewing the parties' submissions and considering the evidence, the Court concludes that the plaintiffs have standing to assert their claims, HAVA creates individual rights enforceable through Section 1983, [...]

Signed into law by President Bush October 19, 2004 . Read the full text of the Act here. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

AFL-CIO v. Hood, Florida Supreme Court, October 18, 2004 . Excerpt: We conclude that the precinct-specific provision in section 101.048 is a regulation of the voting process, not a qualification placed on the voter, and is no more unreasonable or unnecessary than the comparable provision in section 101.045, which has been operative for decades. The [...]

Signed into law by President Bush October 16, 2004 . Read the full text of the Act here . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Bourgeois et al. v. Peters et al., United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, October 15, 2004 . Excerpt: While the threat of terrorism is omnipresent, we cannot use it as the basis for restricting the scope of the Fourth Amendment's protections in any large gathering of people. In the absence of some [...]

United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, October 15, 2004 . Excerpt: In essence the plaintiffs are claiming a blanket right of registered voters to vote by absentee ballot. For it is obvious that a federal court is not going to decree weekend voting, multi-day voting, all-mail voting, or Internet voting (and [...]

Evans and Jordan v. Stephens, United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, October 14, 2004 . Excerpt: Twelve Presidents have made more than 285 intrasession recess appointments of persons to offices that ordinarily require consent of the Senate. So, given the words of the Constitution and the history, we are unpersuaded by [...]

Iguarta de la Rosa v. US, United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, October 14, 2004 . Read the full text of the opinion here . Excerpt from the dissent by Judge Juan Torruella: Those born in Puerto Rico have since 1917 been born citizens of the United States. See Jones Act (Puerto [...]