Lawmakers

Idaho Supreme Court Reinstates ACLU Lawsuit Challenging Public Defense System

The Idaho Supreme Court says a lawsuit over Idaho’s troubled public defense system can move forward against all the defendants except one: Idaho Gov. Butch Otter. The high court’s ruling, handed down Friday, reinstates the class-action lawsuit brought in 2015 by four Idaho residents who said they were denied the right to a fair trial because of Idaho’s underfunded and faulty public …


Unelected Panel Shouldn’t Decide Pay Raises for Lawmakers

An appointed panel considering 47 percent raises for state lawmakers, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other state officials faces a legal challenge: a lawsuit contending that Cuomo and the Legislature violated the state constitution by relinquishing the touchy pay decision to an unelected panel. James Coll, a New York City police detective and college teacher from Long Island who leads an Albany reform …


Tenn. Joins Lawsuit Over Federal Transgender Directive

Tennessee is one of 11 states that filed federal suit Wednesday against the Obama administration over recent guidance issued regarding which bathrooms transgender students may use. The states filing suit argue the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Education are usurping local control and trying to create a national social experiment by telling districts to allow transgender …