Tag: state supreme

Delaware AG asking state Supreme Court to overturn vote-by-mail law

Posted on by Judith E. Ashton

Delaware’s Democratic attorney general is asking the state Supreme Court to overturn a judge’s ruling declaring a new vote-by-mail law unconstitutional and prohibiting voting by mail in the upcoming November election.

The justices heard arguments Thursday in a lawsuit challenging both the vote-by-mail law and another new law allowing same-day registration.

Vice Chancellor Nathan Cook last month upheld the same-day registration law. But he said the vote-by-mail law, the result of legislation Democrats rammed through the General Assembly in less than three weeks, violates restrictions on absentee voting in Delaware’s constitution.

Attorney General Kathleen Jennings appealed the ruling striking down the vote-by-mail law. Republican representing attorneys voters, a state House candidate and a Department of Elections employee appealed Cook’s decision upholding the same-day registration.

DELAWARE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY VOTERS TO DECIDE IF STATE AUDITOR DESERVES A CHANCE AT RE-ELECTION IN NOVEMBER

Attorneys representing state elections officials argue that the General Assembly has broad powers to enact voting laws. Chief Deputy Attorney General Alexander Mackler also argued Thursday that opponents have no standing to challenge either law because they have not demonstrated any specific injury or any particular interest not shared by others.

The attorney general in Delaware is asking the state Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that declared the new vote-by-mail law to be unconstitutional.

The attorney general in Delaware is asking the state Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that declared the new vote-by-mail law to be unconstitutional.
(Fox News)

“These plaintiffs are not legally injured. They are politically aggrieved,” Mackler said. “They have a policy disagreement with the legislature that they want this court to legitimize.”

Justice Gary Traynor pushed back on Mackler’s assertion, asking why a candidate who wants to ensure that an election complies with Delaware’s constitution would not be allowed to challenge “a statute that arguably is in violation of the constitution.”

Justice Karen Valihura raised similar concerns.

“If people vote who are not entitled to vote,

… Read the rest
Read more

As the cost to hire a lawyer climbs, some states let non-lawyers provide legal advice

Posted on by Judith E. Ashton

More states are allowing non-lawyers to represent people in civil court matters as the gap in access to legal counsel grows wider between those who can afford attorneys and those who can’t.

Although it’s in its early stages, such advocacy is desperately needed as states struggle to ensure residents with common legal problems aren’t left behind, lawyers said.

The cost of hiring lawyers “has increased since the 1970s, and many individual litigants have been forced to forego using professional legal services and either represent themselves or ignore their legal problems,” a task force of the state Supreme Court wrote in a report on legal services in Arizona in 2019.

Utah and Arizona launched programs in recent years that allow people who have earned legal technician’s licenses to dispense advice in family law cases, while Minnesota is in a trial run. Oregon plans to start an initiative next summer, and Colorado is considering the idea.

Typically, candidates must tally a certain number of hours of legal training and document preparation before they can become licensed providers, an occupation whose name varies from state to state.

In Colorado, the state Supreme Court is considering launching a program that would allow people with some background in the law to represent people in family court, where low-income or indigent litigants aren’t provided lawyers as defendants are in criminal court.

“It could cost tens of thousands of dollars to go through a divorce or a custody case,” said Maha Kamal, a family law attorney and co-chair of a state committee that proposed the plan. “Most attorneys aren’t offering enough services at a cost that is affordable.”

Sometimes referred to as the nurse practitioners of the law industry, legal service providers offer a less expensive way to file documents and mediate disputes in civil court than

… Read the rest
Read more

Planned Parenthood wants Supreme Court to review appellate court decision not to enjoin abortion law

Posted on by Judith E. Ashton

Planned Parenthood is gearing up to ask the state Supreme Court to weigh in on whether a Tallahassee appellate court should have blocked Florida’s new abortion law from taking effect.

That law bans women and girls from getting abortions after 15 weeks of gestation.

The First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee notified the Supreme Court on August 15 that Planned Parenthood Southwest and Central Florida had filed a notice notifying it of its plans to ask the state’s high court to invoke its discretionary jurisdiction and review the July 21 appellate court ruling.

“The decision is within the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction because it expressly and directly conflicts with a decision of the Supreme Court on the same question of law,” florida“American Civil Liberties Union of Florida attorney Daniel Tilley wrote.

At press time, the Supreme Court had not decided whether it would agree to consider the case.

The case was on appeal after a group of abortion clinics represented by the ACLU challenged the law in circuit court alleging it violated Florida’s voter-approved privacy clause, which in the past has been cited as a reason by the state Supreme Court to block abortion restrictions .

Circuit Court Judge John Cooper ruled that the ban — which does not include exceptions for rape, incest and human trafficking, but does have an exception for the pregnant woman’s life — was likely unconstitutional and issued a temporary injunction. The state, however, immediately appealed the ruling, which prevented the injunction from taking effect.

The decision was appealed to the First District Court in Tallahassee. In July, a split 2-1 decision was issued denying the request to stay the law.

Writing for the majority, Judge Brad Thomas suggested those challenging the law — including a doctor — could not show

… Read the rest
Read more