Diversity rises among California judges
The percentages of female, African American, Asian and Latino judges edge up, although they are still underrepresented compared with California’s general population.
Read more in the Los Angeles Times.
In Bay Area, a Fragile Relationship Between Muslims and F.B.I.
Early one morning in 2007, Muhammad Chaudhry showed up at the Islamic Center of East Bay in Antioch, Calif., and found seven bullet holes in one of the building’s front windows.
Read more in The New York Times.
Editorial: The White House Joins the Fight
President Obama made good on the promise of his second Inaugural Address on Thursday by joining the fight to overturn California’s ban on same-sex marriage. Since he declared that marriage equality is part of the road “through Seneca Fall and Selma and Stonewall,” we can’t imagine how he could have sat this one out.
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U.S. Asks Justices to Reject California’s Ban on Gay Marriage
The Obama administration threw its support behind a broad claim for marriage equality on Thursday, and urged the Supreme Court to rule that voters in California were not entitled to ban same-sex marriage there.
Read more in The New York Times.
Corporate Call for Change in Gay Marriage Case
Arguing that the federal Defense of Marriage Act imposes serious administrative and financial costs on their operations, some of the nation’s largest companies filed a supporting brief with the Supreme Court on Wednesday, urging it to overturn a section of the act that denies federal benefits and recognition to same-sex couples.
Read more in The
Incarceration Rates for Blacks Have Fallen Sharply, Report Shows
Incarceration rates for black Americans dropped sharply from 2000 to 2009, especially for women, while the rate of imprisonment for whites and Hispanics rose over the same decade, according to a report released Wednesday by a prison research and advocacy group in Washington.
Read more in The New York Times.
Voting Law Decision Could Sharply Limit Scrutiny of Rules
WASHINGTON — If the Supreme Court strikes down or otherwise guts a centerpiece of the Voting Rights Act, there will be far less scrutiny of thousands of decisions each year about redrawing district lines, moving or closing polling places, changing voting hours or imposing voter identification requirements in areas that have a history of disenfranchising
Divergent views on illegal immigration emerge in state GOP
As the party prepares for its state convention this weekend, some members are putting a higher priority on winning over Latino voters.
Read more in the Los Angeles Times.
Supreme Court voices skepticism about Voting Rights Act
Conservative justices question whether racial discrimination remains a problem and therefore whether a section of the historic 1965 law unfairly restricts Southern states today.
Read more in the Los Angeles Times.
Voting Act Challenge Hinges on a Formula
The Supreme Court is hearing arguments on Wednesday in a major voting rights case. Here is some of the history of the law and the issues that are likely to be raised before the court.
Read more in The New York Times.