On Wednesday, the Alabama legislature passed a bill preserving most of the harshest provisions of that state’s anti-immigrant law, including the provision that unconstitutionally drove many Latino students from attending schools. Yesterday, Gov. Robert Bentley (R-AL) objected to this bill, noting in particular that the schools provision should be removed or substantially changed. Today, he caved, signing the bill into law. … [Read more...]

Ninth Circuit Nominee Paul WatfordIn 2020, someone will be elected president, and they will likely need to appoint a Supreme Court justice during their time in the White House. Senate Republicans have wielded every power at their disposal, however, to ensure that that this future president will have no experienced federal judges to nominate if they are a Democrat. When President Obama nominated Goodwin Liu, a young, brilliant legal scholar and former Supreme Court law clerk to a seat on the Ninth Circuit, the Republican caucus filibustered Liu until he was forced to withdraw his nomination (Liu is now a justice on the California Supreme Court). When Obama nominated Caitlin Halligan, another relatively young, brilliant attorney and former Supreme Court law clerk, she suffered a similar … [Read more...]

The House GOP Freshman CaucusHouse Oversight Chair Darrell Issa’s (R-CA) claim that Attorney General Eric Holder should be held in contempt for declining to turn over records of ongoing criminal investigations to Issa’s committee has not been received well by people who actually know something about law enforcement. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey warned that Issa’s crusade against Holder has “distracted the Department of Justice in its efforts to assist state and local law enforcement — particularly in the area of violent crime prevention and suppression,” and a group of senior African-American law enforcement officials similarly warned that Issa’s efforts are “an impediment to the vigorous enforcement of violence and … [Read more...]

Welcome to Justiceline, ThinkProgress Justice’s morning round-up of the latest legal news and developments. Remember to follow us on Twitter at @TPJustice Only a few months after he was robbed while on vacation in the Carribean, Justice Stephen Breyer’s home in Georgetown was robbed earlier this month. The California Supreme Court will decide whether a man who has lived in the United States since he was a toddler, put himself through law school and passed the bar nonetheless cannot be an attorney because he is undocumented. A federal court in New York held that an upstate town violated the First Amendment by starting every month town meeting with a Christian prayer for the last eleven years. Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) doesn’t care what the District of Columbia’s elected … [Read more...]

Patrick Gonzalez, a student at Woodlake Hills Middle School in San Antonio, Texas, really likes the San Antonio Spurs. Indeed, he likes them so much that he shaved Spurs’ player Matt Bonner’s image into the back of his head. Seriously: Unfortunately for Gonzalez, his school principal apparently does not share his love for Mr. Bonner, as Gonzalez’s school told him to get rid of the haircut or he will receive an in-school suspension. This is hardly the greatest injustice in human history, but the school district’s actions are probably unconstitutional. Although public school students do not have the same First Amendment rights they enjoy beyond the schoolhouse doors, the Supreme Court established more than four decades ago that schools may only censor expression that … [Read more...]