- Equal Protection Blues: The
Supremes' use of the Equal Protection
clause to call off a recount in Bush v Gore is already
prompting litigation. In early January, a lawsuit was filed
in Fulton County, Georgia, challenging the state's voting
system. Plaintiffs maintain that inconsistent county
standards violate federal guarantees of equal voting rights, equal
protection, and state laws requiring accurate tabulations. Stay
tuned: much more to come.
- Harvard
Professor Laurence Tribe delivered a spirited defense
of state sovereignty before the Supreme Court in Bush v. Palm
Beach County. Is this federalism advocacy passé now
that W has won the election? No: we are pleased to report that Professor
Tribe's fondness for enumerated powers continues. He is representing GE in a lawsuit filed
in U.S. District Court--GE maintains that the 1980
Superfund Law is, as Tribe describes it, "flatly
unconstitutional" Says Tribe: Superfund has an
"Alice in Wonderland regime of punishment...(that) gives the
EPA power to skew the evidence, ignore other points of view and
order action without an independent review." (Click
here
for elaboration.)
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- Manhattan Institute
releases the Education
Freedom Index--finds positive correlation between academic
achievement and educational competition.
- Massachusetts' Pioneer
Institute releases the Government Effectiveness Index.
States' ability to deliver key services measured in six areas: K-12 education, higher education, highways, transit,
state police, the judiciary, corrections, and financial administration.
- The Religious
Freedom Restoration Act, continued: Congress passes an amended
version of RFRA after the Supreme Court invalidates its key
provisions. Click here for a
summary of the new law and the National League of Cities’
reaction.
- Rediscovering the charms
of the (local) police power: an American Bar Association task force,
headed by former Attorney General Edwin Meese III, warns against
Congress' continuing tendency to federalize criminal law. For
a summary and on-line version of the report, click here.
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