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At issue was whether the Republican-drawn map violated a bedrock federal civil rights law, the 1965 Voting Rights Act, that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. "We have now said twice that this Voting Rights Act case is not close," the judges wrote. Alabama's Republican Secretary of State Wes Allen in filings submitted to the lower court disclosed plans to appeal to the Supreme Court and the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. The Supreme Court in June allowed a challenge to Louisiana's congressional map to advance. The Voting Rights Act was passed at a time when Southern states including Alabama enforced policies blocking Black people from casting ballots.

Persons: Terri Sewell, Michael A, McCoy, Steve Marshall, Wes Allen, Ron DeSantis, Joseph Ax, John Kruzel, Colleen Jenkins, Bill Berkrot, Will Dunham Organizations: Republican, U.S, Supreme, Democratic, U.S . House, Democratic U.S, Selma Fire, REUTERS, Circuit, Appeals, NAACP, Republicans, Thomson Locations: U.S, Alabama, Birmingham, Selma, Selma , Alabama, Atlanta, Florida, Black

Under the Republican map, only one of the state's seven congressional districts is majority Black, even though Black residents make up more than a quarter of the state's population. The office of Attorney General Steve Marshall, a Republican, said the state would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The plaintiffs who challenged Alabama's map, including the state chapter of the NAACP, in a joint statement said: "Alabama openly admits its intention to defy the law and the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court also in June allowed a challenge to Louisiana's congressional map to advance. A federal court has ordered lawmakers to draw a second majority-Black district, and a U.S. appeals court is set to review the case next month.

Persons: Michael A, McCoy, Terri Sewell, Steve Marshall, Ron DeSantis, Joseph Ax, Colleen Jenkins, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Democratic, Selma Fire, REUTERS, Republican, Democratic U.S, U.S, Supreme, NAACP, Republicans, U.S . House, Representatives, Thomson Locations: Selma, Selma , Alabama, U.S, Birmingham, Alabama, Florida, Black

July 31 (Reuters) - Healthcare providers and an abortion rights group on Monday sued Alabama in an effort to block the state from criminally prosecuting people who help others travel out of state to get abortions. In a lawsuit filed in Montgomery, Alabama federal court, the West Alabama Women's Center, the Alabama Women's Center and its medical director Yashica Robinson said any such prosecutions would violate a basic right to travel between states under the U.S. Constitution. Alabama in 2019 passed the Human Life Protection Act, a law banning nearly all abortions. The healthcare providers said the threat of prosecution prevents them from advising patients about where they could travel to get abortions, and the Yellowhammer Fund said it had been forced to shut down its abortion funding in Alabama. "That includes abortion providers conspiring to violate the Act."

Persons: Yashica Robinson, Wade, Steve Marshall, Alabamans, Robin Marty, Marshall, Amanda Priest, Brendan Pierson, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Healthcare, Monday, Alabama, West Alabama Women's Center, Alabama Women's Center, U.S, U.S . Constitution, Yellowhammer, Supreme, Yellowhammer Fund, West Alabama Women's, Thomson Locations: Montgomery , Alabama, U.S ., Alabama, Roe, New York

☆ 19 Republican states accuse JPMorgan of closing bank accounts and discriminating against customers due to their religious or political beliefs
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

19 Republican states accused JPMorgan of closing bank accounts on political or religious grounds. Republican attorneys general from 19 states have accused JPMorgan Chase of closing accounts and discriminating against customers due to their political or religious beliefs, a report says. Further, the letter claimed JPMorgan asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to ignore a proposal for the bank to disclose its policy for closing accounts. A JPMorgan representative told The Journal: "We have never and would never exit a client relationship due to their political or religious affiliation." A spokesperson for JPMorgan said: "We do not close accounts due to religious or political affiliations, and did not in these cases."

☆ Alabama's attorney general threatened to prosecute people seeking abortion pills. A day later, he walked it back.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Yelena Dzhanova | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said he'd prosecute people who take abortion pills. A day later, Marshall walked back his remarks and said only abortion providers would be prosecuted. Prosecuting people for taking abortion pills would not have been legal in the state of Alabama, civil-rights experts told Insider. The FDA authorized brick-and-mortar pharmacies across the country to pursue certification to carry abortion pills, a move that could expand abortion access nationwide. Kay Ivey in 2019, specifically says abortion providers can be held criminally liable, but people who get abortions cannot be.

☆ Alabama pauses executions after third failed lethal injection attempt
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Kay Ivey sought a pause in executions and ordered a “top-to-bottom” review of the state’s capital punishment system Monday after an unprecedented third failed lethal injection. Ivey also requested that Marshall not seek additional execution dates for any other death row inmates until the review is complete. In September, the state called off the scheduled execution of Alan Eugene Miller because of difficulty accessing his veins. Alabama in 2018 called off the execution of Doyle Hamm because of problems getting the intravenous line connected. Alabama should have imposed an execution moratorium after Hamm’s failed execution for the benefit of everyone, said Bernard Harcourt, an attorney who represented Hamm for years.

The eventual ruling could cripple the Voting Rights Act, whose passage was fueled by historic marches for Black voting rights and the violent response by local authorities in Alabama from Selma to Montgomery. Democratic President Joe Biden's administration and a number of voting rights groups are supporting the plaintiffs. The case centers on a Voting Rights Act provision, called Section 2, aimed at countering voting laws that result in racial bias even absent racist intent. Conservative states and groups already have successfully prodded the Supreme Court to limit the Voting Rights Act's scope. In a major 2019 ruling, the Supreme Court barred federal judges from curbing the practice, known as partisan gerrymandering.

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