Supreme Court sets stage for Trump switch on voter IDs

[Draggingtree]

Constitution Daily:

Supreme Court sets stage for Trump switch on voter IDs

January 23, 2017 by Lyle Denniston

 

The Supreme Court on Monday morning cleared the way for the new Trump Administration to switch the government’s position – if it wishes to do so – to allow states to enforce strict photo ID requirements for America’s voters. The Justices did so, without any noted dissents, in refusing for now to hear an appeal by Texas officials seeking to defend the strictest such law in the nation.

 

The Court’s action, which included a separate comment by Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., will send the Texas case back to a federal trial judge in Texas who is making a new review of the constitutionality of the state law. There, the Trump legal team is due to file, by February 28, its own view on that question. If, as seems likely, it follows the lead of many Republican leaders, it could join Texas’ defense of the state power in dispute.

 

[Draggingtree]

Tuesday round-up

By Edith Roberts on Jan 24, 2017 at 6:32 am

Yesterday the court issued additional orders from its conference of January 19, granting no additional cases and denying review in a case involving a high-profile challenge to a Texas voter ID law. The court also denied review in a challenge to Alabama’s advisory-jury death sentencing law. Amy Howe reports on the orders for this blog. Additional coverage of the order in the Texas case comes from Robert Barnes in The Washington Post, who notes that “Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said in a statement attached to the order that there was still more work for lower courts to do in assessing the law, and that Texas could return to the high court once that review is final”; Adam Liptak in The New York Times; and Lyle Denniston at Constitution Daily

http://www.scotusblog.com/2017/01/tuesday-round-up-362/#more-251258

[Draggingtree]

Trump-Sessions DOJ to Drop Govt. Opposition to Texas Voter ID Law

Via Billy

NPR reported:

The Department of Justice is reversing the federal government’s position in an important voting rights case, involving a Texas voter ID law. The switch was not unexpected following the election of Donald Trump and confirmation of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General. Both Trump and Sessions claim voter fraud is a major problem and have backed voter ID laws.

In a motion filed Monday, DOJ asked a federal court to dismiss the department’s earlier claim that the ID law was enacted with the intention of discriminating against minority voters. That claim was made by the Obama administration as part of a broader legal challenge to the law, which is among the strictest in the nation.

But the Trump administration notes that the Texas legislature is now considering changing the law to address concerns that it hurts minorities. DOJ says those efforts should be allowed to proceed.

More @ The Gateway Pundit

Posted by Brock Townsend at Tuesday, February 28, 2017