Voting Rights Tag

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Posted 23 Jun 2026 in Case Notes, Commentary Written by: Amanda Karras

On June18th, the Supreme Court held that the federal government’s indictment of Mr. Hemani under §922(g)(3), which bars “unlawful users of” a “controlled substance” from possessing a firearm, violated the Second Amendment. The majority called its ruling “narrow,” and noted that it was not addressing the constitutionality of larger questions like whether laws banning addicts or those that are presently intoxicated from possessing firearms. 18 U. S. C. §922(g)(3) provides that anyone who is an “unlawful user of” or “addicted to”...

Posted 30 Apr 2026 in Case Notes, Commentary Written by: Amanda Karras

Yesterday in Louisiana v. Callais, the Supreme Court significantly modified the test courts must use to determine if a claim under §2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) for race-based vote dilution may proceed.  The Court’s new test reframes the focus to discriminatory intent, separate and apart from any intent to gain a partisan advantage, rather than the prior focus on discriminatory results/impacts. The majority indicated it was not “abandoning” the test to determine if a legislature has violated §2 of...