• Curbing Domestic Violence Becomes Focus for Tennessee Gov.
• Source: AP/Tennessean   |   Tennessee   |   December 7, 2012
• Gov. Bill Haslam said at a meeting of more than 400 public safety officials that domestic violence accounts for about half of all crimes committed in the state each year.

• Federal Deportation Program Loses Los Angeles County's Support
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Los Angeles County, Calif.   |   December 6, 2012
• A day after California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris made compliance with the program optional, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca announced that he will not comply with federal requests to detain suspected illegal immigrants arrested in low-level crimes.

• Judge: Florida's Attempt to Privatize Prison Health Care Violated Law
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Florida   |   December 5, 2012
• A state judge struck down an attempt by the Florida Legislature to privatize prison health care by using a budgetary process instead of making the change through a full vote of lawmakers.

• R.I. Case Tests Whether States Can Cut Pensions
• Source: New York Times   |   Rhode Island   |   December 5, 2012
• Rhode Island’s dispute is being closely watched as a first major test of whether, and how, financially strained states and cities can cut the benefits of their workers and retirees.
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• California AG to Police: Federal Deportation Program is Optional
• Source: Los Angeles Times   |   California   |   December 5, 2012
• California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris told local law enforcement agencies that they were not obligated to comply with a federal program whose stated goal is to deport illegal immigrants convicted of serious crimes. It was Harris' first public assessment of Secure Communities.

• Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Law Ruled Constitutional
• Source: Arizona Republic   |   Arizona   |   December 5, 2012
• A court ruling that Arizona’s controversial medical-marijuana law does not conflict with federal drug laws cleared the way for dispensaries to open and allows patients to legally obtain marijuana from the facilities.

• 'Gay Conversion Therapy' Ban Put on Hold in California
• BY: McClatchy News   |   California   |   December 4, 2012
• A Sacramento federal judge barred the state from enforcing its new law prohibiting "gay conversion therapy" against two mental health providers and a student who are suing to derail the measure.
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• Nevada's Gay-Marriage Ban Upheld
• Source: AP/Wisconsin Gazette   |   Nevada   |   December 4, 2012
• A federal court challenge to Nevada’s ban on same sex marriage has been turned back in U.S. District Court, but proponents vowed to fight on with an argument that a pair of state laws regarding same-sex unions unconstitutionally make gay couples “second-class citizens.”

• States' Asian Carp Lawsuit Thrown Out
• Source: AP/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   |   Great Lakes   |   December 4, 2012
• A federal judge threw out a lawsuit filed by five states, including Wisconsin, that want barriers placed in Chicago-area waterways to prevent Asian carp from invading the Great Lakes, but said he would consider new arguments if the case were filed again.
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• Who's Responsible for Stormwater Runoff? Supreme Court to Decide
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Nation   |   December 3, 2012
• The Supreme Court will hear a case from Los Angeles to decide for the first time who can be held responsible for polluted storm water that runs off city streets and into rivers and bays.
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• The Turf War over Wall Street
• BY: Kirk Victor   |   December 2012
• States and feds have clashed for a decade over who will fight financial fraud. Could new rules force a truce?
• 1 Comments

• Immigrant-Rights Groups Sue over Arizona Gov. Brewer's Driver's License Order
• Source: Arizona Republic   |   Arizona   |   November 30, 2012
• Gov. Jan Brewer vowed to defend her executive order denying driver’s licenses to young undocumented immigrants who receive federal work permits through President Barack Obama’s deferred-action program.

• Court OKs Big Benefit Changes for Michigan Teachers
• Source: MLive.com   |   Michigan   |   November 30, 2012
• A key question now is whether employees being asked to pay more or get less later will have to do so immediately or if the status quo will stay during the appeals process.

• Oregon Supreme Court Makes 'Landmark' Ruling on Eyewitness Testimony
• Source: Oregonian   |   Oregon   |   November 30, 2012
• The Oregon Supreme Court established a new procedure for evaluating whether eyewitness identifications can be used as evidence.

• Drug Lab Scandal Costs Rise to $332M
• Source: Boston Globe   |   Massachusetts   |   November 29, 2012
• The state’s public defender agency estimates it could need up to $332 million to represent thousands of people who faced criminal penalties or civil sanctions based on evidence potentially tainted at the now-closed state drug laboratory in ­Jamaica Plain.