Supreme Court refuses to expedite health-care reform review

AFP

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied the request of Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to expedite the appellate review of the state’s constitutional challenge of the 2010 federal health-care reform law. The move had not been unexpected – as the Supreme Court rarely bypasses appellate courts in reviews of constitutional questions. Cuccinelli had asked for…

Court: State can’t privacy advocate from publishing most records found on government websites

AFP

In an order signed Wednesday, United States District Court Judge Robert E. Payne ruled that privacy advocate B.J. Ostergren may post public records that contain Social Security Numbers on her website, despite a 2008 Virginia law prohibiting the dissemination of such information. The injunction, which was agreed upon by Ostergren and Virginia Attorney General Ken…

Cuccinelli responds to Supreme Court decision in Westboro case

Chris Graham

The United States Supreme Court voted 8-1 to uphold an appeals court decision to overturn a $5 million verdict against a Kansas church that protests the funerals of American soldiers to bring attention to its message that God is punishing the U.S. for its embrace of gays and lesbians. Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli was…

Dems use report to repeat criticisms of Cuccinelli

Chris Graham

Virginia residents donated more than $2 million to U.S. Navy Vets, an organization under investigation in at least six states for defrauding donors, the Office of Consumer Affairs within the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Forestry reported this week. The organization was headed up by a man using the name Bobby Thompson who donated $55,000…

Domestic-violence legislation passes House

Chris Graham

Legislation named in honor of a Collinsville woman murdered at her workplace in 2007 by her estranged husband passed the House of Delegates today by a unanimous 99-0 vote. The Linda Bostwick Act, sponsored by Del. Ward Armstrong, allows judges to require Virginians who are facing criminal charges, have violated a protective order, or are…

Bob Marshall: Maintain DADT in Virginia

AFP

Losing 32 percent of Marine and 21 percent of Army combat troops in battle would devastate our nation. That is how many soldiers said they will definitely leave the US military service early if “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” were repealed. Right before Christmas the “lame duck” Congress ended 232 years of military policy and 6000 years of…

AG backs effort to clarify state gambling laws

Chris Graham

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli today announced his support for new legislation which clarifies Virginia’s gambling laws. Questions about the law arose in 2010 when a number of Internet gambling businesses started to appear around the Commonwealth. Companion bills, House Bill 1700 and Senate Bill 1195, patroned by Del. Clay Athey (R-Front Royal) and Sen….

Proposed cut of FOIA Council: Is it worth the trouble?

Chris Graham

There’s a saying about using a sledgehammer to kill a gnat that comes to mind with the recommendation of the Governor’s Commission on Government Reform and Restructuring to eliminate the Freedom of Information Act Advisory Council as a cost-saving move. The line item in the 2010-2012 state budget for the Council, a resource for the…

The umpire strikes back

Chris Graham

It didn’t take me doing the quick bio check on Henry Hudson to figure out his political proclivities. (For the record, Hudson, the judge who ruled Monday that the purchase mandate that is key to the implementation of the health-care reform signed into law in March, was appointed to the federal bench by George W….

Cuccinelli opinion sparks debate on documents for drivers licenses

Chris Graham

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli issued an official opinion last week informing the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles that it is not required to accept federal work permit cards as proof of lawful presence in the United States for the purpose of issuing a driver’s license, permit, or special identification card. The Cuccinelli opinion was highlighted…