• Supreme Court Appears Divided Over Arizona's Voting Requirements
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Nation   |   March 19, 2013
• The court heard oral arguments on Arizona's voter registration requirements on Monday and appeared divided along ideological lines.

• Maryland Repeals the Death Penalty, Joins Growing Trend
• BY: Stateline   |   Maryland   |   March 18, 2013
• After a years-long fight, Maryland has become the sixth state in as many years to repeal its death penalty.
• 3 Comments

• Can States Require Proof of Citizenship to Vote? Supreme Court to Decide
• Source: AP/Washington Post   |   Nation   |   March 18, 2013
• The Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday about the validity of an Arizona law that tries to keep illegal immigrants from voting by demanding all state residents show documents proving their U.S. citizenship before registering to vote in national elections.
• 11 Comments

• Federal Oversight of Tennessee Health Care Comes to an End
• Source: Tennessean   |   Tennessee   |   March 15, 2013
• A federal appeals court ended 15 years of court-ordered oversight of Tennessee’s health care services for poor and disabled children under TennCare, the state’s Medicaid program.

• States Weigh How to Compensate the Wrongfully Convicted
• Source: New York Times   |   Nation   |   March 14, 2013
• Twenty-three states that have no system to compensate the wrongfully convicted.

• New Jersey Appeals Sports Betting Decision
• Source: Newark Star-Ledger   |   New Jersey   |   March 14, 2013
• New Jersey officials appealed a federal judge’s decision to block legal sports betting in the state, a move that was expected in a high-stakes case that could end up before the nation’s highest court.

• California Governor Calls Federal Prison Oversight Wasteful
• BY: McClatchy News   |   California   |   March 12, 2013
• On the eve of a showdown in federal court over the future of California's prisons, Gov. Jerry Brown is speaking out about his view that the state is being forced to waste millions of tax dollars on federal oversight that is no longer necessary.

• Judge Sides with State on Law Banning Ethnic Studies
• Source: Arizona Republic   |   Arizona   |   March 12, 2013
• State officials have won a significant legal battle in a long-running saga over a controversial Tucson schools ethnic-studies program, with a federal judge ruling that a law designed to ban it is constitutional.

• Gun Bills Pass Colorado Senate, Head to House
• Source: Denver Post   |   Colorado   |   March 12, 2013
• The Senate passed five bills Monday — two House bills that must go back to the House, two Senate bills that must go to the House and a House bill that now goes to Gov. John Hickenlooper's desk.

• Former Detroit Mayor Convicted of Racketeering, Extortion
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Detroit   |   March 11, 2013
• Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his longtime contractor friend Bobby Ferguson were convicted of racketeering and extortion, marking an end to a more than decade-long public corruption investigation.

• California Unions File Lawsuits over Pension Reforms
• BY: McClatchy News   |   California   |   March 11, 2013
• The overhaul raised the retirement age and lowered the benefits for public employees hired as of Jan. 1 of this year. It also changed the way pensions are calculated, which slices into benefits for workers who were on the job before then.
• 3 Comments

• Gov. Snyder: Expect Fast Appointment of Emergency Manager if Detroit's Appeal Fails
• Source: Detroit News   |   Michigan   |   March 11, 2013
• Gov. Rick Snyder said the appointment of an emergency manager for Detroit would likely come swiftly if appeal arguments from the Detroit City Council fail to change his mind.

• As Voting Rights Act is Debated in Court, Bronx Offers a Case Study
• Source: New York Times   |   New York   |   March 8, 2013
• The Bronx offers a case study into arguments for and against continuing the half-century effort to monitor elections through a racial prism.

• Gun Debate Shines National Spotlight on Colorado
• Source: Denver Post   |   Colorado   |   March 8, 2013
• Hardened by mass shootings at Columbine High School in 1999 and at an Aurora movie theater in July, Colorado teeters on the cusp of passing some of the strictest gun laws in the Mountain West.

• Texas Seeks New Execution Standards for Intellectually Disabled
• BY: The Texas Tribune   |   Texas   |   March 7, 2013
• A new bill seeks to clarify the standards used when deciding to execute intellectually disabled criminals.