Vermont's campaign finance law survives legal challenge

A challenge to Vermont’s campaign finance laws has been struck down in federal court. Dean Corren, an unsuccessful candidate for lieutenant governor, sued the state in Vermont’s federal district court for violating his First Amendment rights, alleging that a restriction on fundraising for publicly-financed candidates is unconstitutional. The court issued its decision Tuesday. The federal suit came amid a state-level case against Corren. During his campaign, Corren accepted public financing, whi…
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The Latest on arguments over a Mississippi law dealing with religious objections to same-sex marriage (all times local): 5:30 p.m. Attorneys for both sides are expressing confidence after a federal appeals court heard arguments about Mississippi law dealing with religious objections to same-sex marriage. Three judges from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard the case Monday in Lubbock, Texas. The Mississippi law would let merchants and government employees cite religious beliefs to deny …
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A lesbian couple from Mississippi traveled to Texas and spent their second wedding anniversary watching arguments in a court case that they believe could affect whether they face officially sanctioned discrimination in their home state. Brandiilyne Mangum-Dear said she and her wife, Susan Mangum, were married in California in 2015, a few weeks before the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. The Mississippi Legislature in early 2016 passed a law that would let merchants and…
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The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington is suing the state’s Office of Public Defense in an effort to get the state to do more to make sure children charged with crimes have good legal help. The lawsuit, filed Monday in Thurston County Superior Court, specifically challenges what the ACLU describes as the agency’s failure to protect juvenile defendants in Grays Harbor County on the Pacific coast, but the issues aren’t limited to Grays Harbor County, said Emily Chiang, the organization’…
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