Judge rules against Crawford County Library’s ‘social section’ censorship

by Tina Alvey Dale (tdale@talkbusiness.net)

U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes III ruled against Crawford County in a First Amendment lawsuit regarding the removal and relocation of books largely because of objections from citizens to LGBTQ content.

In his ruling, issued Monday (Sept. 30), Holmes said the books in question are to be returned to their original locations in the county’s libraries. (Link here for the ruling.)

Attorney Brian Meadors filed a federal complaint May 30, 2023, against book censorship actions by the Crawford County Public Library System. The Crawford County Library earlier in 2023 approved the relocation of books largely with LGBTQ content. Attorneys representing the Crawford County Library System argued that the relocation of LGBTQ books was not a First Amendment violation and instead “strikes a balance” that is “constitutionally compliant” and meets the standards of the community.

Judge rules against Crawford County Library’s ‘social section’ censorship

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Constitutional expert said he believes recent immunity ruling by Supreme Court is too broad

KUAR | By Ronak Patel

Last week, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of former President Donald Trump in the Trump v. United States case, according to NPR News.

In the opinion, the majority wrote that any president has immunity when they are exercising their “core constitutional duties.” In an interview with KARK Channel 4’s Capitol View, John DiPippa, dean emeritus of the Bowen School of Law and a constitutional expert, said one of the issues with this ruling is it is difficult to determine whether or not a president is acting within their official capacity.

“The details make it very difficult to ever show a president’s acts are unofficial,” Dipippa said. “For example, the court said if a president talks to a cabinet official or the attorney general that’s an official act and you can’t use the conversation to prove that it was unofficial or if he was pursuing a private goal.”

Constitutional expert said he believes recent immunity ruling by Supreme Court is too broad

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Arkansas AG requests expedited appeal of LEARNS Act ruling

KUAR | By Antoinette Grajeda / Arkansas Advocate

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin on Wednesday filed a motion to expedite his appeal of a circuit court ruling that delays the effective date of the LEARNS Act, the governor’s signature education legislation. Griffin asked that the state Supreme Court respond by 8 a.m. Friday.

Griffin filed an appeal on July 3 of an order invalidating the law’s emergency clause, which would allow it go into effect immediately instead of 91 days after the end of the legislative session.

Pulaski County Judge Herbert Wright last month ruled the law’s emergency clause is invalid because it was not passed with a separate roll-call vote garnering a two-thirds majority, as required by the Arkansas Constitution.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2023-07-13/arkansas-ag-requests-expedited-appeal-of-learns-act-ruling

Courts.Arkansas.Gov/Courts.Arkansas.Gov

Judge voids Pope County casino license granted to Cherokee Nation

by Talk Business and Politics (staff@talkbusiness.net)

The contentious path to building a casino in Pope County took yet another turn Thursday (Jan. 12) when Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Tim Fox ruled that Arkansas officials “unconstitutionally” granted a casino license to Cherokee Nation Businesses.

Gulfside Casino Partnership had appealed a November 2021 decision by the Arkansas Racing Commission to grant the Pope County license to Cherokee Nation Businesses and its Legends Resort and Casino company.

The Cherokee Nation proposal was approved in a narrow 3-2 Racing Commission vote after the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled ineligible the Gulfside Casino Partnership proposal in late October 2021. The state’s high court ruled that Gulfside did not have an official letter from an elected official during the active part of the application process, while Cherokee Nation did.

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/01/judge-voids-pope-county-casino-license-granted-to-cherokee-nation/