U.S. District Court Hearing in San Francisco, in Lawsuit Against California Top-Two System

Posted on by July 26, 2025
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U.S. District Court Judge Maxine Chesney will hear Peace & Freedom Party v Weber on Friday, August 22, at 9 a.m. The courthouse is at 450 Golden Gate Avenue, between Larkin and Polk Streets, in San Francisco. The courtroom is on the 19th floor. The hearing is in courtroom seven. This is the minor party lawsuit against the California top-two system. The nearest BART station is Civic Center.

It would be very desirable to have a big audience. Arrive early in case it takes time to go through the metal detector that all federal courthouses have.

U.S. District Court in Massachusetts Again Enjoins President Trump’s Order on Birthright Citizenship

Posted on by July 25, 2025
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On July 25, U.S. District Court Judge Leo Sorokin, an Obama appointee, again enjoined President Trump’s birthright citizenship order. State of New Jersey v Trump, 1:25cv-10139, District of Massachusetts. He had done so previously on February 13. He heard the case again because on June 27, the U.S. Supreme Court in another birthright case had said U.S. District Court judges can’t normally issue nationwide injunctions. However, the U.S. Supreme Court said they can if the plaintiffs are states.

Because this case has many state governments as plaintiffs, it was not surprising that Judge Sorokin again enjoined the presidential order.

Independent Candidate for Cheektowaga, New York, Town Board Placed on Ballot by State Court Even Though his Petition Sheets Didn’t Mention Cheektowaga

Posted on by July 25, 2025
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On July 24, independent candidate Daniel Kollander was put on the November 4, 2025 ballot for Town Board of Cheektowaga, by a lower state court. The Board of Elections had rejected his petition because the individual petition sheets didn’t mention the name of the town in the “Public Office” blank, although the name of the town was in two other places on the petition.

U.S. Supreme Court Extends Freeze on North Dakota Legislative Redistricting

Posted on by July 24, 2025
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On July 24, the U.S. Supreme Court extended the hold in Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians v Howe, 25A62. The vote was 6-3, with Justices Gorsuch, Alito and Thomas in the minority. This is the North Dakota legislative redistricting case. The Eighth Circuit had restored the legislature’s redistricting plan on the grounds that private individuals and groups can’t sue under the Voting Rights Act, a surprising conclusion given the history of how the act has been used since it was passed in 1965.