5. News from the Courts:

Justice poised to file legal challenge to Arizona immigration law

Various news sources report that top Justice Department officials have drafted a legal challenge that could be filed in federal court in Arizona, asserting that the state’s new immigration law is unconstitutional because it infringes on the federal government’s inherent authority to police the nation’s borders and enforce immigration laws.

Additionally, at the same time as this suit is being prepared, the Justice Department’s civil rights division is considering possible legal action against the Arizona law, on the basis that it amounts to racial profiling of Latinos who are legally present in Arizona, but could be targeted for their ethnicity.

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2010/05/26/1450001/justice-poised-to-file-legal-challenge.html

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Day Labor and Free Speech

The New York Times, in an editorial, reports that a California US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has upheld an ordinance from an L.A. suburb that forbids anyone ‘to stand on the street or highway and solicit, or attempt to solicit, employment, business or contributions from an occupant of any motor vehicle.’

Judge Kim McLane wrote in dissent that the ordinance is too broad, and can affect even charitable groups, including Girl Scouts selling cookies, or a restaurant employee handing out fliers. But in the eye of the public (and the author of the editorial), this law was passed to target and drive away immigrant day laborers. The author further argues that lack of immigration status should not strip a person’s basic constitutional rights, and that regardless, the ordinance violates the first amendment, and should thus be overturned by the full circuit court.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/opinion/14mon2.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

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