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.
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.
Census Bureau drops use of ‘Negro’ in surveys
WASHINGTON — After more than a century, the Census Bureau is dropping its use of the word “Negro” to describe black Americans in surveys.
Read more in the Los Angeles Times.
Justice Sotomayor criticizes prosecutor for racial remark
WASHINGTON — Justice Sonia Sotomayor strongly objected Monday to a Texas prosecutor’s reference to the race of the defendants as an argument to convince a jury they were involved in a drug deal.
Read more in the Los Angeles Times.
Is the Voting Rights Act Still Needed?
All sides seem to agree that the Voting Rights Act did a lot to make elections fairer. But is there evidence today that the law is still needed? In 2006, Congress thought that it was. But critics say its approach to voter protection, based on race and 1960s dynamics, no longer makes sense. On Wednesday,