Courts
From NBC's Pete Williams
In one of the most closely watched cases of the term, the US Supreme Court has upheld Indiana's requirement that voters show government-issued photo IDs at the polls. At least 17 other states were awaiting this decision before going ahead with similar laws of their own.
The vote was 6-3, with Justice John Paul Stevens joining the mostly conservative majority.
Democrats had attacked the law, saying it created a burden for poor, minority, and handicapped voters, who would have a harder time getting government-issued IDs. They accused Indiana officials of passing the law to suppress the minority vote.
From NBC's Pete Williams
The US Supreme Court today ended a national moratorium on executions, upholding the constitutionality of the form of capital punishment used in nearly every state -- lethal injection.
The court's ruling was on a 7-2 vote, though different justices found different reasons for joining the opinion.
The two dissenters were Ginsburg and Souter.
From NBC's Pete Williams
In something of a surprise, the U.S. Supreme Court today declined to hear an appeal involving the FBI's unprecedented search of the Capitol Hill offices of Congressman William Jefferson.
A federal appeals court ruled that the FBI wrongly used its own agents look through the material seized to determine what might be covered by congressional privilege. This is a considerable victory for Jefferson, largely validating his objections to the search and giving him certain bragging rights. But prosecutors claim they have sufficient evidence independent of the search. The cash in his freezer, for example, was found well before Jefferson's offices were searched.
The court today handed down just one decision, a victory for Delaware. The state hoped to stop construction of a proposed British Petroleum liquified natural gas port on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River. The court, acting in its special role as the sole decider of disputes between the states, ruled Delaware has a say in what's built on the New Jersey side of the river involving projects that would extend into the river, where both states have joint authority.
From NBC's Pete Williams
The Washington, DC local court of appeals today formally disbarred Scooter Libby, Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff.
In a brief order, the court said the local bar association had investigated Libby's conviction and determined the crimes of which he was found guilty, including obstruction of justice and perjury, are crimes of "moral turpitude."
"When a member of the Bar is convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude,
disbarment is mandatory," the court said today.
From NBC's Pete Williams
The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear the Washington, DC gun case. The justices will review a federal appeals court ruling that found DC's ban on handguns to be unconstitutional.
The court makes it clear today that it intends to address what the 2nd Amendment really means -- surprisingly, the court has never said before what the right to bear arms actually means. Here's the way it frames the question: "Whether [DC's gun laws] violate the Second Amendment rights of individuals who are not affiliated with any state-regulated militia, but who wish to keep handguns and other firearms for private use in their homes?"
From NBC's Pete Williams
Just in time for the coming election year, the US Supreme Court today agreed to consider whether states can require voters to show a photo ID at the polling place to case a vote.
Eleven states now require voters to show IDs. Georgia's law requires the ID to have a photo, and so does Indiana -- which is the state law the court today agreed to review. It's considered the nation's strictest.
Opponents of the law argue that it will reduce voter participation, because it makes it harder for older residents, the poor, racial minorities, and people with disabilities to muster the necessary documents that are required to get a driver's license or state-issued photo ID card. Advocates of the law say showing a photo ID is a small price to pay to reduce voter fraud. In upholding the law, a federal appeals court said photo IDs have become such a part of American life that using one for voting is only a minimal burden.
There's a partisan aspect to this argument that goes beyond constitutional rights. Advocates of voter ID requirements tend to be Republicans, and opponents are generally Democrats. The court will probably hear the case in December 2007 or January 2008.
From WNBC's Jonathan Dienst and NBC's Mark Murray
Federal prosecutors in New York are expected to announce criminal charges against Democratic fundraiser
Norman Hsu later today, sources tell
WNBC.com. Hsu is expected to be charged with orchestrating a $60 million "Ponzi Scheme" and engaging in widespread campaign finance violations. Hsu has been a key Democratic Party fundraiser in recent years donating large amounts including to the campaign of
Hillary Clinton.
There is other Hsu news today... The Los Angeles Times reports that Hsu "waived extradition in a Colorado courthouse and was expected to be returned to California as early as" today.
And the Washington Post writes, "Last night, a group of New York investors who entrusted Hsu with more than $40 million, believing they were financing a clothing venture, filed a lawsuit alleging that he cheated them out of their money."
From NBC's Mark Murray
Here's a quick final thought today since the morning version of First Read isn't publishing tomorrow... Earlier this week, proponents of Bush's troop surge were seeing some things finally break their way just before Gen. Petraeus' September report on the situation in Iraq. First, some Democrats started to speak positively about the surge. Even Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton said it was working in Al Anbar Province, although she added that it was too little, too late (and then stated on Wednesday that the surge failed). Next came the new multi-million-dollar TV ad campaign arguing that a withdrawal from Iraq would be disastrous.
But that good news for the White House and its allies came to a crashing halt today -- with today's updated NIE report (which said that security in Iraq will continue to improve modestly, but that the level of sectarian violence there will remain high), and the speech by GOP Sen. John Warner (who argued that the White House should begin a small withdrawal of troops).
Is it fair to say that we're back to where we were before the week started: that the surge and Iraq remain perilous political issues for the White House and the GOP?
From NBC's Joel Seidman
Candidate-in-waiting
Fred Thompson, in another online blog posting on issues close to conservatives' hearts and minds, has now invoked the spirit of an unusual and long-lost accused Salem witch. That witch -- who was caught up in the Salem witch hunt some 300 years ago -- just happens to be a relative of a current Bush judicial nominee who is having trouble getting through Patrick Leahy's Judiciary Committee.
In his blog on "Imwithfred.com," Thompson recalls Judge Leslie Southwick's relative, Rebecca Nurse, who was hanged July 19, 1692. Thompson says Southwick, "is suffering through a witch hunt of a more modern variety" The judge has been nominated to fill a long-standing vacancy on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. And Senate Democrats are trying to put the kibosh on Southwick.
Democrats question Southwick's civil- and human-rights record, which they say make him unfit for a lifetime appointment to the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit. Republicans have argued, however, that Southwick has an exemplary record and that Democrats are fabricating excuses to oppose him.
Thompson laments, "Judge Southwick is just the latest in a long line of nominees for that bench to be delayed." And he adds, "Judge Southwick's reward for being a qualified judge, and by all accounts a good citizen, is a Senatorial inquisition meant to besmirch his professional and personal reputation."
NBC's Pete Williams reports that Chief Justice
John Roberts, who was hospitalized yesterday after suffering a seizure, was just released from the hospital.
VIDEO: Chief Justice Roberts leaves hospital
