Arizona Republicans should pay heed to what happened this week at the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. Rachel Mitchell, the Republican elected to the job in 2022, announced she would not prosecute two Phoenix police officers who shot and killed a man who was hurling rocks at a patrol car and later at them. Mitchell was in charge of the case because she did not run for office as a MAGA Republican. She did not kiss the Trump ring. She did not climb into the Stop-the-Steal barrel and ride it over Fantasy Falls to crushing defeat, as did so many other Arizona Republicans.…
Manitoba lawyers will be required to take an Indigenous culture course
Manitoba lawyers will soon have to take mandatory training on Indigenous rights and history as part of a new requirement from the Law Society of Manitoba. The one-time, mandatory training is a new requirement from the Law Society of Manitoba, which regulates the legal profession in the province, to ensure all lawyers in Manitoba have a common knowledge base on Indigenous issues, said Alissa Schacter, equity officer and policy counsel for the Law Society of Manitoba. The law society believes having this education is a matter of competence, she said. “Lawyers need to have this understanding of the place that we live, its history and the people who lived here prior to European contact in order to be able to assist their clients and represent them effectively,” she said.…
Uganda’s President Museveni approves tough new anti-gay law
Uganda’s government has resisted pressure to drop the legislationUganda’s progress in tackling HIV is in “grave jeopardy” after the president approved tough new anti-homosexuality legislation, the UN and US have warned. An increasing number of people are being discouraged from seeking vital health services for fear of attacks and punishment, they added. President Yoweri Museveni signed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill into law after parliament watered it down. It is still among the harshest anti-LGBTQ laws in the world. Homosexual acts are already illegal in Uganda but now anyone convicted faces life imprisonment. The legislation imposes the death penalty for so-called aggravated cases, which includes having gay sex with someone below the age of 18 or where someone is infected with a life-long illness including HIV.…
10,000 Lakes and . . . No Noncompetitive? Minnesota Passes Law Banning Non-Competes Effective July 1, 2023
As expected, on May 24, 2023, Governor Tim Walz signed a new law banning noncompete agreement in Minnesota. The ban will be effective for such agreements entered on or after July 1, 2023. By enacting the Omnibus Jobs, Economic Development, Labor and Industry appropriations bill (MN SF 30035), Minnesota becomes only the fourth state (along with California, Oklahoma and North Dakota) to ban noncompetitors.The new law renders void and unenforceable all covenants not to compete entered by employees or independent contractors on or after July 1, 2023. The only exceptions are noncompetitive agreements relating to the sale or dissolution of a business.…
Policy Developments at the UN regarding the Safety of Journalists
Author: Dr. Gemma Horton (University of Sheffield) Safety of Journalists In recent years, the threats that journalists face in their work have grown considerably. The development of technology has meant that journalists are subject to online violence for the work that they do, particularly women who are being targeted and are vulnerable to such attacks as outlined in a recent International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) and UNESCO report. Some States have also used outdated laws to prosecute journalists and, in some cases, submitted them to arbitrary detention . In some instances, the work that journalists do in holding governments to account or exposing crimes can cost them their lives.…
Are Canada’s competition laws outdated? Some say it’s time for change
Whether checking in at the airport or checking out at the grocery store, it seems everywhere you turn these days, you find frustrated consumers. Many complain about high prices or limited choices across sectors — and blame the lack of competition. But now, the federal government is looking to update Canada’s competition laws — possibly the most significant review in decades. Everything seems to be on the table, from tiny tweaks to a major overhaul. Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell is one of those pushing for reforms. “I think it’s fair to say, unfortunately, that the Competition Act is lagging behind our international peers,” said Boswell.…
Democracy Alerts – Voting Rights Attorney Nancy Abudu Confirmed to 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals
WASHINGTON, D.C — On Thursday, May 18, the US Senate voted 49-47 to confirm Nancy G. Abudu to a lifetime appointment as a judge on the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals. Her confirmation is historic, as she is the first Black woman to ever serve on the 11th Circuit, which rules on appeals originating out of Alabama, Florida and Georgia. Before her nomination to the 11th Circuit, Abudu was a voting rights attorney, making her pro-voting perspective a crucial and exciting addition to the court. As a civil rights litigator she challenged Florida’s felony disfranchisement law and omnibus voter suppression law, Georgia’s omnibus voter suppression law and more.…
/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/XCBK3WH3MRLRRD2PWNRMGA7UDA.jpg "Trump’s absence at civil rape trial shows ‘he did it,’ accuser’s lawyer says")
Trump’s absence at civil rape trial shows ‘he did it,’ accuser’s lawyer says
Trump’s lawyer calls the case an ‘affront to justice’ Jury due to begin deliberations on TuesdayNEW YORK, May 8 (Reuters) – Donald Trump’s absence from a trial where writer E. Jean Carroll accuses him of rape and defamation shows that “he did it,” a lawyer for Carroll said on Monday, while Trump’s lawyer told the jurors the case was “outrageous.” “He never looked you in the eye and denied raping Ms. Carroll,” lawyer Mike Ferrara told jurors as the civil trial in Manhattan federal court neared the end of an eighth day. “You should draw the conclusion that’s because he did it.”…