Federal judge refuses to block North Carolina voter law News
Federal judge refuses to block North Carolina voter law

[JURIST] A judge for the US District Court Middle District of North Carolina [official website] on Friday rejected [opinion, PDF] preliminary relief in the form of an injunction against a new voter law [HB 589, PDF] in North Carolina. The law will require voters to show a picture ID at the polls by 2016, but other changes are already in effect and were at issue in the case, including a seven-day reduction of the state’s early-voting period; the elimination of registration and voting on the same day during early voting; a ban on provisional ballots and a program that allowed 16- and 17-year-olds to pre-register in anticipation of coming elections. The legislation followed a 2013 Supreme Court ruling [JURIST report] that struck down Section 5 of the federal Voting Rights Act [text].

Debate over voter ID laws [JURIST backgrounder] has sparked continuing controversy in the US. In April a judge for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin [official website] ruled [JURIST report] that Wisconsin’s Act 23 [text, PDF], which requires residents to present photo ID to vote, violates the Voting Rights Act and the US Constitution. Also that month the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court [official website] upheld its earlier decision striking down [JURIST report] Pennsylvania’s voter ID law. Earlier in April a judge for the Pulaski County Circuit Court for the 6th Division [official website] struck down [JURIST report] an Arkansas voter ID law, finding that it violates the state constitution.

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.