law

Arkansas attorney general files appeal of ruling on transgender care for minors

BY: - July 21, 2023

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin on Thursday formally appealed a federal judge’s June ruling that struck down the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors, and the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis has established deadlines for filing briefs in the case. Act 626 of 2021 was the first of its […]

A protester raises a fist beside a large transgender pride flag at the Kentucky State Capitol. (Sarah Ladd/Kentucky Lantern)

Federal judge blocks ban on gender-affirming care for Kentucky’s trans kids

BY: - June 29, 2023

A federal judge sided with the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky Wednesday, temporarily blocking a section of a recently-passed state law that seeks to ban gender-affirming health care for transgender minors. In his ruling, Judge David J. Hale said, “Based on the evidence submitted, the Court finds that the treatments barred by SB 150 […]

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, questions Interior Secretary Deb Haaland during a hearing on May 2, 2023 in Washington, DC. The hearing to examine President Joe Biden's fiscal 2024 budget request for Haaland's department turned into a forum for criticism of the administration's energy policies. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Interior secretary under fire at U.S. Senate hearing over oil and gas leases, public lands

BY: - May 2, 2023

Members of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee used a Tuesday hearing on the Interior Department’s fiscal 2024 budget to voice their displeasure with the administration’s energy production policies to Secretary Deb Haaland.  The strongest criticism came from Republicans on the panel, though Chairman Joe Manchin III, a centrist West Virginia Democrat with […]

In this photo illustration, packages of Mifepristone tablets are displayed at a family planning clinic in Rockville, Maryland. (Photo illustration by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Congressional Democrats urge reversal of district court ruling on mifepristone

BY: - May 2, 2023

WASHINGTON — More than 250 congressional Democrats have filed a brief urging an appeals court to reverse a Texas federal judge’s decision to suspend the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s two-decade-old approval of the abortion pill. In an emergency order, the U.S. Supreme Court in April issued a stay, meaning the abortion pill known as […]

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signs SB396, to create the Social Media Safety Act, on April 12, 2023, with bill sponsors, Rep. Jon Eubanks (left), R-Paris, and Sen. Tyler Dees, R-Siloam Springs. (Photo by Randall Lee/Governor's Office)

New Arkansas social media age verification law could complicate student-athletes’ publicity efforts

BY: - April 12, 2023

Austyn Dendy, a junior student-athlete at Pine Bluff High School, has college offers from numerous universities, including Tulane, the University of Nevada Las Vegas and the University of Mississippi.  Recruiters discovered Dendy and other outstanding Arkansas athletes like him through his high school coaches’ networks but also on social media.  Dendy, who participates in football, […]

COMMENTARY
Rep. Mary Bentley (R-Perryville) at a legislative hearing in February. (Photo by John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate)

Gutting Arkansas’ open meetings law

BY: - March 14, 2023

I spoke too soon. Yesterday, I published a hopeful opinion piece about legislation that, if passed, would enhance the public’s right to know enshrined in Arkansas’ 56-year-old Freedom of Information Act. One of those bills, Senate Bill 382, would define what a public meeting is. As I noted in Monday’s column, the FOIA doesn’t specify […]

A gloved hand holds a bottle of Covid-19 vaccine.

Federal judge strikes down part of Montana’s far-reaching anti-vax law

BY: - December 13, 2022

In a victory for public health advocates, a federal judge in Montana has blocked the state from implementing a law that would make it illegal for hospitals to ask employees if they are vaccinated. The measure, which passed last year, was the country’s most extreme anti-vaccination law. Health care providers in Montana had sued the […]

A doctor prescribes medical marijuana with a bottle of capsules and a cannabis bud in foregroud.

Louisiana medical panel stops enforcement of in-person visits for cannabis patients

BY: - December 13, 2022

The Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners is temporarily halting enforcement actions against doctors who recommend medical marijuana via telemedicine. The pause on enforcement comes days after a state Senate committee threatened to revoke the board’s rule-making authority for refusing to lift the in-person visit requirement. LSBME Executive Director Dr. Vincent Culotta confirmed the news […]

There will be early voting sites open in several Georgia counties on Saturday, Nov. 26, for the U.S. Senate runoff between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Senate hopeful Herschel Walker. In two court rulings, the secretary of state’s office was unsuccessful in its attempt to prevent voters from voting on Saturday since it falls within a day of a state holiday. (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)

GOP groups seek emergency ruling from Georgia Supreme Court on Saturday voting

BY: - November 22, 2022

Several Republican organizations have asked the Georgia Supreme Court to block Georgians from early voting in the U.S. Senate runoff this Saturday after two courts rejected state attempts to do so. On Monday evening Georgia’s Court of Appeals rejected Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s attempt to nullify a Fulton County judge’s order giving Georgia […]

U.S. Supreme Court building. (Jim Small/Arizona Mirror)

U.S. Supreme Court to consider case that could radically reshape the country’s elections

BY: - October 14, 2022

The U.S. Supreme Court could soon grant state legislatures unconditional control over federal elections, clearing the way for lawmakers to gerrymander their states with impunity and pass voter restriction measures without interference from state courts. The high-stakes election case, Moore v. Harper, comes out of North Carolina after its Republican-controlled legislature passed in November 2021 […]

Limited-English voters face barriers to casting ballots in Arkansas

BY: - September 27, 2022

Language poses a big challenge for voters with limited English proficiency in Arkansas, where ballots are only printed in English. Newly naturalized citizens are often afraid to vote because they don’t understand the ballot, said Mireya Reith, executive director of immigrant advocacy group Arkansas United. Voters with limited English proficiency also worry poll workers won’t […]

Federal judge sides with Texas, blocks HHS guidance on emergency abortions

BY: - August 24, 2022

WASHINGTON — A federal district judge has granted the Texas attorney general’s request to temporarily block guidance from the federal government that says federal law protects health care providers who perform abortions to save the life or health of pregnant patients in emergency situations.  Judge James Wesley Hendrix wrote the U.S. Department of Health and […]