Justice
April 9, 2019 -
Federal judges have — so far — halted attempts by the region's conservative state leaders to limit or block access to health care through the Affordable Care Act. But Republicans are changing U.S. Senate rules to stack those courts with conservative Trump appointees.
April 4, 2019 -
A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Kentucky law that would have effectively banned abortion in the state. Lawmakers used religion to justify the restrictions, but their views are not representative of all Kentucky Christians.
March 29, 2019 -
Governors in Florida and North Carolina recently appointed Jewish justices to their state supreme courts — a first for North Carolina. Studies have shown that Jewish judges, as well as those who belong to other religious minorities, tend to rule in favor of religious freedom.
March 28, 2019 -
After the state legislature failed to revamp a judicial voting district found to be racially discriminatory, a federal court has picked a technical advisor from California to do the job instead. Will the non-white voters of Terrebonne Parish finally get a fair shot at electing a judge of their choice next year?
March 15, 2019 -
Playwright, actor, educator, and community organizer John O'Neal died last month in New Orleans. In his memory, we share a searing story he wrote that ran in Southern Exposure, the print magazine forerunner of Facing South, in 1997.
March 14, 2019 -
For the amendment banning sex discrimination by the federal and state governments to be enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, one more state needs to ratify it. Most of the states that haven't ratified the ERA are in the South, but ratification bills were introduced in seven Southern states this year.
March 13, 2019 -
In response to Republican voter suppression efforts in the states, congressional Democrats want to restore the Supreme Court-stricken Voting Rights Act provision that required federal preclearance of election changes in places with a history of voter discrimination. Here's how they're proposing to do that and the places that would be covered.
