ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia allowed its election system to grow "way too old and archaic" and now has a deep hole to dig out of to ensure that the constitutional right to vote is protected, U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg said Friday. Now Totenberg is in the difficult position of having to decide whether the state, which plans to implement a new voting system statewide next year, must immediately abandon its outdated voting machines in favor of an interim solution for special and municipal elections to be held this fall. Election integrity advocates and individual voters sued Georgia in 2017 alleging that the touchscreen voting machines the state has used since 2002 are unsecure and vulnerable...
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SAN JUAN (Reuters) - The resignation of Puerto Rico’s governor after mass protests has sparked a succession battle, and the winner could be a Washington corporate lawyer not directly linked to his administration, which has been dogged by corruption scandals. Governor Ricardo Rosselló said on Wednesday he would step down on Aug. 2 in the face of public anger over the release of profane chat messages and embezzlement charges against two former administration officials. In line with the U.S. territory’s constitution, Secretary of Justice Wanda Vázquez is next in line to succeed Rosselló, based on current Cabinet vacancies. Protesters who forced Rosselló from office have vowed to oppose Vázquez...
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IRS Sending 10,000 Tax Compliance Letters to Crypto Investors The United States Internal Revenue Service is sending letters to crypto investors to apparently scare them into accurately reporting their crypto-related income. The Internal Revenue Service is sending letters to crypto investors to apparently scare them into accurately reporting their crypto-related income The United States Internal Revenue Service ( IRS ) is sending letters to crypto investors to clarify crypto tax filing requirements and, in certain cases, compel them to pay back taxes. The IRS announced its letter campaign in a press release on July 26. The IRS states that it has sent letters to 10,000 crypto investors,...
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Bloomberg Businessweek -- The stories all go something like this: An employee is ordered to take a drug test. They have a medical marijuana prescription for a legitimate illness and tell their employer as much. The employer goes ahead with the test, gets back the positive results, and fires the employee. Most states have statutes giving companies the right to drug-test the people they hire and to fire them for coming to work under the influence; in the ones that don’t, courts have largely blessed the process. The precedents are murkier when it comes to employees who partake in a state-sanctioned, medically helpful drug in their off hours—and even more so for those who partake recreationally...
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(Bloomberg Opinion) -- You can take the letter that the Department of Justice has sent to former special counsel Robert Mueller offering “guidance” on his testimony to Congress as evidence of several interesting things. For one, Mueller seems to have wanted an official document from the Justice Department to help him avoid answering questions. For another, the Trump administration seems worried about questions concerning unindicted persons, such as President Donald Trump and his family. But whatever you do, don’t take the Justice Department letter as the law. The only legal bars to Congress’s demanding answers from Mueller on Wednesday are the Constitution and federal statutes. Those are...
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A third Democrat is jumping into the 2020 primary race for Sen. Ed Markey’s seat. Steve Pemberton, a New Bedford-raised businessman and author, announced his U.S. Senate candidacy Tuesday morning, joining Brookline labor lawyer Shannon Liss-Riordan in what has become a two-front campaign for Markey, the 72-year-old junior Massachusetts senator. Pemberton says he is running to be a “passionate advocate for the unseen” amid a time of “fierce urgency.” “We deserve leaders who understand the human toll of failed policies and the cost of willful indifference inflicted upon our working families and our most vulnerable citizens,” he tweeted Tuesday morning. “I understand these threats because I...
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — In just 2½ years, the Trump administration has put its stamp on the nation's immigration court system, appointing more than 4 in 10 judges while dramatically expanding the bench and issuing new rules that make it harder for migrants to win their cases and stay in the country. An Associated Press analysis shows that President Donald Trump's administration has appointed at least 190 immigration judges, accounting for 43 percent of the total. The hires helped expand the immigration bench by more than 100 since September 2016; by comparison, President Barack Obama had a net gain of fewer than 50 judges from 2010 to 2016. The AP analysis also found that Trump has continued a...
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RALEIGH, N.C. — A federal judge approved a legal settlement Tuesday affirming transgender people's right to use restrooms matching their gender identity in many North Carolina public buildings. The consent decree between the state's Democratic governor and transgender plaintiffs covers numerous state-owned buildings including facilities run by executive branch agencies that oversee the environment, transportation and Medicaid, among others. In return, the plaintiffs have agreed to drop pending legal action against the governor and other defendants. The agreement was signed by Judge Thomas Schroeder after a three-year legal battle challenging North Carolina's so-called bathroom bill and the...
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Opponents of Bill 21 seek leave to appeal decision that maintained secularism law MONTREAL — Civil liberties groups are seeking leave to appeal a recent Quebec Superior Court decision that found it wasn't necessary to temporarily suspend certain provisions of Quebec's secularism law while a full challenge is mounted. The National Council of Canadian Muslims and Canadian Civil Liberties Association announced their intention Tuesday on the steps of Quebec's Court of Appeal building in Montreal. Last Thursday, the Quebec Superior Court ruled that Bill 21 would continue to apply in full until a challenge of the law could be heard on it merits — a process that could take months. Justice Michel...
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Legal Assistant (Secretary 2), Term, TRURO The Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service prosecutes charges laid under the Criminal Code and under Nova Scotia statutes such as the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Cases are handled by lawyers called Crown Attorneys. About 80 Crown Attorneys across the province handle about 40,000 cases each year in Nova Scotia. As the Legal Assistant, you will work in a team environment providing legal assistance, case management, file management and secretarial/administrative support for Crown Attorneys of the Pubic Prosecution Service. Your knowledge of legal terminology and specialized criminal law procedures will be put to the test as you use your...
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