Minnesota court rules state ballot law unconstitutional News
Minnesota court rules state ballot law unconstitutional

[JURIST] The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled that a state law requiring candidates to reach a vote threshold in a primary election before appearing on the general election ballot violated "important constitutional rights that are central to the preservation of our democracy." Saying that the law served "no rational state purpose," the court concluded "that by denying Independence Party candidates access to the general election ballot the primary threshold law violates petitioners' constitutional rights to vote and to associate for the advancement of political beliefs under the First and Fourteenth Amendment." Read the court's opinion. 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