Author: Sara
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Citizens United v. FEC: SCOTUS says corporations have free speech rights, too
Today, the Supreme Court issued a long-awaited ruling in Citizens United v. FEC, the case about “Hillary: the Movie” that decided whether restrictions upon corporate financing of political advertising impermissibly infringed upon the first amendment rights of those corporations. The 5-4 decision upheld the disclosure and disclaimer portions of the campaign finance law for corporate-financed…
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On Advocacy
It is very easy for people to make fun of, look down upon, and pass judgment upon lawyers. As I have often said to friends, lawyers have the reputational issue they do because generally people only need one of us at the worst points in life: you have been injured, you have been accused of…
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Supreme Court orders a hearing for Troy Davis
Today the Supreme Court shocked nearly everyone by granting relief on a direct habeas corpus petition for the first time in 50 years. The Court ordered that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia hold an evidentiary hearing on Troy Davis’ claim that he is actually innocent of the murder for which…
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Georgia Supreme Court vacancy filled, U.S. Attorney for Atlanta position now open
As you may have read over in /poli, Governor Sonny Perdue today took the safe route and selected current United States Attorney for Atlanta, David Nahmias, to fill the vacancy on the Georgia Supreme Court left by Leah Ward Sears’ departure. This was the expected result from the beginning, with all of the smart money…
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About that Georgia Supreme Court vacancy…
In the wake of Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears’ retirement June 30th, many were eager to see who Sonny Perdue would appoint to the Georgia Supreme Court to replace her. Nominations flowed in to the Judicial Nominating Commission, and about a month ago the JNC forwarded to Perdue a 9 member “short list” of candidates…
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Massachusetts forces the gay marriage issue
My former home state of Massachusetts is going to bring the fight on gay marriage to the rest of the country, thanks to a lawsuit filed today by Commonwealth Attorney General Martha Coakley. The suit challenges the constitutionality of the 1996 “Defense of Marriage Act,” or “DoMA” because it infringes upon individual states’ ability to…