On October 7, a U.S. District Court in Florida heard testimony in the lawsuit over the new law that bars ex-felons from registering to vote, unless they have paid all restitution, court costs, and fines. See this story.
The case is Gruver v Barton, n.d., 4:19cv-300. It is before Judge Robert Hinkle, a Clinton appointee.
Five former Governors of Delaware have filed this amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the court to hear Carney v Adams, 19-309. This is the case over the Delaware law that says no one is eligible to be appointed a state judge (for most of the state courts) unless they are a member of a party that has at least 5% of the registered voters. The ex-Governors support the law, which the Third Circuit invalidated a few months ago. Two of the ex-Governors are Republicans, and three are Democrats.
Obviously the Delaware law makes it impossible for any registered independent to become a state judge.
On October 7, U.S. District Court Judge Victor Marrero upheld a subpoena by the Manhattan District Attorney for President Donald Trump’s tax returns for the last several years. Trump v Vance, s.d., 1:19cv-8694. The subpoena has no connection with the New York state law allowing the state government to release the Trump tax returns. Instead it involves a criminal investigation against the President. Here is the 75-page opinion.
Judge Marrero is a Clinton appointee who was born in Puerto Rico.
The President immediately asked for a stay from the Second Circuit, which granted it. In the Second Circuit the case is 19-3204.
In California, the Secretary of State has still not appealed the U.S. District Court opinion in the tax returns-ballot case. It may be that the California Secretary of State believes the tax returns may emerge through the activity of the New York and District of Columbia pending cases.
A case is currently pending in the U.S. Supreme Court on the Delaware law that says all state court judges (on most of the state courts) must be members of a party that has voter registration of at least 5%. Therefore, an independent can never become a state court judge. The Third Circuit had invalidated the policy, and Delaware is trying to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its appeal. Carney v Adams, 19-309.
On October 2, seventeen law professors filed this amicus in favor of the Delaware law. Their names are in the Appendix. The state will file its own brief later on October 7.
Delaware does not elect any judges; they are all appointed.
On October 7, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a Connecticut case, Feehan v Marcone, 18-1470. The state courts had refused to order a new legislative election following the November 2018 regular election in one particular district. The margin between the Republican and the Democrat was extremely close, and then it became known that a number of voters larger than the margin had accidentally been given ballots that omitted that race. The state courts said there was no evidence that if those voters had been allowed to vote, the outcome would have been different. Of course it would have been impossible for there to be any such evidence. It is the Republican nominee who had brought this lawsuit.
Also on October 7, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a Washington state case, Save Tacoma Water v Port of Tacoma, 18-1518. The issue was whether a nonjudicial government official has the power to invalidate an initiative petition (even though it has enough valid signatures) if he or she thinks the initiative, if passed, would be unconstitutional or illegal.
