Election-Campaign Law

Some California Gay Couples Delay Weddings Due To Ballot Measure
Lisa Leff reports on the AP: . . . Now that California’s highest court has held that two men may be legally married starting later this month, friends want to know when the Los Angeles [same-sex] couple plan to take their relationship to the next level...

California prisons prepare for gay weddings
No prisoners so far have sought to arrange weddings with same-sex partners since the state Supreme Court granted same-sex couples the right to wed as of mid-June, according to Michele Kane, spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation...

Myanmar to allow voters to observe ballot count in constitutional referendum
[JURIST] Myanmar voters will be permitted to observe ballot counting in a scheduled May national referendum [JURIST report] on a draft constitution [JURIST news archive] put forth by the country's ruling junta, according to Thursday state media reports...

What We Were Wondering: Numbers from Massachusetts
Just as we were wondering how many same-sex weddings California courts will have to cope with to see whether some courts' claims of a coming deluge were valid, the NYT provided interesting numbers from Massachusetts: In 2006, according to the US Census Bureau, there were 23,655 same-sex households in Massachusetts Since May 17, 2004, at least 10,500 same-sex couples wed there 6,121 of those married within the first 6 months that such weddings were legal In 2005, there were 2,060 same-sex weddings in Massachusetts In 2006, there were 1,442 In the first 8 months of 2007, there were 867 (do you see where this is going?) Nearly 2/3 of the weddings have been between women Nearly 1/3 of the couples are in their 40s, compared to the 1/2 of straight marrying couples who are under 30 According to lawyers, same-sex couples are more likely to have prenups See Gay Couples Find Marriage Is a Mixed Bag, Pam Belluck, New York Times (June 15, 2008)...

California prisons prepare for gay weddings
The AP reports: Now that same-sex couples can get married in California, state prison officials are trying to figure out what that means for gay inmates. No prisoners so far have sought to arrange weddings with same-sex partners ...

Switzerland voters reject citizenship-limiting initiative in referendum
[JURIST] Swiss voters Sunday rejected by roughly 64-36 percent [provisional official results, in German] a referendum initiative [question text, in German; information page, in German] that would have allowed municipalities control over granting Swiss passports without the possibility of appeal for applicants...

California Supreme Court Proposition 8 Decision
Court Rejects Challenges to Proposition 8, but Finds Marriages Valid

Selection of State Supreme Court Judges
How State Court Judges are Selected

Dumb California Laws
Stupid Laws in the Sunshine State

Ford F-150 Recall
alleging a hose in the F-150 and Lincoln Mark LT pickup trucks could affect braking power.

Getty Images
Faces Class Action over Premium Access

NCAA
Faces Antitrust Class Action over use of Players' Images

OfficeMax Recalls Office Chairs Due to Fall Hazard
OfficeMax Recalls Office Chairs Due to Fall Hazard

Baby Jogger Recalls Strollers Due to Fall Hazard
Baby Jogger Recalls Strollers Due to Fall Hazard

Trampolines
Recalled due to Fall Hazard