Tag Archives: Justice Department

No hiding behind privilege

Posted on April 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s your latest voter ID litigation update, from the Brad Blog: Just over a week ago, it was North Carolina legislators ordered by the court to cough up documentation relating to passage of new, draconian restrictions on voting rights in their state. … Continue reading →

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Perry says Texas will not comply with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act

Posted on April 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Amazing the number of laws Rick Perry refuses to obey, isn’t it? More than a decade after the Prison Rape Elimination Act unanimously passed Congress, federal standards for implementation of the law have been finalized. Now, Gov. Rick Perry and … Continue reading →

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Last stand against school closures

Posted on March 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Last chance, too. Community activists called Tuesday for HISD to spare two schools from closure in a last-ditch effort that included filing a federal civil-rights complaint alleging racial discrimination. Charles X. White, president of the city’s South Park Super Neighborhood … Continue reading →

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Voter ID trial still on track for September

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It could have been delayed till after the November election. A federal judge in Corpus Christi ruled on Wednesday that a federal lawsuit challenging the legality of the state’s controversial Voter ID law is expected to begin in September as … Continue reading →

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Followup on that report about sexual assault in the Harris County jail

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Last month, I blogged about a report by the Justice Department that alleged a high rate of sexual assault in one of the Harris County jail buildings. Sheriff Adrian Garcia, who testified about the report in Congress to a panel … Continue reading →

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Sexual assault in the Harris County jail

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This sounds very bad, but there are some questions about how the numbers were determined. Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, defending his staff against a federal study that found startling levels of sexual abuse at one of his jails, testified … Continue reading →

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Thanksgiving weekend voter ID update

Posted on November 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Some statistics to throw some cold water on the claims that there were “no problems” with the voter ID law. Delays at the polls this month due to glitches with voters’ identifications could signal a bigger problem to come next … Continue reading →

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Voter ID trial set for September

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Redistricting: At [Friday] morning’s scheduling conference, Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos set trial in the consolidated Texas voter ID cases for September 2, 2014, adopting the date proposed by Congressman Marc Veasey over a proposed March 2015 trial date preferred by the … Continue reading →

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Another lawsuit filed against the voter ID law

Posted on November 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Observer reports. Election Day last week brought plenty of complaints at the polls about Texas’ new voter ID law, but it also brought one major complaint in Corpus Christi federal court, where nine voters joined La Unión Del Pueblo Entero … Continue reading →

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State moves to dismiss voter ID lawsuit

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From Texas Redistricting has week: The State of Texas filed a motion this afternoon asking Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos to dismiss pending voter ID suits on several grounds. First, the motion argued that elected officials like Congressman Marc Veasey, governmental … Continue reading →

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Voter ID litigation moving again

Posted on October 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From Texas Redistricting last week: The Texas voter ID litigation geared back up today, with the court setting a number of new or revised deadlines now that the government shutdown is over. Responses to motions by True the Vote and … Continue reading →

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Redistricting trial set for July

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The San Antonio federal court has set a date in July of 2014 to resolve the litigation relating to the 2011 and 2013 redistrictings. A federal three-judge panel in San Antonio on Friday issued a schedule for the case, mostly granting state … Continue reading →

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Justice Department files another voter ID lawsuit

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

In North Carolina this time. The Justice Department filed suit against North Carolina on Monday, charging that the Tar Heel State’s new law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls violates the Voting Rights Act by discriminating against … Continue reading →

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Court rules DOJ can intervene in 2011 redistricting case

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Redistricting: The San Antonio court entered an order [Tuesday] allowing the Justice Department into the Texas redistricting case as an intervenor. In somewhat of a surprise, however, the decision was 2-1, with Circuit Judge Jerry Smith dissenting. The court … Continue reading →

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Third lawsuit filed against the voter ID law

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The more, the merrier. Two groups representing minority voters and officeholders sued to block the state’s new Voter ID law, which will be used for the first time in a statewide Texas election this November — barring intervention by a … Continue reading →

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The voter ID effect

Posted on September 12, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The conventional wisdom is that we’re unlikely to see the full effect of the voter ID law until next year. The true test of how voter ID will affect voters — and whether it will sway elections — won’t come … Continue reading →

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2011 maps not moot, 2014 primaries to be held on time

Posted on September 8, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Redistricting: [Friday] afternoon, the San Antonio court entered an order denying a request by the State of Texas to dismiss claims about the 2011 maps on grounds on mootness. The court’s order also granted requests by African-American and Hispanic … Continue reading →

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Redistricting and voter ID lawsuit updates

Posted on August 31, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From Texas Redistricting, a typically thorough look at where things stand with redistricting and voter ID litigation in the three courts – San Antonio, where the redistricting litigation has been ongoing and is likely due for some action; Corpus Christi, … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed against Galveston County redistricting

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Expect more of this going forward. A Galveston County plan slashing the number of justice-of-the-peace districts from eight to four intentionally discriminates against minority voters and should be blocked, according to a federal lawsuit filed Monday. The lawsuit comes exactly … Continue reading →

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More redistricting shenanigans on the way

Posted on August 26, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The city of Galveston prepares to make like Pasadena. [Gulf Coast Interfaith], which includes representatives of the NAACP and others, sent a letter Thursday to the city of Galveston’s attorney also questioning the wisdom of the city seeking to make … Continue reading →

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DOJ files suit against Texas’ voter ID law and redistricting maps

Posted on August 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Excellent. The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Thursday that it will again seek to dismantle Texas’ voter ID law, this time with a lawsuit alleging the measure violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The department also said on Thursday that … Continue reading →

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Pasadena proceeds with its needless redistricting

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. Except for one agenda item which drew a large crowd, many public speakers, an unusually long time of councilmember’s explanations and a 5-4 vote, Tuesday’s (August 20) Pasadena City Council meeting was “Regular.” Their … Continue reading →

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From Shelby to Pasadena

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

You might have noticed this Chron editorial from last week. After former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s fall from grace, we thought that Texas politicians would know better than pursue mid-decade redistricting. Not so in Pasadena, where Mayor Johnny Isbell … Continue reading →

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Texas says “No preclearance now, no preclearance forever!”

Posted on August 12, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, the plaintiffs in the redistricting lawsuit against the state of Texas have filed briefs arguing that the state should still be subject to preclearance under Section 3 of the Voting Rights Act. They have been joined in … Continue reading →

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Obama pledges to keep fighting for the Voting Rights Act

Posted on August 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s hold him to that. President Barack Obama assured civil rights leaders Monday that he will aggressively protect minority voters in Texas and other states, a month after the Supreme Court ended decades of federal election scrutiny. “The Supreme Court … Continue reading →

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From the “She told you so” department

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

No one could have seen this coming. Well, no, pretty much anyone could have. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she’s not surprised that Southern states have pushed ahead with tough voter identification laws and other measures since the Supreme Court … Continue reading →

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Justice Department to push for Section 3 in Texas

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Bring it. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. announced on Thursday that the Justice Department would ask a court to require Texas to get permission from the federal government before making voting changes in that state for the next decade. … Continue reading →

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Redistricting tango continues in San Antonio

Posted on July 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

More to the point, the redistricting litigation continues, at least for the time being. A panel of federal judges denied the state’s request to dismiss the case, though they left open the possibility that they could do that later. And … Continue reading →

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RIP, Section 5

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

By now you are well aware that SCOTUS has dealt a blow to the Voting Rights Act. They actually left Section 5, which is what requires certain parts of the country (including Texas) to get preclearance on voting-related changes, intact, … Continue reading →

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HISD moving forward with North Forest annexation

Posted on June 16, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Despite some legal uncertainty, they pretty much have to keep moving forward. The Houston Independent School District moved forward Wednesday with its takeover of the beleaguered North Forest school system even as state education officials prepare for a Thursday hearing … Continue reading →

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TEA insists North Forest closure moving ahead

Posted on June 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

TEA Commissioner Michael Williams says don’t listen to the noise, North Forest ISD will be assimilated into HISD as planned on July 1. Williams said the Texas Education Agency, which he oversees, has followed state law and has the necessary … Continue reading →

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Justice Department engaged in North Forest closure

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

A possible ray of hope for supporters of North Forest ISD, which is still hoping to survive past July 1 when the TEA’s order for it to be subsumed into HISD takes effect. The chief of the Justice Department’s voting … Continue reading →

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Abbott asks for the interim maps

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. The recently dormant Texas redistricting issue woke up Thursday with a disagreement between the state’s attorney general and a Latino legislators’ group. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has called on the Legislature to make the current — and … Continue reading →

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It may not matter where the casinos are

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know if the gambling industry will finally gain traction in their effort to legally expand operations in Texas, but I do wonder if they’re fighting the last war and missing out on what’s happening now elsewhere in the … Continue reading →

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