• Ohio to Appeal Early Voting Ruling to U.S. Supreme Court
• Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer   |   Ohio   |   October 10, 2012
• Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted said the ruling, which lets each of Ohio's 88 counties set their in-person early voting hours for the three days before the presidential election, is an "unprecedented intrusion" into the state's ability to run its own election.

• Judge: Nonprofits' Payments to Pittsburgh Are Public Record
• Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette   |   Pittsburgh   |   October 10, 2012
• The public is a step closer to finding out which nonprofits make payments in lieu of taxes to financially strapped Pittsburgh.

• Felons Face Hurdles to Regain Voting Rights in Virginia
• Source: The Virginian-Pilot   |   Virginia   |   October 9, 2012
• Gov. Bob McDonnell touts that his administration has restored voting rights to ex-felons faster than any previous one.

• Wisconsin Gov. Walker Subpoenaed to Testify in Ex-Aide's Trial
• Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   |   Wisconsin   |   October 9, 2012
• Kelly M. Rindfleisch stands accused of four felony misconduct charges of doing campaign work while at her job in Milwaukee County as deputy chief of staff to Walker in 2010.

• North Carolina's Reforms for Driving Juvenile Crime Down May Be a National Model
• BY: McClatchy News   |   North Carolina   |   October 8, 2012
• Juvenile crime is down nationally, but in North Carolina the downward trend is more than double the national average.

• Affirmative Action on Trial in U.S. Supreme Court
• BY: Stateline   |   Texas   |   October 8, 2012
• The outcome could spell the end to affirmative action programs across the country that provide some advantage to applicants from underrepresented minorities.
• 3 Comments

• Kansas Court Upholds Caps on Malpractice Damages
• BY: News Staff   |   KANSAS   |   October 5, 2012
• High court says $250,000 cap on pain-and-suffering damages does not violate the constitution.

• Los Angeles to Stop Turning Some Illegal Immigrants over to Feds
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Los Angeles   |   October 5, 2012
• The new rules mark a dramatic attempt by the nation's second-largest police department to distance itself from federal immigration policies that Charlie Beck says unfairly treat undocumented immigrants suspected of committing petty offenses.
• 5 Comments

• L.A. County Sheriff Agrees to Long List of Jail Reforms
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Los Angeles County, Calif.   |   October 4, 2012
• Bowing to mounting pressure to fix the nation's largest jail system, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca agreed Wednesday to sweeping reforms to improve the management and oversight of his agency amid allegations of deputy brutality against inmates.
• 1 Comments

• Feds Buy $165M State Prison from Illinois
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Illinois   |   October 3, 2012
• Under orders from President Barack Obama, the U.S. Justice Department moved forward with the purchase of Illinois' long-dormant Thomson prison, cutting a $165 million check to the cash-strapped state.

• Can Immigrant Illegally in U.S. Practice Law? Florida Court to Decide
• Source: Tampa Bay Times   |   Florida   |   October 3, 2012
• Jose Godinez-Samperio, 26, of Tampa is the undocumented child of immigrants and a "dreamer," in the jargon of the DREAM Act.

• DNA Evidence Exonerates 300th Prisoner Nationwide
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Louisiana   |   October 1, 2012
• A Louisiana man is released from death row after his murder conviction is overturned. He said he was coerced into giving a false confession.
• 1 Comments

• Bill Giving Young Immigrants Driver's Licenses Becomes California Law
• Source: Los Angeles Times   |   California   |   October 1, 2012
• Gov. Jerry Brown signed a new law that will allow hundreds of thousands of young illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses and vetoed another that would have restricted sheriffs from helping federal authorities detain undocumented Californians for potential deportation.

• Convicted Public Officials Fail to Pay Back Legal Fees in Pennsylvania
• Source: Philadelphia Inquirer   |   Pennsylvania   |   October 1, 2012
• A law requires convicted public officials to reimburse the treasury if they had lawyered up at public expense.

• Do Jewish Prisoners Have a Right to Kosher Food? Court to Decide
• BY: The Texas Tribune   |   Texas   |   September 28, 2012
• The court will decide whether a Jewish inmate has a right to be provided a kosher diet. Lawyers say the change would cost TDCJ between $1,000 and $3,000 per year, or an extra 0.02 percent of the agency's annual budget.
• 8 Comments